First Hypo number just now!!!

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JanetNJ

JanetNJ

Member Since 2016
OK, got my first number too low... 59 on an alphatrak meter... just gave her a few Temptations to bring it up. She was acting totally normal.

What do you think, test again in 15-20 min?
 
First I would retest again. That number is very low in comparison to the AMPS. If it is still low give some Karo syrup, maple syrup or anything like that and some HC wet food...use the gravy part.. and retest again in 10-15 minutes and repost

ETA Especially with Vetsulin/Caninsulin on a pet meter you want to get the numbers up at at least 68...preferably around 100
 
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JanetNJ said:
ok, I retested after giving some treats and food about 15 minutes ago and it's 68
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I would give a bit more HC and retest in 15-20 minutes and repost. I can't tell for sure when C.C. has her nadir on Vetsulin but it seems to be around +6 or maybe +7 so you want to make sure the number stays up.
 
After the fast acting portion of the Vetsulin reaches its peak the intermediate portion will take effect, but it shouldn;t cause any more major drops. Right now you just want to keep the numbers up and holding
 
Janet, that low number is quite a surprise given your kitty's typical numbers recently. Has anything changed in the last 24 - 48 hours? Lower carb food for example...?
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Janet, the reason to give syrup/karo/honey is that these work the fastest to raise blood glucose. Temptations treats will raise blood glucose, but they generally do it a bit more slowly (although the effect can last much longer than simple sugars like syrup/karo/honey.)

BTW, you are doing a great job! And the 'chances are' that your kitty is close to or past the peak of the insulin cycle, but it's important to be vigilant and keep her safe at this point. :)
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Another thing to consider in the future. Since Vetsulin tends to be a faster acting, harsher insulin, you should do a test at +2 since that is "usually" when the Vetsulin starts working. That way if you see any big drops at that time you can intervene with HC food.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Janet, that low number is quite a surprise given your kitty's typical numbers recently. Has anything changed in the last 24 - 48 hours? Lower carb food for example...?
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we are giving her the same food but being more careful about not letting her "sneak" any tastes of the other cats' food.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
..Another thing to consider in the future. Since Vetsulin tends to be a faster acting, harsher insulin, you should do a test at +2 since that is "usually" when the Vetsulin starts working.
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Seconding what Mary Ann said above. That test a couple of hours after the shot can give vital clues as to how the insulin cycle may go...
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Tuxedo Mom said:
I would give a bit more HC and retest in 15-20 minutes and repost. I can't tell for sure when C.C. has her nadir on Vetsulin but it seems to be around +6 or maybe +7 so you want to make sure the number stays up.
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ty, will do.

I emailed my vet at 2pm and she wrote me right back (don't you love when that happens???) and said :

"Yes I would definitely lower her insulin dose to 2.5 units and keep monitoring her BGs. If she eats her BG should go back up to normal. If tonight its low <80 don't give her any insulin. If its between 80-150 I would only give 1 unit. 150-300 2 units and if its >300 then the 2.5 should be fine. Make sure she has food available at all times incase her sugar drops."

I don't think I would give any if it's less than 120 though. what do you all think of her scale?
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Janet, the reason to give syrup/karo/honey is that these work the fastest to raise blood glucose. Temptations treats will raise blood glucose, but they generally do it a bit more slowly (although the effect can last much longer than simple sugars like syrup/karo/honey.)

BTW, you are doing a great job! And the 'chances are' that your kitty is close to or past the peak of the insulin cycle, but it's important to be vigilant and keep her safe at this point. :)
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ty for your reply. She is VERY carb sensitive, and it seems like the Temptations quickly went to work. (They are part of what got us into this mess to begin with! She was a Temptations addict, and I stupidly gave into her requests often. she was happy to eat them after not getting them for so long! haha)
 
JanetNJ said:
ty, will do.

I emailed my vet at 2pm and she wrote me right back (don't you love when that happens???) and said :

"Yes I would definitely lower her insulin dose to 2.5 units and keep monitoring her BGs. If she eats her BG should go back up to normal. If tonight its low <80 don't give her any insulin. If its between 80-150 I would only give 1 unit. 150-300 2 units and if its >300 then the 2.5 should be fine. Make sure she has food available at all times incase her sugar drops."

I don't think I would give any if it's less than 120 though. what do you all think of her scale?
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Janet

How great that your vet got back to you so soon. I agree with you to not shoot under 120 at this time, since you don't have enough data on how CC does with lower preshots. Also be prepared to do the +2 test if you are shooting low. I don't know exactly what number should be used as a no shoot level, since Vetsulin can drop the numbers like a rock


Did you get another test yet?
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
What do you think the no shoot number should be?
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Hmmm... ...This is a bit of a puzzle because of a) the sudden lower numbers today, and b) the fact that dropping into hypo range may have made the kitty even more sensitive to insulin... But the Temptation carbs (and any bouncing) will skew the next preshot... At this point (assuming the next preshot is high enough to shoot) I'd probably suggest reducing the dose by half, and seeing how that plays out... ...Because it's an 'in and out' insulin the dose can easily be raised later if it's not sufficient.... But I actually wonder if the pancreas is waking up and also adding into the mix.... ...What do you think, Mary Ann?
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It would be good to make notations on your spreadsheet about the additional tests and what you fed at each one. This will give you good information on how CC responds to food when she is low.

