Low BG scare

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Goby

Goby

Member Since 2016
Goby was acting "off" tonight so we decided to take his BG levels. 2 hours after Lantus he was at 69. We've given him probably 4 oz of Karo on treats and he's eaten half a can of wet food and a bit of dry food (which we just had leftover from before his diabetes diagnosis). He was diagnosed in early January and just began to stabilize at the end of Feb.
We will wait until the 4 hr mark and take BG again. Anyone been through this or any advice? He acts ok now but was restless and a little clumsy earlier which is what prompted us to check on him. Worried about him and worry we're going to stay up all night worrying...
 
If you gave him 4 oz of karo he'll be alright lol that's a lot of karo!! I don't think BG is considered to be critical until it hits 50 on a human meter or somewhere in the higher 60's on a pet meter. Which meter are you using? I haven't had any experience with my own cat going too low yet though so I can't be of much more help than that.
 
Are you using a human meter or a pet meter for testing? What was the preshot number?

On a human meter 69 is not too low but at +2 it is still early in the cycle. The best approach at that number is to feed a bit of low or medium carb and retest in 30 minutes. If the numbers are still dropping then you would try high carb or karo depending on how low the number are
 
A lot depends on what the number was at preshot time. A huge drop in the first 2 hours could signal a very active cycle.

You should not give a lot of food all at once, since if you need to feed more food to bring numbers up you want the cat to be hungry enough to eat.

With that amount of karo and food and dry food the numbers should be high for awhile but I would still retest after 30 minutes from the last test
 
Thanks for the quick replies. We are using the AlphaTrax blood glucose meter. I'll stop panicking and wait and see what the next reading is now that he's had some food. :-)
Unfortunately we didn't take a BG reading pre shot. He's been pretty high typically pre shot. A few days ago he was 370 or so. We haven't gotten a reading below 180 so we were pretty shaken up and confused by it.
 
Goby said:
Thanks for the quick replies. We are using the AlphaTrax blood glucose meter. I'll stop panicking and wait and see what the next reading is now that he's had some food. :)
Unfortunately we didn't take a BG reading pre shot. He's been pretty high typically pre shot. A few days ago he was 370 or so. We haven't gotten a reading below 180 so we were pretty shaken up and confused by it.
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On the AT2 meter you want the number to be 68 or higher to feel comfortable with the number. At +2 after shot it is probable that number would continue to drop

For safety you should always do a test before giving a shot. You can never tell when a kitty may start reacting stronger to the insulin or if the pancreas suddenly kicks in and releases some natural insulin on its own. The rule of thumb for safety is always test before the shot to make sure it is safe to give and one (or more if possible) tests around +2 or +3 after shot. Lantus generally will start to show effects at about +2 or +3 although this can vary with different cats. The "usual" time for the nadir (the lowest reading) with Lantus is around +4-+6 after the shot, but this too can vary. It would be very useful if you started a spreadsheet and recorded regular testing numbers. This gives a great overview on how your kitty is doing and how he is reacting to the dose of insulin.
 
My kitty tends to run high. However I have had days where he started at 400 in the morning and ended up at 61 in the evening (I use the AT2 pet meter as well)

Another time his preshot test was 322 and his +8 test was 50.

Another day his +6 evening reading was 272 and his morning preshot reading was 36.

You never know what is happening unless you are testing. Testing is always a good safety point with diabetic cats.
 
Just took BG again and it's now at 147. Whew. I don't understand how people manage to test at least twice daily every time. It feels like we're torturing him and he hates it. Not only that but we work during the day so how are we to get midday readings every day? We do what we can on weekends. How do other people manage to take blood 3x daily? Our vet recommended only once weekly and a mini curve once monthly. I don't want to feel like a bad pet mom, but this is making me feel a bit stuck. Just glad he's doing alright.
 
Goby said:
Just took BG again and it's now at 147. Whew. I don't understand how people manage to test at least twice daily every time. It feels like we're torturing him and he hates it. Not only that but we work during the day so how are we to get midday readings every day? We do what we can on weekends. How do other people manage to take blood 3x daily? Our vet recommended only once weekly and a mini curve once monthly. I don't want to feel like a bad pet mom, but this is making me feel a bit stuck. Just glad he's doing alright.
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I'm almost always gone during the day too and I'm the only one caring for Diego, so I take his BG twice a day before each shot. Once upon waking up somewhere between 7-8 and once right when I get home which is usually at or before 6:15. Other than that I just monitor him for clinical signs that something might be off with him. I don't feel guilty for not being there to test 3+ times a day. If I don't work I can't make money to buy his food, medicine, or other ridiculous luxury items that I'm always buying him. Don't beat yourself up for not being able to put your entire life on pause to stay at home with him more...that's just the life of a working mama. Once weekly is not enough. My vet told me to test before each shot to make sure he's above 250. If you're only testing once weekly then you'll be blindly shooting a dangerous hormone into a tiny little cat for the other 6 days of the week and then leaving for work with no way to predict what might happen. I can't believe some vets give advice like this...
 
Goby said:
Just took BG again and it's now at 147. Whew. I don't understand how people manage to test at least twice daily every time. It feels like we're torturing him and he hates it. Not only that but we work during the day so how are we to get midday readings every day? We do what we can on weekends. How do other people manage to take blood 3x daily? Our vet recommended only once weekly and a mini curve once monthly. I don't want to feel like a bad pet mom, but this is making me feel a bit stuck. Just glad he's doing alright.
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Good the number is up to 147, but that is still most likely food/karo influenced so if possible it would be good to get another reading in an hour just to be safe.

Unfortunately many vets are not up to date with feline diabetes. If the vet had a child with diabetes would they only test glucose levels once weekly??

Testing gets easier as you and you kitty get most accustomed to it. My kitty howled when I first started, now he knows the routine and walks over to his test area and waits. He always gets a low carb treat after and he is VERY food motivated. Treats or lots of cuddles can work wonders to make the process go easier.

If you are able to arrange your time to do a preshot test, feed and shoot and then do a +2 hour after shot test that will give a good indication of what his numbers might be.
 
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Goby said:
Just took BG again and it's now at 147. Whew. I don't understand how people manage to test at least twice daily every time. It feels like we're torturing him and he hates it. Not only that but we work during the day so how are we to get midday readings every day? We do what we can on weekends. How do other people manage to take blood 3x daily? Our vet recommended only once weekly and a mini curve once monthly. I don't want to feel like a bad pet mom, but this is making me feel a bit stuck. Just glad he's doing alright.
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Hi!!
When I started testing I thought I was "supposed" to prick the vein on the ear and it was pretty awful for my guy--I now prick the ear as close to the edge as possible.
The more I learned and tested (we test often) when you find the "sweet spot" it doesn't phase my cat at all in fact he comes when I call him and sits to be tested and I know most people give treats after which is great but he doesn't even care. Besides the location of the prick on the ear if you slightly pinch where you poke and go at a 45 degree angle it makes a huge difference. This picture helped me tons!:bighug:
laur_danny_famoussweetspot.jpg
 
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