Bs in 40's at time of next insulin

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Deb14

Member Since 2015
Hi. My kitty has been on the tight protocol for about 5wks, my question is she had a bs of 44 at the time for her next lantus injection. I keep feeding her worried she'll drop in the 30's. I withheld her injection ... It was scheduled for 10 pm which was 4 hrs ago. Should I give her something I hate to just stop the lantus. Hope to hear from someone as I'm lost .. Thanks so much
 
You were right not to give insulin with a bs of 44. If you and your cat are new to insulin at first you don't give insulin if the bs is under 200. You gradually work towards dosing your kitty at lower bs levels when you know it is safe to do so by having done lots of home glucose tests and monitoring. I don't feel confident to give dosing advice but you did the right thing not to give your kitty insulin with the bs as low as it was. What is the bs now? You need to keep checking the glucose level every 20 minutes because it is under 50 to make sure it is rising. You can feed some food with honey in it. I will post the dealing with lower numbers information to you. Here is the information you need.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...regulation-shooting-handling-low-numbers.147/
 
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Whoa! That is too low for someone new to shoot. Glad your cat is OK.
Please see my signature link Glucometer Notes for some glucose reference ranges using various meters.

And welcome to FDMB!
 
Hi
Thank you so much all of u replying .

I ended up giving her insulin at 2:45 am her bs went up to 120 after 2 hrs and feeding. Oh and I am using the alphatrak 2 for animals .im reading the the numbers are lower by around 30 compared to a human glycometer.
Her 6 hrs peak was 60 today... I'm just editing to see if it spikes at 8-12 hr since her steroid was given at 3:00 ... Lol I'm not a night person but my family thinks I'm a vampire hahaa.
I've done many curves, also check bs at peak time , before injection etc quite frequently.
She's probably ready for a reduction which im thrilled with. Ive waited and watch her very closely .. As she's had low numbers (nadir ) in the past 9 days. If it's under 100 I feed and wait till it's over 100 before dosing. Which has worked,,but keep checking her both bs and activity etc every hr or so even at night . I'm tired and haven't gone out very long, but she's my baby lol and I really feel she will go in remission. I have honey on hand just in case.
It's a tricky situation because she was diagnosed with either small lymphoma or ibd back in sept. But due to her being so sick and only 4 lbs they only did an ultrasound ...so they couldn't confirm the cancer. endoscopy was too dangerous . She has been on steroids since then which caused the diabetes. Shes healthy and is weighing almost at 10 lb miracle cat the vet says as he gave her only 3 mths at the most. She has been on a raw diet since February which I feel made a difference in her health and feeding her every 3 hrs reduced the acid in her stomach and the vomiting .
Her diabetes symptoms where difficult to catch because steroids is very similiar as far as urination etc uggh. But moms intuition to drop off urine thank God!
Her steroids were reduced instead of every day.. to every 3rd day. Hoping diabetes would go away on its own but after 3 wks of tapering the steroids we decided lantus was to be given the bs numbers where still high.
She does not have neuropathy and and keytones ever .
It's very hard to regulated her bs because after 8 -12 hrs after steroid is given it will cause her bs to spike . Originally it went quite high400-500. But I believe her beta cells have healed because her highest bs for a 24 hr was 225 after steroid. Then the following 2 days she has low numbers (Nader) from 79- till yesterday at 44 after eating. A high of 115. My vet says he's never had a cat go into remission on steroids.
A big disappointment but I hope someone on this site has a similiar situation to mine. Bless you all for helping out it is so kind of all of you. Take care
Debbie
 
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44 on an AlphaTrak * 0.6 to 0.7 = 26.4 to 30.8 mg/dL on a human glucometer

This is dangerously low on an AlphaTrak. If you get a test at that level, feed high carb gravy or syrup ASAP.

And she has earned a reduction of 0.25 units lower by going so low.

As you get your test data in a spreadsheet, and we have a chance to review it, it may be possible to work out a basal Lantus dose, with a small drop or so of a short acting insulin whenever you have to use the steroid.
 
Can we get you started using our grid to record your glucose tests? It will help us give you better feedback. Instructions are here.

Understanding the spreadsheet/grid:

The colored headings at the top are the ranges of glucose values. They are color-coded to clue you in as to meaning.

Each day is 1 row. Each column stores different data for the day.

From left to right, you enter
the Date in the first column
the AMPS (morning pre-shot test) in the 2nd column
the Units given (turquoise column)

Then, there are 11 columns labeled +1 through +11
If you test at +5 (5 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +5 column
If you test at +7 (7 hours after the shot), you enter the test number in the +7 column
and so on.

Halfway across the page is the column for PMPS (evening pre-shot)
To the right is another turquoise column for Units given at the evening shot.

There is second set of columns labeled +1 through +11
If you snag a before bed test at +3, you enter the test number in the +3 column.

We separate day and night numbers like that because many cats go lower at night.

It is merely a grid for storing the info; no math required.
 
