Low glucose

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Just seen this, how scary! So glad you were around and able to act so quickly, well pleased to see that Audrey is doing ok.
I believe that everything happens for a reason...from the wake up phone call to you realising the importance of regular testing and I'm sure that you will do everything to keep her safe..
Well done for holding it together today, you did brilliant - hope all goes well for you guys from here..:):cat:
 
Just seeing this too. Well done Rebekah :) and she is probably going to have some trampoline time. But definitely earned a reduction. Little surprised your Vet didn't feel a need to check her. Hoping no permanent damage!

Try your best to at least get PS tests :)

ETA: should take down 911 now ;)

Apologies to anyone tagging me lately. I am recovering from another back injury >_<
 
Wow, @Bexygirl83, that was some scare, but you did brilliantly! .....Phew! Well done, you! :bighug::bighug::bighug:

Even though Audrey seems to have come through this experience just fine do be sure to keep a close eye on her over the next few days. Hypoglycemia can really take its toll on a kitty's body; and if there are any concerns at all about her being 'off' please DO take her to see a vet ASAP.

As others have said, clearly a dose reduction is necessary, but I'd also suggest that you be uber cautious with insulin over the next few days. Hypo can sometimes make a kitty extremely sensitive to insulin, and you 'might' need to reduce the dose more than you'd expect. As an example, my own cat had a very low hypo out of the blue last year and I had to reduce his (typically) 0.75 of a unit insulin dose to 0.1 of a unit to get the same effect.... (Increased insulin sensitivity can actually cause some cats to go into remission following a hypo.)

Again, well done. ((((Hugs))))
 
Bexygirl83 said:
Ok, BG was at 4 pm +10- 240
Now it's 5 pm +11- 196

Seems it's coming down now. Not sure if I should give any insulin at 6 pm with food. Any advice for this mama?

ETA: @Elizabeth and Bertie @Yong @Tuxedo Mom
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You gave 2.5 u this AM. She'll be insulin sensitive from her hypo this morning so if she's at high enough PMPS to give insulin you'll need to reduce the dose. Let's see where she is in an hour. I'm thinking only 1 unit tonight.
 
Kris & Teasel said:
You gave 2.5 u this AM. She'll be insulin sensitive from her hypo this morning so if she's at high enough PMPS to give insulin you'll need to reduce the dose. Let's see where she is in an hour. I'm thinking only 1 unit tonight.
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I agree with Kris. The earlier hypo could still be affecting the numbers and the fact that they are still coming down means that you have to be extra careful about wherher you shoot or not. Please post the preshot number...without any food having been given for at least 2 hours.

Do remember that with Vetsulin you need to do the preshot and if it is high enough to shoot, you feed first and wait 20-30 minutes before giving the shot so that the food has started to work before the insulin does. Vetsulin tends to have an onset anywhere from +1-+2 hours after the shot.
 
Seems like the numbers are still rising but slowly. My thought is that you might want to give 1 unit for tonight and monitor as much as you can in the early part of the cycle. although I would like to get some more opinions on this.

tagging @JanetNJ to see what she thinks
 
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Thank you Janet.

Also it would be useful if you could enter the readings from today on your spreadsheet so that anyone new coming in can see what has happened through the day.
 
Ok bg now is 207 after eating. I should go ahead and give 1 unit dose? I'm a little nervous because I'm working today and lucky enough to be able to leave to check things like this. But I'm not sure how many more tines I can tonight until I get off at midnight.
 
