Nigel and I need help.

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@majandra Nope we are at pre-shot now. Interesting turn of events but Nigel didn't eat as much today so not sure if what we already saw was a bounce or stress or now is just lack of food.
 
Do you have any parmesan cheese? If so sprinkle some on the Friskies to see if that will entice him. Or some tuna in water .... is there anything else he likes you have on hand?
 
Ok. So if he manages to keep that on his tummy for now since he's interested in eating, and taking those dropping numbers into account knowing he didn't eat much today, I'd suggest you try a dose a 0.5u tonight and see we'll see how that looks tonight. More to follow but you can go ahead and give insulin.
 
Cool, gave him 0.5. Guess I’ll have to share the spreadsheet with the vet at the end of the ten days so that she takes into account the fact that he wasn’t always give a full 1u.
 
Here is a synopsis of what I am thinking right now.
Since we have no data before yesterday and that was the day the Libre was installed, we can't be sure of what is going on so I lowered the dose for safety sake tonight.
1. It's possible that Nigel was in what we call a bounce that is now breaking. A bounce is a rise in BG due to the cat's defense systems. It will go into action if the cat drops to BG levels it is not accustomed to (a low BG for a diabetic used to being in high numbers), a fast drop in BG, or a significant drop in BG. ETA by significant I mean too low!)
2. Nigel may have been extremely stressed with the installation of the Libre and just getting used to it today which may have caused him some stress BG elevation that is now subsiding.
3. It may be that he just didn't eat enough today and the insulin pushed him down further than usual.

It's impossible to know which of these scenarios is at play here. Since you are home tonight, please get a reading at +2 and +3 post shot so we can see what Nigel is up to for tonight.

Believe me it's not usually this complicated but you were totally convinced all outward symptoms of diabetes had stopped so I think we have to keep that in mind and take this step by step and err on the side of caution with the reduced dose tonight.

I'll check back in at 830 or so your time to see what the +2 is and whether any further action is needed at that time. Any questions?
 
AmericanTemplar said:
The funny thing is that he’s acting more like his normal self right now than he has when his numbers have been higher
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Ahh interesting and good to know!:) Most cats that have been in high numbers for awhile do just the opposite....seem a bit off when they finally attain better numbers.
 
No The insulin won't start to take effect until about +2 and the food probably hasn't bumped him up yet. Patience. He's still quite safe. Normally I'd say no action is needed unless he drops below 50 however not knowing what Nigel is up to yet, if he drops to 60, give him a tsp or so of food just to boost him up at bit.
 
I’m sure the vets visit was super stressful for him because there was some sort of emergency going on with a dog yelping and he was there for 3 hours.

So the cans of Fancy Feast are much smaller than Friskies. Are they still calorically similar?
 
The Fancy Feast tends to run around roughly 90 to 100 cals per can. Not sure about the fish flavours though.... they might be different.
 
He ate about the usual amount, Linda. Also, just got him to eat some more. But yeah looks totally normal and acting super affectionate.
 
Higher is better than having too low numbers. If the vomit is yellow-ish, like bile - it is when the cat is getting ready to eat and has not yet been fed and that is the natural reaction of waiting too long to eat. What is the 2 hour fast thing about?
 
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Well Nigel is surprising all of us right now but we'll just keep monitoring him and work with what he gives us. I expected his BG to rise a bit....not go down so much so fast it definitely looks like this is going to be an active cycle. It may be a bit of PJ party for awhile but I will stay with you.
 
Grant, the sensor display gives you a BG reading and there is also an arrow telling you if BG is going up or down so when you take the next reading please let us know what the arrow is saying (up or down) along with the BG number. I'd suggest you grab another reading in about 15 minutes. That will tell us if the extra food is bumping him up at all.
BRB. Have to go feed my clowder.
 
majandra said:
Do the Libre meters have the 20% variance like the others
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An interesting question. I'm not sure if the technology is more accurate than manual readers or not. I'm also not sure if the arrow beside the readings are designating BG is rising because a reading is higher than the last reading or if it is actually indicating BG is on the rise at that moment. The problem is that BG is never static so tests 5 minutes apart won't necessarily be the same.....likely close but not the same.
 
AmericanTemplar said:
It’s going up a little. A 79 now
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Just to clarify....glucometers have a variance allowance of 20% so all those readings (70, 78 and 79) are all within normal meter variance. We're just not sure if the Libre has the same variance allowance or not.
Check Nigel again in 15 minutes please.
Please also note......this is not how things go on a regular basis. :)
 
Ok with that drop I suggest you put a little karo on his gums. Mix a tsp of food with some karo (1/4tsp) and give it to him. Retest 15 minutes after he finishes the food.
 
That is just the sugar you gave him and that will wear off quickly. I'm wondering if the filament is still well positioned and whether the readings you are getting are totally accurate. The only way to be sure would be to test Nigel with the Prime you bought. So I think it's time for a crash course in BG testing. Get the meter, strips and lancets out and ready and I am going to find a video for you to watch and then I will walk you through it.
 
Karo is a simple carb so yes it will wear off in a relatively short time. We usually suggest folks keep some gravy foods around for situations like this. We were just getting you sorted out and no one could have seen this coming based on the numbers you were getting so we are going to have to work with what you have. Don't feed him anything else right now and test again in 15 minutes. It's possible his BG is going up some on its own too so we test again without feeding again to see if he is holding his BG steady or rising. Unless he starts falling again, no need for more food or karo.
 
Here is a link to some videos of how to test Nigel yourself. You will have to scroll down the page a bit to get to the videos.
I have to go give one of mine some medication. Back soon.
 
So the Freestyle Libre is showing him at 154 now. Do you think I still should test on the Prime? I feel like I’ve manhandled him enough this evening so kinda not feeling like doing it but guess it would be good to know if something is wrong with the FL.
 
No if Nigel is at 154 now, I don't think it's urgent that you learn to test right now however it wouldn't hurt to take a peak at the video so if we should need to check at any time, you'll have some idea how to proceed. I'll have to go back and check but I seem to recall some comments about the Libre and low numbers....just can't recall what they said now. Ok let's give everyone a little rest and recheck him in a half hour this time.
 
I tried to use the Prime just now and it didn’t work out. I’m pretty exhausted and I should probably look at the instructions when I’m more with it.
 
The one thing that my human friend said about the meter is that there is a 15 min delay between the blood reading, and the interstitial fluid the Libre reads. That may be why they reccomend being able to test with a regular meter.
 
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