Started testing; seems really low...

Hi. First, I plan to call the vet to double check, but I want to be able to talk intelligently about my concerns so let's see if this makes sense--since all the info I've read about home testing and stuff is overwhelming. Sorry this is long. Though I don't have a spreadsheet etc. yet, I think all relevant info is here, including my only two home tests.

So, Tribble was diagnosed about a week ago (thanks to over 400 glucose on his annual blood work, losing a lot of weight quickly, and drinking/peeing a lot) and started on Lantus on Thursday; he was prescribed 1 unit twice daily to start with, and has a "spot check" appt. Friday to see if that's helping. At the same time he started insulin, I switched him to wet food because the vet strongly suggested it--and I wasn't aware it could also quickly affect the blood glucose. This past week he's been very sleepy and a little slow to wake, but only intermittently.

I realized yesterday morning that I had been accidentally giving him 0.5 units twice daily instead of 1. Given the aforementioned sleepiness, I chickened out, compromised, and gave him 0.75 units yesterday morning.

I have the ReliOn Confirm. I believe the meter/strips are fine--I don't have control solution, but I used it on myself first to practice and the results were consistent with a recent wellness visit. So, I think it's accurate enough on Tribble.

I tested him right before his PM shot time yesterday and it was 45mg/dl, which I think is a little low for a cat on a human-calibrated meter. This scared me, and it was too late to call the vet, so I skipped the shot.

This morning, I tested him again--24 hours after his last shot--and it was 79mg/dl, which I understand to be in the normal range for a cat on a human-calibrated meter, and not shot-worthy.

In summary: my first forays into testing him seem really low, esp. considering the accidentally lower dosing and time between shots, even taking into account the fact that he's now on wet food.

Is my understanding accurate? Should I keep testing him periodically? Is the blood sugar maybe normally low after a night without food, so this is just a naturally really low number for him? I'm very confused and concerned.

 

Diet change alone is enough for some cats. I am glad you gave the wrong dose and decided to start testing. It could have been bad if you had not. I would continue to test a few times a day to make sure he is staying in nice low numbers. You may want to go ahead and set up a spreadsheet to put your test results in so you can keep track of them - it would also be something you could share with the vet, if you want.

 

Yes, diet change can be enough for some cats. Good thing you were giving the wrong dose. Things could have gotten out of hand.

You are using Lantus. Try getting a few readings at when it would be 5-7 hours from when you would give the shot. That's when if shot was given would be the lowest readings (for most) see what his normal is for that time.

 

Just to double-check: the insulin amount you're giving should look really tiny in the syringe. If you have syringes with marks only for full units, 1.0U is just to the second mark (first mark is 0), and if you have syringes with half-units, 1.0U is at the third marking. Apologies if this seems obvious to you, but we've seen a lot of cases where vets and/or pharmacists were demonstrating measurements incorrectly, and the cat was getting 10.0U instead of 1.0!

That said, yes, as others have said, diet change alone is sometimes enough. Lucky you and lucky Tribble if that's the case!

 

Thank you, FurBabiesMama and Paula.

Even if he eats in the meantime? I know for the pre-shot tests you normally don't let them eat first, but this would be with food in his system, right?

 

Sorry to double post (is normal etiquette here to edit, instead? I come from Reddit, not old-school forums, where editing to add things is normal...) but Nan, yes, it was definitely 1 unit he demonstrated and 0.5 units I was giving! Very tiny amount.

 

You hold food the 2 hrs prior to test for preshot only. Any other times you don't worry about when they eat. So yes it's okay with food in their system to test AFTER the shot. Olive eats every couple of hours and has gone very low at times early on even with food in her.