Update - Extreme hypo

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Vegetable (GA)

Vegetable (GA)

Member Since 2015
vrgetable is having s severe hypo tonight. I tested her & she was at 0.6 so immediately fed high carb food & honey on the guns followed by some u owe tablets dissolved in water. Veg was having a seizure when I found her!!

I got another test & she was up 1.6 then 15 minutes later up to 3.9, I'll test again in 15 minutes. She's eating on her own now so I keep giving her high carb food with honey as long as she will eat.

How long do I keep testing & what do I need to watch for tonight for the effects of the seizure?
 
I would rub honey or syrup on her gums, and take her to the vet. That is an extremely low number. (11 for the US crowd). It would be good for the vet to see if she has any effects from the seizure. How long after the shot did you test Vegetable at 0.6/11? Just wondering what point of the cycle you are at. The effects of the Lantus depot could last for a while yet. I am worried about the numbers dropping again too.
 
I just calculated out the 0.6 to US numbers and got 10.8! That's exceptionally low!

It's good that she's coming up but you'll have to watch for her dropping again as the honey and food wear off. And I see Wendy has just posted while I was typing - I second the call to take Vegetable to a vet - that's an incredibly low number and I think she would benefit from at least being checked out by a vet with possibly some treatment to prevent her dropping again later in the cycle if it looks like that's where she's heading. And well done on handling that number quickly. :bighug:
 
Lantus hypos can last 16 hours. Good to hear she is coming up, but I'd keep testing regularly to the end of that 16 hours. Test again in 1/2 hour and please update the spreadsheet, I don't know when that 6.8/122 was.

I'm worried that she had a seizure. What symptoms was she showing? I think a vet should check her out. Kitties can be more sensitive to insulin after an actual hypo.
 
I don't know what someone she had, I was at work & I came home & found her seizing. I immediately checked her blood sugar & started the high carb food & honey.

Now she seems wobbly. She's perking up & lots of purrs now. I'll update my spreadsheet soon.
 
I agree with Wendy. Regardless that she is coming up,mid get her to the vet and have them check her...IMHO. We have no idea what kind of residual issues could occur and a vet needs to advise you about the next dose....when and how much.
 
At the very, very, very least, I would call your vet or the ER. As Wendy said, a hypoglycemic event such as this can go on for hours. You will need to monitor and very carefully watch Veg's numbers. If the numbers start down again, please get to the ER.
 
I also agree...the seizure component as well as the continued wobbliness is very concerning and I would have her checked out by a vet, even though her numbers are coming up. Hypos are nothing to mess around with.
 
Time for that next test. Paws crossed she's still up. How is she acting now? Still wobbly?

Thanks for working on the SS Jennifer. There seems to be data missing from the last couple of days too?
 
Thank you all for the replies. I contacted the bet & he said to monitor her closely & report back in a couple hours. She stopped seizing & it's been over about 2 hours since her hypo now. The wobbles are better, she snuggled on my lap & she was talking back a bit so that's a good sign.

I'll test her every half hour for the next few hours & call the vet back with her numbers. She's up to 17.6 at her +12

I know I have data missing from the last couple days, it's been a long rough week around here so I'm behind on updating her ss.
 
Thanks for the update Jennifer - I was worried about Veg. :bighug: Sounds like she's out of the woods, at least now. Did the vet have any advice about insulin?
 
@Wendy&Neko veg seems to be perking up even more now, she's grooming herself now. She needs a bath really bad, we're both covered in cat food & syrup but it got the job done so it's worth it.

No advice on the insulin from the vet, but I'm not sure I would take his advice anyway. Last time he wanted veg to be on a full 1 unit once a day & only check her blood sugar a couple times a week. Sounds like the typical response from a vet.
 
Hi Jen, just wanted to offer you a little support. I agree with the others - if you can't get her to the vet, keep testing her til tomorrow. That was extraordinarily low. In fact, I don't think I've heard of a reading that low before. It's a good thing that you came home when you did.
 
So glad to hear she's on the way up and feeling better. I agree with Julie...that's probably the lowest I've ever seen. Thankfully, you got home when you did.
 
Thanks for the support its been a very scary evening. How often should I be testing tonight? Every hour? Since the hypo started about 3.5 hours ago now I've been testing every 20 - 30 minutes.

Veg is either bouncing or the effects of the food & honey are showing up cause she's now at 24.6 at what would be her PM +1

The wobbles are gone & shes perked up allot. No more seizures so that's very good news & she just ate a few bites of her low carb food.
 
