Copied from Main Forum - 6.7 Am reading - Now 2.7 at +3 reading

Discussion in 'Caninsulin / Vetsulin and N / NPH' started by KyraCat, Aug 11, 2020.

  1. KyraCat

    KyraCat Member

    Joined:
    Jul 1, 2020
    This morning we had a 6.7 amps reading, our lowest yet.

    I waited (without feeding) for 20mins, posted on the main forum, and retested at which point we came up to 8.5. Because the BG was on the rise, but the reading was still low I dropped the does from 4.75 to 4.5.

    Our routine is test, feed and inject. I don't inject for the first 20 minutes he is eating but when I do inject he is still eating and carries on eating a good while after too.

    I do understand that 4.5 may seem high for a 6.7 amps reading but I did try to put logic to it and also I knew I was in all day so, as you'll see from the spreadsheet, lots of tests have been done today.

    at +1 he had gone up to 10.1, presumably from eating his breakfast. At +3 he dropped to 2.7 at which point I gave him 10 grams of dry food and tested again 20 minutes later. He was on the up (to 3.8) but I still gave him some gravy based wet food. I've continued to test every hour since, until I know we really are out of the woods.

    Kyra did not show any signs of a hypo, but I know not all cats do so I am glad I stuck to testing this morning, but with a starting number like that I would have never not tested!

    I'm sure I did a lot of things wrong today, giving dry food, giving a too high a unit insulin dose, but if anyone can tell me what I should have done this morning after his delayed test read 8.5 I'd really appreciate it!
     
    Elizabeth and Bertie likes this.
  2. Elizabeth and Bertie

    Elizabeth and Bertie Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2010
    Replied to you on the main forum, Jemma. :bighug:
    Just copying my comment from there:

    "For those new to using Caninsulin we advise that no insulin is given if the pre-shot number is below 11 (as measured on a human meter).
    You did the right thing to 'stall' to see if the number was rising to a shootable level, and it was indeed rising, but was not really high enough for insulin.

    I actually suspect that the dose is much too high, since that 2.7 was bordering on hypo....
    With Caninsulin it's advisable at first to try to not let the blood glucose drop below about 5 - 5.5 (as measured on a human meter). This is just because Caninsulin can drop the blood glucose really fast in some kitties, and trying to keep it at that level can help to give some buffer of safety in case it does actually dip lower than that.

    The fact that your kitty's blood glucose was so low this morning 'most likely' means that the pancreas is able to produce some more insulin of its own and is able to extend the cycle. This is a good sign! But it can make dosing a bit more tricky because if the cat has a 'sputtering pancreas' it can be hard to predict when it might pulse out some insulin.

    The numbers may be high later because of the high carb food you've given. But just take those numbers with 'a pinch of salt', they will pass. And don't base the dose on any high numbers that you see this evening...

    Has your kitty ever had DKA, or has his pee tested positive for ketones? If not, I'd probably suggest a significant dose reduction at this point to see if the numbers level out a bit."
     
    Last edited: Aug 11, 2020
    KyraCat likes this.

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