Bexygirl83 said:
Ok bg now is 207 after eating. I should go ahead and give 1 unit dose? I'm a little nervous because I'm working today and lucky enough to be able to leave to check things like this. But I'm not sure how many more tines I can tonight until I get off at midnight.
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If your nervous you can air on the side of caution and do 0.5
 
Bexygirl83 said:
Ok bg now is 207 after eating. I should go ahead and give 1 unit dose? I'm a little nervous because I'm working today and lucky enough to be able to leave to check things like this. But I'm not sure how many more tines I can tonight until I get off at midnight.
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With the numbers still dropping after eating and you not being sure how long or how much you can monitor I would suggest skipping the dose. Has she ever been diagnosed with ketones or DKA? If not then skipping may be the best solution. It will give you a chance to rest and get a good sleep. Just remember the glucose readings may be higher in the morning, but that does not mean you need to give a higher dose of insulin.

tagging @JanetNJ to get her input.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
With the numbers still dropping after eating and you not being sure how long or how much you can monitor I would suggest skipping the dose. Has she ever been diagnosed with ketones or DKA? If not then skipping may be the best solution. It will give you a chance to rest and get a good sleep. Just remember the glucose readings may be higher in the morning, but that does not mean you need to give a higher dose of insulin.

tagging @JanetNJ to get her input.
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Thank you so much. I think I might skip this dose just to feel safe.

JanetNJ said:
If your nervous you can air on the side of caution and do 0.5
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Thank you for your help today!
 
Good job today. As with all things involving feline diabetes, each day we learn something new.
Bexygirl83 said:
I have to admit that I have been very lazy about testing lately and don't really have any info to report.
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You can at least put in the units given, plus today's data. That's all good information to have. I am super glad you did not follow the vet's recommendation of 7 units! :eek: My Neko had two high dose conditions and never got above 5 units of Caninsulin (Vetsulin).
 
Yes, as soon as I get home tonight I'm going to check on Audrey and then I can input everything from today on the spreadsheet.
The vet started her at 4 units and over the course of several months had it up to 7 units. I never gave 7 units and consulted this forum. I'm so glad I did!
 
this last evening at +7 Audrey's bg was 151. I fed her a half can of ff classic and headed to bed. This morning at feeding time her bg is 164. I have to take a client to an early doctor appointment don in going to feed her and check glucose after 30 minutes when I return so I can see how insulin is hitting her.
 
Bexygirl83 said:
this last evening at +7 Audrey's bg was 151. I fed her a half can of ff classic and headed to bed. This morning at feeding time her bg is 164. I have to take a client to an early doctor appointment don in going to feed her and check glucose after 30 minutes when I return so I can see how insulin is hitting her.
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Did you give a shot this morning and if so how much? That is still a low number considering the hypo yesterday. I would be inclined to skip this shot and do some more testing through the day.

If possible please update the spreadsheet with yesterday's numbers so that anyone coming in to offer advice can see what has happened over the last day or so.
 
I haven't fed her yet this morning, I just checked her bg. As soon as I'm done with this appointment I'm going to check her again and feed. I will post her updated bg and see if it's any higher. If not, I can just feed and skip insulin and check her periodically through the day.
I will update the spreadsheet also when I get home.
 
Bexygirl83 said:
I haven't fed her yet this morning, I just checked her bg. As soon as I'm done with this appointment I'm going to check her again and feed. I will post her updated bg and see if it's any higher. If not, I can just feed and skip insulin and check her periodically through the day.
I will update the spreadsheet also when I get home.
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Thank you for the information. The 151 at +7 and 164 at preshot are basically the same with the variance that is allowed in meter readings. These readings are only on the higher end of normal and after the massive dive Audrey did yesterday holding off on insulin would be a prudent idea. She really hasn't come up much considering the hypo...which usually would cause a spike or bounce with glucose numbers and the fact that you didn't shoot last night. A clear sign that she was on too high a dose of insulin with the 2.5 unit dose. Thanks goodness you didn't listen to the vet when they suggested 7 units!!! :eek::eek:

I will check in later and I am sure others will be around as well, so you can post the updated reading once you are finished with your appointment. :bighug:
 
Bexygirl83 said:
I haven't fed her yet this morning, I just checked her bg. As soon as I'm done with this appointment I'm going to check her again and feed. I will post her updated bg and see if it's any higher. If not, I can just feed and skip insulin and check her periodically through the day.
I will update the spreadsheet also when I get home.
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If it's shootable don't give the full amount or it will get low again
 
I'm updating my spreadsheet now. Got home a bit ago and checked Audrey's glucose. 180 at 853 am est. Fed her a can of ff classic and will recheck before I lay back down. I did not give any insulin with this feeding. She hasn't had any insulin now since yesterday morning at about 6am. No more super low episodes either.
 
