Worried about low number tonight

But not that low - it was 95 at 10:54. But this morning he was 316. Worry about him dropping way low tonight now. I gave him a little Fancy Feast.

What a weird roller coaster ride diabetes is.

I'll probably be up instead of sleeping.

 

in response to your pm -

all insulins have some kind of a curve, or a time where they are most and least potent. your 95 tonight is great - it looks like spot might be coming down from a bounce. normally the lowest point of blood sugar is around 5-6 hours after the shot. cats can be anywhere from 2-8 or so hours, but many are more in the mid-point. at the beginning of the time using lantus a lot of what we're doing is learning how our own cats respond to the insulin, since every cat is different.

lantus is really excellent for cats - one of the best. the reason you're not liking it is simply because you don't know how to read spots responses to it yet. we can teach you though! that's the good news.

for tonight, if i were you, i'd probably test him again at 5 hrs after his shot and see if he's gone up or not. a non-diabetic cat runs 50-120, so 95 is a great number for him. if he drops below 50, you want to give him a teaspoon or so of the gravy from high carb food, wait about 20-30 minutes for the carbs to get into his system, then retest.

i'll post this now since i know you're waiting for an answer, then am going to continue with the answer. i'm verbose, just warning you now! ;-) :lol:

 

ok, i'm back. i had to go back and read what advice you've already been given and refresh my memory about spot's story!

lantus has a curve to it. the curve (and i'm going to describe "typical" cat's response, but cats can vary) on an unregulated cat new on insulin often looks more like a "V" - the highest numbers are at preshots and some cats have a much lower mid-cycle number.

so for example, maybe a cat will be 300-400 at preshot in the morning, then 100 mid-day and zoom back up to 300 by evening.

so you think "OMG if that dose made my cat drop 200 points, how can i possibly give the same dose if i see a preshot of 150?"

as the cat gets better regulated, the preshot numbers will come down and the same dose that caused a huge drop in the beginning might only move them 50 points to the lowest number now. the preshot could be 125 and the low point of the cycle could be 60. now the curve might look more like a "u" instead of a "V."

a cat that is well-regulated and possibly on it's way to going off of insulin, might have the exact same dose, but the curve might be more of a line! the preshot number might be 85, the low point 55, and the preshot in the evening 80. in this cat, the curve looks like "_".

so this is a process - we like to say "it's a marathon, not a sprint." there's no hurrying a cat to get regulated, but it's worth the work when you get to say "spot is acting and playing like i haven't seen in a while!" you'll get spot there, but it won't happen overnight. he didn't get sick overnight either, and diabetes takes a while to get regulated.

on your Saturday 4/28 post i included a link on 2 things that throw off the curve - one is "new dose wonkiness" where the cat's numbers can increase for a day or so after a dose increase, the other is partway down the "NDW" link and it describes bouncing. it's common for a cat to bounce. that's not a terrible thing, it says that their liver is doing what it's supposed to do. but it takes experience to see bounces and it's important to not increase a dose during a bounce. people who are experienced can help you see what's going on on spot's ss. take a look at that post from saturday again - there's lots of good information in there for you.

i hope all goes well at the vet for you - i know you're worried. it's hard having a kitter not feeling well.

for tonight, that 95 isn't terrible, i would just set my cell phone alarm and get up and test him again as i mentioned above to make sure you catch him if he goes below 50.

hang in there - the beginning when you don't really understand is the absolute hardest part for everyone. it gets easier. really.

 

Thank you! I did not get up to test him, but this morning he was 221 and we gave him his regular shot. We got a call from the vet and they had to cancel our appt. that was scheduled for today. This weekend since Friday he seemed so sick, but yesterday he seemed really good. Anyway, today I made an appt for him to see a new vet really far away but who was recommended by someone on the board, and the vet knows about Lantus and tight regulation. Won't see her till Monday so I hope Spot's good until then. Not sure why he's so on and off with the lethargy, water lapping, etc. but it seems to correspond with his BG #s somewhat.

I did read your NDW and about bouncing, but it's still all just sinking in. We're still trying to give him the purrfect shot that won't bother him (some do, some don't).