When Sky went hypo last weekend the vet said her sugars should be at their lowest at 4 hours after injection. Is that correct? How long should it keep them low for as well - or does it depend on the cat and what they eat in the interim.
Hi,
It varies from cat to cat. Many cats on Caninsulin will see the nadir (lowest number of the cycle) at around 4 - 4.5 hours after the insulin shot. But in some cats the nadir will be a bit later
or earlier than that (in a minority of cats it may be as early as 3 hours after the insulin shot, or as late as 6 hours after the insulin shot).
Some cats will stay at the lower numbers for a while after nadir, but some will rise very quickly from that point. ...If the blood glucose drops lower than that cat is comfortable with (or if it drops too fast) that may cause the blood glucose to rise quite sharply: We call this 'a bounce'.
And yes, food certainly can make a difference to what happens; and not only food
per se, but also the type of food (wet/dry, low carb/high carb).
We recommend that, wherever possible, cats on Caninsulin/Vetsulin have food on board about half an hour before being given insulin. That is so that there is food in the system for when the insulin starts to work. Also, in cats that are prone to steep drops in blood glucose, it can be helpful to give a snack/small meal about an hour to hour and a half
after the insulin shot, to help to slow down the rate at which the blood glucose is dropping.
The more I read the more I realise I have to learn!
It can seem like there's a lot to learn at first. But you will very soon get the hang of things. Honestly!
Because you are able to hometest you will be able to see how the insulin is working in Sky's body, and that will make managing her diabetes much easier.
We
do recommend that you test before every insulin shot. That is mainly to check that the blood glucose is high enough to warrant being given that shot (sometimes our cats surprise us!).
For newcomers to diabetes we recommend that no shot is given if the blood glucose at the time of the shot is below 11 (200) on a human glucose meter. (Note: The Alphatrak usually reads a little bit higher than a human meter. There is no easy way to convert human meter numbers to Alphatrak numbers, but you could just set the initial 'no shot' number a little higher initially, at maybe 12 (216).
The sequence is;
1). Test (to check that blood glucose is rising, and is high enough to be given the shot)
2). Feed (to make sure the kitty has food on board for when the insulin kicks in)
3). Give shot.
Also, for those
new to Caninsulin/Vetsulin, we recommend that caregivers 'aim' to not let the blood glucose drop below around 5 - 5.6 (90 - 100) on a human meter. So, on an Alphatrak, you might raise that to around 6 - 6.6 (108 - 119). This is because Caninsulin/Vetsulin can drop the blood glucose quite fast in some cats, and these levels give some buffer of safety if the blood glucose
does drop lower than this. ...In a little while, once you've gathered more data about how your cat's body is responding to the insulin, you will be able to be guided by your own experience of what works best for your cat.
Given how recently your cat was diagnosed you are doing really well! Sky is lucky to have you in her corner!
Eliz