BJM said:
44 on an AlphaTrak * 0.6 to 0.7 = 26.4 to 30.8 mg/dL on a human glucometer

This is dangerously low on an AlphaTrak. If you get a test at that level, feed high carb gravy or syrup ASAP.

And she has earned a reduction of 0.25 units lower by going so low.

As you get your test data in a spreadsheet, and we have a chance to review it, it may be possible to work out a basal Lantus dose, with a small drop or so of a short acting insulin whenever you have to use the steroid.
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If you've ever had to revive a cat that is suffering a hypoglycemic seizure you won't want to experience it again and you will monitor very carefully and not give insulin when readings are below 200 let alone double digit numbers. If your getting readings in the 40's better have the Karo Syrup ready.
 
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I would also add that my experience with meters is that using an AlphaTrak is a much better way to go because it requires 1/2 as much blood as a people meter. Much better when dealing with an animal to whom you can't explain why you're sticking him with a needle and then squeezing and rubbing to get more blood out. Also, the very small drop required by a vet meter means less chance of getting blood on furniture, carpets or clothing. IMO way too much time wasted on sites like this with which meter is more accurate. Any decent meter will give you an adequate reading within 20 or so points. Enough to let you know if your animal has a problem. If he does get him to the vet. (Also, way too much time wasted by people on this sight who are too timid to fire and replace a bad vet. The animal should come first not some impatient incompetent's feelings.)
 
Actually the Relion Micro Meter uses a tiny drop of blood. I have been concerned when reading side by side comparisons so last week I had my vet run a fructosamine which I gave refused in the past. It came out normal so my meter is keeping Max safe and tightly controlled.

I would never shoot that low a number on an Alpha.
 
CalBob said:
IMO way too much time wasted on sites like this with which meter is more accurate. Any decent meter will give you an adequate reading within 20 or so points. Enough to let you know if your animal has a problem. If he does get him to the vet. (Also, way too much time wasted by people on this sight who are too timid to fire and replace a bad vet. The animal should come first not some impatient incompetent's feelings.)
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With all due respect, CalBob, you always have the choice of skipping any posts to do with differences in meters and, last time I checked, grown ups are permitted to spend time debating whatever they wish. After all, it is their time to spend, waste, or invest and some folks would rather go through the exercise of investigating for themselves.

You are equally entitled to your opinion on a strategy for a so-called "bad vet" ; however, postulating that anyone working out a difference of opinion with a vet necessarily constitutes timidity or that someone isn't putting their pet first lies outside your judgement if you don't have all the facts. By all means handle your own situation as you see fit!
 
CalBob said:
and not give insulin when readings are below 200 .
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UNLESS you have the data from home-testing to know that you can shoot on a lower number. Of course this requires careful monitoring to make sure kitty stays above 50 on a human meter (or 68 on an AlphaTrak), as BJ stated. There is also good research out there supporting the use of human glucometers for home-monitoring cats. Either type is fine as long as you understand the number ranges of YOUR meter.

@Deb14, it sounds like your kitty has definitely earned a dose reduction! Keep us posted.

Joan
 
my cat has been on Lantus for 14 mths. i have been diligent with her curves and monitoring her. she has been on Lantus for 13.5 mths. She originally started with 2 units. her nadir is around 50 sometimes in the high 40's and her pre insulin at 12 hrs has been at 77-80 . i decided to reduce her dose by just a few drops each time. She is now at 3/4 unit. im hoping she's going into remission. i know it's extremely rare but it kinda looks like she's heading in that direction. I've noticed that the syringes are never the same markings..meaning the top line isn't always in the same location it sometimes is higher on the syringe or lower....as i compared them to each other. So i decided to measure what i thought was 1 unit (stick with it as a base to follow)which looks to be 3mm. so i marked it on a piece of paper and have been using that guide instead of the syringe markings. wow!!! now i know why she was all over the place these past 6 mths. so I'm asking is it possible that she could go into remission? is there anything else i can do. I'm still checking her bs before shoot and at 5-6 hrs after and pre shoot. all i can think of is to decrease her dose by a few drops and stay there for at least 3-5 days till she stabilizes then decrease again. im going slow and so far it is working her numbers are still at 78-80 12 hrs from last injection. any suggestions.....im so excited never thought after 14 mths she could finally be off. hope to hear back.. thank you so much.
 
Deb, it is very possible that she could go into remission. My Shiloh did after about 4 months. And has been off the juice for almost 11 months now.
 
Shiloh & Rhonda said:
Deb, it is very possible that she could go into remission. My Shiloh did after about 4 months. And has been off the juice for almost 11 months now.
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Thx u for the reply. That's awesome your kitty is still in remission. I'm hoping but ive read that if its to happen its at about 4 mths like yours did. Just checked her bs nadir is still high 50's . I guess I will continue reducing by a few drops every 3-4 days . She's on about 3/4 of a unit maybe a tad less. let's hope
 
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