Tigger's numbers changing!!

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CarolandTigger

CarolandTigger

Member Since 2015
Dont know what to make of this, but I'm getting readings well below 200 on Tigger the last 3-4 mornings! Down to 65 at one point! This is certainly a first! But then his evening reading climbs right back up to the 300's. So what to make of this new pattern?
 
Your dose is likely too high. Unless you can snag a test around +4 hours post shot at night to check that he is safe, he could be in danger of hypoglycemia. Maybe back off to 2 units so you can shoot safely twice a day - no insulin lasts 2 hours in the cat.

He should stay above 50 mg/dL on a human meter and above 68 mg/dL on a pet meter.
 
He's still getting low numbers in the morning. This morning he was 150! So again, no insulin in the morning. Waiting till tonight to test and he'll probably be high like he has been and then I'll give him his 3 units of Vetsulin. . Or, if I reduced him starting tonight, can I go down a full unit to 2 or should I just do a 1/2 unit decrease ? A few months ago when the vet increased his dose, she only raised him half a unit. I don't even want to call her cause I think she'll just say the same thing all of you will, so I trust all your opinions!
 
I've never used Vetsulin so I'm no expert, but on other insulins, we generally say "if you keep getting 1 pre-shot that's too low to shoot, the dose is too high"

I might try only giving 1.5 or 2U tonight and see how he's doing in the morning...The goal is to find a dose that you CAN give at least every 12 hours. Some people even have had to do every 8 hour shots with Vetsulin because it wears off so quickly...but that takes a LOT of dedication on the caretaker's part
 
Chris & China said:
I've never used Vetsulin so I'm no expert, but on other insulins, we generally say "if you keep getting 1 pre-shot that's too low to shoot, the dose is too high"

I might try only giving 1.5 or 2U tonight and see how he's doing in the morning...The goal is to find a dose that you CAN give at least every 12 hours. Some people even have had to do every 8 hour shots with Vetsulin because it wears off so quickly...but that takes a LOT of dedication on the caretaker's part
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Hi Carol, I'm a Vetsulin user, too, and Chris' suggestion is what I would suggest, also. I've had the same issues with Squallie at times.
 
Well, as you can see from his spreadsheet....we dropped his dose down to 2u from 3, and almost immediately his numbers climbed...in the morning AND evening! So I got scared and went back to the 3 u . I definitely need to talk to his vet about this. I just feel so defeated..like I'm not helping him at all
Carol
 
You really need to start getting some mid-cycle tests on the AM cycle and at least a "before bed" test at night

It's totally possible that he's going too low and by the next time you test, his liver has released stored sugars and hormones to bring him back up fast...He "bounced"

We've seen cats here that would go from 400 to 40 and back to 400 in the same cycle...the only way to know is to get some more tests in to see what's going on inside Tigger's body
 
Carol, if you get a chance, take a look at Squallie's SS, you'll see all the times lately he's had high numbers but at the next Pre-Shot, is too low to shoot, or only just over the edge of where I feel safe giving him his shot. You can see the mistake I made today when I gave him 1 unit in the morning after he tested so high, when you look at the really low numbers he had the rest of the day. Then he was too low to shoot tonight (again), but will probably "bounce," so he'll be high again tomorrow AM. I should have held his morning dose today at 0.5U. It's hard, but holding at a lower dose till you ride out the bounce is sometimes the only answer.

Don't feel defeated, you are helping him, it just takes time and patience. You are a good Cat Mom, and you're doing a great job with Tigger! :)
 
In my experience changing the dose by a unit is too drastic of a change but I am familiar only with U100 insulins ... I was also wondering if it will make sense when you see a low pre-shot number wait for half-hour or an hour and re-test again to catch when Tigger goes over your "safe shoot" number (say 200) and give him his dose then?
 
Thanks so much for your suggestions,,,I will try! Tigger is back to his normal readings...no lows yet. I'm going to try and get more readings when I'm home, which is hard.
 
Squalliesmom said:
Carol, if you get a chance, take a look at Squallie's SS, you'll see all the times lately he's had high numbers but at the next Pre-Shot, is too low to shoot, or only just over the edge of where I feel safe giving him his shot. You can see the mistake I made today when I gave him 1 unit in the morning after he tested so high, when you look at the really low numbers he had the rest of the day. Then he was too low to shoot tonight (again), but will probably "bounce," so he'll be high again tomorrow AM. I should have held his morning dose today at 0.5U. It's hard, but holding at a lower dose till you ride out the bounce is sometimes the only answer.

Don't feel defeated, you are helping him, it just takes time and patience. You are a good Cat Mom, and you're doing a great job with Tigger! :)
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Question: So are you imagining that he went really low on 11/16 PM and the 527 was a big bounce?
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Question: So are you imagining that he went really low on 11/16 PM and the 527 was a big bounce?
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I think that 527 is most likely an anomaly and I'll never know what caused it, but I should have held his dose to 0.5, maybe a tiny bit over. By giving him a full 1U I caused him to go too low pretty much for the rest of the day. He was too low to shoot at PM so was a little elevated again this AM, but thankfully not too bad.
 
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