Bexygirl83 said:
I'm updating my spreadsheet now. Got home a bit ago and checked Audrey's glucose. 180 at 853 am est. Fed her a can of ff classic and will recheck before I lay back down. I did not give any insulin with this feeding. She hasn't had any insulin now since yesterday morning at about 6am. No more super low episodes either.
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Audrey is still not coming up much so skipping this dose as well may be the best approach. You can get some sleep without having to worry and then see how she is doing later. :bighug:
 
About 30 minutes post feeding her bg was 144. Should I retest? Seems like a big difference since eating. Spreadsheet is all updated now. Let me know if it makes sense or if I did it correctly.
 
Bexygirl83 said:
About 30 minutes post feeding her bg was 144. Should I retest? Seems like a big difference since eating. Spreadsheet is all updated now. Let me know if it makes sense or if I did it correctly.
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Thanks for updating the spreadsheet. It appears Audrey is still holding/dropping slightly so definitely skip the shot. That 2.5 unit dose was definitely too high and she has probably been dropping low and bouncing for awhile.

Have you made any diet changes in the last while...changing to a lower carb wet food or the such? Has she been treated for any infections in the last while? Both these things can cause glucose levels to drop which means insulin requirements would also drop.
 
The only diet changes I have made was to switch her to the ff classics pate. She was eating mostly gravy/chunky foods before and free eating dry food. She no longer has access to the dry food as I keep it in another closed room for my other cats. She has been eating ff classics for at least a month now though. No infections that i know of. She has constant drainage out of her one eye though. Vet said he thought it was from her being so thirsty, I guess? Not really sure about that though.
 
Bexygirl83 said:
The only diet changes I have made was to switch her to the ff classics pate. She was eating mostly gravy/chunky foods before and free eating dry food. She no longer has access to the dry food as I keep it in another closed room for my other cats. She has been eating ff classics for at least a month now though. No infections that i know of. She has constant drainage out of her one eye though. Vet said he thought it was from her being so thirsty, I guess? Not really sure about that though.
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A diet change from higher carb gravy food and dry food to the lower carb wet food can make a big difference with some kitties. It doesn't always show right away but if it has been a month since the food change she may be starting to show the results of a diet change. This would mean that her insulin requirements will have dropped, sometimes a fair bit. There have been a number of kitties on here that have managed to get into remission ( diet-controlled diabetes) in a fairly short period of time by doing a change to a proper diet.

My thoughts are to skip this shot, test again around +11 tonight and post again for some input. If she requires insulin at that time it will need to be a reduced amount, maybe even greatly reduced...but we will see later on. In the meantime her numbers are looking pretty good for no insulin!!
 
Been watching from the sidelines. Congrats on handling those low numbers the other day! Great Job! And thank goodness for the phone call.

I wonder if Miss Audrey's pancreas isn't sputtering into action. The fact that her BG went down after eating suggests the food triggered some pancreatic insulin. This is good news indeed but also means cautious dosing at this point in time. It would be interesting to see what her BG is a an hour or so and 2 hours after a meal without exogenous insulin on board.

Will be watching with fingers crossed that Audrey continues to improve without any major drama! :D
 
Hi everyone! Just got home from an outing and checked Audrey's BG. This would be proper feeding time for her and it was 138. She seems a lot more relaxed and not drinking/fiercely hungry/peeing as much as before the episode. Unsure if I should give any insulin with this meal I'm going to feed her soon.
 
You have gone 24 hours without insulin and Audrey is managing to keep the glucose readings pretty level. With the last reading and the possible effects of the hypo from yesterday maybe keeping the numbers higher. my thought would be to skip this shot...feed her the regular meal and retest again in 3 or 4 hours if you can. This will show how well her body is working on its own.

