BG numbers plummeting, throwing up after meals

My first question is -- is it advisable to give a cat a shot if her numbers plummet during a cycle from over 500 to 86 and don't get back to higher than the low 200s by the start of the next cycle?

Second question -- she's thrown up meals twice this evening, and if she starts suddenly having trouble keeping her food down, should I give her shots at all, and is she in danger of dehydration?

I've been treating Pigpen with ProZinc since she was diagnosed over two weeks ago, 3.5 units per dose since the 15th. The curves have been pretty sluggish, lots of bouncing, lows mostly in the low to upper 200s and one reading of 169. The pre-shot numbers have averaged in the upper 400s.

Then, after the Saturday PM shot the numbers took a huge swing downward enough to worry me to the point of taking her over to the emergency vet for a quick eval. It went from over 500 at +1 to 188 at +5, after which I started keeping closer tabs. It went down to 118 a half-hour later, then I coaxed her into eating a meal. The numbers stayed flat for a half-hour, then she threw up the meal and the numbers started going back down again quickly -- 104, to 95, to 86 in twenty minutes, still on a downward trend, at a point in the cycle after which they had begun going up substantially. I guess I panicked a bit.

The numbers rebounded back into the 130s after the emergency vet visit and to 164 after the cat ate another meal. Then she threw that up, too, a half-hour later, and the numbers dropped back into the 130s. It's back up to 201, now at +10.

If the number doesn't get up out of the low 200s at shot time, I'm kinda scared to give her a full dose in light of what's happened today. I'm also kinda scared about the possibility of giving her a shot with her meal and then her throwing that up a half-hour later, in light of the plummet.

The emergency vet said to give her a full dose at shot time unless she doesn't eat anything at all -- then I should still give her a half-dose. This doesn't sound right to me.

But I don't know. Any advice would be welcome.

 

PS - I should add that my response to these numbers was motivated by "hypophobia" -- I"m so alarmed by the possibility of a hypoglycemic event that the first time the numbers got anywhere *close* to it, I thought it'd be better to get her over to the emergency vet (just a few minutes away), rather than wait and see whether the numbers kept going down to the 50s or 40s over the next hour. I read the sticky about the hypo kit and I've fixed one up, but my first impulse when this happened was still to rush her out the front door and into the car.

 

I’ll preface this by saying I do not use Prozinc so am reluctant to give dosing advice. I don’t think there are any Prozinc users online at the moment.

Are you feeding during the cycles as well as the preshot meals? I know you have had trouble with vomiting today.
Are you testing for ketones in the urine....if not I would start as Pigpen is unregulated and in high numbers most of the time.

Todays cycle looks as if he is responding to the insulin. Dropping to 86 is a safe number, however if you drop under 90 you reduce the dose with Prozinc so I would reduce the next dose to 3.25 U.

Why don’t you wait and see what he is at the next preshot and if he is able to keep food down.

@Deb & Wink
@JanetNJ

 

Remember if you are testing the BGs you are in control. If the numbers drop low (under 50) you can always rub honey or Karo onto the gums and give HC food. However if you are doing SLGS with Prozinc you would feed him if he drops under 90 to bring him up higher.
Are you posting daily for help. If not, I think you would benefit by doing so.

Do you have any cerenia for nausea?
I am not going to be around for long but have asked someone else to look in on you.

Here is the Prozinc dosing methodshttps://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/prozinc-dosing-methods.225629/

 

Thanks for the replies and in particular for the ProZinc link. She did eat a couple of small meals within a couple hours after I posted this and kept them down. She wasn't hungry at shot time so I waited an extra hour and refilled her dish. She ate some more and I gave her a shot then. (Only 2 units, because I wouldn't be able to monitor it during peak hours.) Her numbers did bounce back into the 400s pre-shot, then went down to 365 at hour +2, about the same place she was at last night. I'll try her Sunday PM on a 3.25 dose assuming all goes well until then.

She usually doesn't have trouble with vomiting -- just occasional and random -- so this is concerning. We'll see if it recurs. I'll look into the cerenia, thanks.

 

This is an insanely high dose for a newly diagnosed cat! The recommended starting dose is 1 unit. If it’s not enough it’s raised by no more than 0.5 s at a time. This cat went from 1.5 u to 3.5 in just 10 days. Be really careful. I would lower that dose and hold it. No more than 2.5 u. Give the dose a chance to work.

what are you feeding?

@Chris & China (GA)