SS updated.

In going to test again in 30 minutes so it will be her pm +2, then hopefully that can give me a better idea how her BS is doing.
 
ok, i see the +13/433 - I think you could wait 2 hrs before checking her again. She may bounce from being so low - that wouldn't be unexpected.
 
Well handled and hopefully no ill effects. Not much experience with seizures but do know that there is disorientation and unsteadiness. Would this be the same for our furry loved ones? Sending healing thoughts.
 
@MaineLove yes you are correct. The unsteadiness is defiantly the same for people as it is for our furry friends.

One thing I do notice in myself when my BS starts to get low is the tiredness after. It's easy to get the BS up but it does take allot out of you so I can't imagine what vegetable is feeling tonight.

@julie & punkin (ga) so far so good. Vegetable is looking better then she was a few hours ago & she's not bouncing off the chart with her BS. Plus she's getting her attitude back, she's mad cause spaz stole her favourite blanket to sleep on at the end of the bed.

DH & I are going to take turns monitoring her every 2 hours for the rest of the night so I'm off to bed for a couple hours of sleep. I'll try to keep updating my ss after each test tonight & I will report back in the morning.
 
sounds good. If she starts dropping, then you may need to test more often - you'll want to just take it one test at a time.

You'll want your vet to give you guidance on when to restart the insulin and how much the dose should be. It should definitely be reduced from the 0.5u that took her so low today, of course.
 
Update: Vegetable made it through the night with no problems! It was a long night for both of us as I was up checking her blood sugar every two hours.

This morning she is more chatty then she was last night & no obvious signs of any complications from the hypo & seizure. She's been eating her low carb food again & drinking water as well as she used the litter box with no problem.

I called the after hours vet this morning & they said to restart the insulin but at a lower dose. After a long discussion about the dosage we decided on .1 units for a few days, feed every 2-3 hours & monitor closely. Vegetable will be going in for a checkup on Wednesday to a new vet.
 
Thought you might find the following helpful.

Drop dosing

Using a colored liquid, so you can see it more easily, fill a syringe to 0.5 units.
Slowly squeeze out equal-sized drops, maybe by twisting the plunger, until you can get the same number of drops per 0.5 units every time.

Now, you can draw up more than the amount you need, and squeeze out drops to the dose you want.
You discharge the excess into the sink.

Decreases may be done a drop at a time.
 
So glad Vegetable is ok:)

@BJM I have a question about the drop dosing. My husband decided to try that this am with regular liquid to just see how much insulin Trouble is getting, as it looks like such a small amount in the syringes and when we reduce next we feel like it will be hard to see how to reduce. We are measuring bd syringes with calipers and have since his first dose reduction.

He is on .5 u (or that is what the measurement with the calipers says).. Anyways- when he squeezes out the test liquid- he gets two large drops.. So if we were to decrease a dose (when the time is right) we would just take it down to 1 drop. And then if we needed to go to .1.... how would that work?

Just a bit confused- and wanted to make sure we were doing it correctly :) Are there any tricks to make the drops smaller ?

Thanks In Advance!
 
I'm on my phone right now so can't find it easily. Someone on the board will find and post the pictures for you for some of the smaller measurements folks have described.

The viscosity/thickness of the liquid may alter the drop size. Twisting the barrel while applying slight pressure may help control the drop size to. It really depends on the size of the drops - some folks have made smaller drops, flicked them off after each one, rather than letting them fall by gravity.
Another tactic is to push the plunger into the syringe firmly, hold it there, insert into the insulin, and relax the pressure, drawing up a tiny dose.
 
BJM said:
I'm on my phone right now so can't find it easily. Someone on the board will find and post the pictures for you for some of the smaller measurements folks have described.

The viscosity/thickness of the liquid may alter the drop size. Twisting the barrel while applying slight pressure may help control the drop size to. It really depends on the size of the drops - some folks have made smaller drops, flicked them off after each one, rather than letting them fall by gravity.
Another tactic is to push the plunger into the syringe firmly, hold it there, insert into the insulin, and relax the pressure, drawing up a tiny dose.
Click to expand...

Thanks @BJM - Appreciate it! Someone on the Lantus board shared the sticky with me on smaller doses so will look there for the pictures! I appreciate the quick reply and the tips!!

Have a wonderful day!
 
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