The fact that she is feeling good and the drinking and peeing has settled down is a good sign.
 
should I be concerned if she doesn't finish her can of food? Typically she would devour it, but only ate about half of it. Thanks for all your input!
 
Bexygirl83 said:
should I be concerned if she doesn't finish her can of food? Typically she would devour it, but only ate about half of it. Thanks for all your input!
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When glucose numbers are in better ranges kitties often will not have the same "I'm starved" approach to food. Since you are not giving a shot, you don't have to worry if she eats a good meal all at once. Just leave the food out and Audrey should go back and eat more when she feels the need.
 
So I could be wrong, but I think Audrey might be in the process of passing. I'm sorry if this triggers anyone. Her behavior is different tonight. Hiding and laying in strange spots. Avoiding me for most of the day. She almost seems lethargic. She's letting me hold her now. I'll update later.
 
Bexygirl83 said:
So I could be wrong, but I think Audrey might be in the process of passing. I'm sorry if this triggers anyone. Her behavior is different tonight. Hiding and laying in strange spots. Avoiding me for most of the day. She almost seems lethargic. She's letting me hold her now. I'll update later.
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I'm sorry to see your latest post, hopefully there's another reason for her odd behaviour.
I had days in the past few months when due to Josie's similar odd behaviour and obvious signs I was convinced things were coming to an end but my miracle cat pulled through every time so far!
Thinking of you both and hoping we'll read some happy updates soon
 
Hi guys. Just woke up to check on Audrey and she's still here. Last night when I was so concerned about her I tried offering food and she wasn't interested. She just sort of hung her head over the food. She Laid with me for a while. I put down some wet food and a small hand full of dry kibble. She ate a small amount of it. She has gone to the water dish a few times I've seen. I've also seen her pee and have a small BM. It was just so weird to see her fervently trying to get to spots that she's never laid before. She even hopped in the washer (not on and I've closed it since) to lay down!
I didn't want to rush to conclusions but I've never seen her be like this.
 
As Linda said in her post the changes in glucose levels can affect how Audrey is feeling. That hypo on Wednesday can really drain her body and make her feel "yucky". Hopefully she will be starting to be more herself today.

Please do post when you get her first test! :bighug::bighug:
 
Monica Lewis said:
Hello, just wondering how's Audrey doing?
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Audrey seems to be doing fair despite her episode earlier in the week. If I'm being honest, I keep thinking she's going to pass every night. But She's still hanging on. She doesn't seem to be able to see very well, wobbles a bit when she walks, and can't jump very well. She's hit her head on a table trying to jump up on it. She also has been wetting on our furniture where she lays. Sometimes I'm not sure she knows she has wet herself.
I'm trying to stay positive about it all and I keep checking her glucose levels. She's a bit low tonight (has been 50,60,61) so I've been offering kibble and treats because I don't want it to get too low again.
 
It's been 8 cycles since Audrey has had insulin. Correct?

50, 60 ,61 are normal numbers. Generally, a cat that has not had insulin for 4 days cannot go hypo. You do not have to give kibble and treats. (Unless she is not eating at all and then you feed whatever she'll eat.)

It looks like something else is going on. You should make a vet appointment asap.
 
I guess I'm just a little nervous about it dropping again, but that was probably due to the insulin. She ate a whole can of ff classic earlier today. Her glucose has been steady this evening. I'm not used to her numbers being this low. We have a holiday tomorrow, but I'll see if I can take her in on Tuesday.
 
Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear this, I know it is very hard to see our kitties like that..
If she was my cat I would definitely take her back to the vet for further checks and tests to see if there's anything particular that causes her these symptoms and maybe could be treated. Especially odd as she's not on insulin and her BG levels are within the normal range..
Maybe time is all she needs to regain her health back but I would have her checked out anyway just to be sure and to be on the safe side.
I hope she will improve soon, I'm thinking about you and sending you big virtual hugs...:bighug:
 
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