You could give a small amount of her regular food and retest in 30 minutes, so make sure the HC from the Temptations is not wearing off.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Hmmm... ...This is a bit of a puzzle because of a) the sudden lower numbers today, and b) the fact that dropping into hypo range may have made the kitty even more sensitive to insulin... But the Temptation carbs (and any bouncing) will skew the next preshot... At this point (assuming the next preshot is high enough to shoot) I'd probably suggest reducing the dose by half, and seeing how that plays out... ...Because it's an 'in and out' insulin the dose can easily be raised later if it's not sufficient.... But I actually wonder if the pancreas is waking up and also adding into the mix.... ...What do you think, Mary Ann?
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What you say makes a lot of sense.
1. Possible insulin sensitivity because of the hypo number
2. Possible higher number because of the HC Temptations and very possibly a bounce from the hypo number which could make the PMPS numbers not totally reliable for making a dose decision.

I think @Elizabeth and Bertie 's idea to only give a shot of 1.5 units tonight might be the safest approach. As she said the dose can always be increased if the numbers stay high. But with a sudden hypo number just out of the blue like that, safety should be the first concern
 
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I'll test again in a few and see how it's going. THanks for all your help and advice guys. I'm glad this happened during the day when I could really monitor it. She's been getting such weird/different readings the last few days. Like last night when she was still in the blues after the Vetsulin had worn off. I'm sure hoping that's a sign that her pancreas is "waking up".
 
The thing with Vetsulin is that the "usual" response starts at +2 and "usually" peaks out around +4 or +5 and then the numbers slowly rise again until the next preshot. HOWEVER...having said that... our kitties can do the unexpected some times. There are a few people using Vetsulin that get a much longer duration than the "usual" 4 or 5 hours. At this point we don't know what CC has in store for you.;)
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
What you say makes a lot of sense.
1. Possible insulin sensitivity because of the hypo number
2. Possible higher number because of the HC Temptations and very possibly a bounce from the hypo number which could make the PMPS numbers either not totally reliable.

I think @Elizabeth and Bertie 's idea to only give a shot of 1.5 units tonight might be the safest approach. As she said the dose can always be increased if the numbers stay high. But with a sudden hypo number just out of the blue like that, safety should be the first concern
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Her preshot test tonight isn't until 9 pm. I would think 6 or 7 Temptations given at 2pm would have worn off by then. I only gave 1.5 last night too because of the lower PMPS. I would be ok doing a lower dose tonight. Esp. since I can't monitor as much throughout the night.
 
JanetNJ said:
I'll test again in a few and see how it's going. THanks for all your help and advice guys. I'm glad this happened during the day when I could really monitor it. She's been getting such weird/different readings the last few days. Like last night when she was still in the blues after the Vetsulin had worn off. I'm sure hoping that's a sign that her pancreas is "waking up".
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Another test would be good just to be on the safe side. Did you see the comments Eliz and I made about perhaps only doing 1.5 units tonight...of course that will also depend on what the prehot number is. If you get a lower than expected preshot please post for advice before shooting.

If CC is staying in the same range after your next test, then she should be good to go until preshot time. If everything is good with the numbers you can take off the "911" prefix
 
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JanetNJ said:
Her preshot test tonight isn't until 9 pm. I would think 6 or 7 Temptations given at 2pm would have worn off by then. I only gave 1.5 last night too because of the lower PMPS. I would be ok doing a lower dose tonight. Esp. since I can't monitor as much throughout the night.
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Sometime the HC treats take longer to clear the system than a HC wet food, so there could still be a carry over effect from the Temptations. As I said in my posting above if you have any concerns about the preshot number please post before shooting, especially if you are not able to monitor tonight.
 
And by the way...GOOD JOB on handling your first hypo number. You were cool, calm and collected...much better than me with MY first hypo number :rolleyes:

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Tuxedo Mom said:
Sometime the HC treats take longer to clear the system than a HC wet food, so there could still be a carry over effect from the Temptations. As I said in my posting above if you have any concerns about the preshot number please post before shooting, especially if you are not able to monitor tonight.
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Oh i didn't realize treats take longer to clear. interesting. I'll go do a + 6 test now....

102. we're good.
 
I just ran to the vet's office to buy a box of very overpriced test strips. That will teach me to not have an extra box on hand. I have a box getting delivered on tues. lol annoying. haha
 
JanetNJ said:
I just ran to the vet's office to buy a box of very overpriced test strips. That will teach me to not have an extra box on hand. I have a box getting delivered on tues. lol annoying. haha
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NOTE TO SELF:

ALWAYS have extra test strips syrup and HC food on hand. ;)
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
NOTE TO SELF:

ALWAYS have extra test strips syrup and HC food on hand. ;)
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definitely. Well now I have this very expensive box of them, and a backup coming tuesday, and another that's coming later in the week, so I should be ok for a while. haha I always have HC food on hand and honey.
 
Good job today everyone! :D

I keep an extra box of strips in my Hypo kit or as another member coined it the "Oh Crap Kit".:p Every time I stock up on strips I simply swap out the vial of strips in my Oh Crap Kit for a newer one. That way I always have current strips at the ready for any emergencies/unforeseen circumstances. Doing me good this weekend because my girl decided to nose dive last night and I may need to pilfer a few to get me through till Wednesday when I pick up more. :)
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Good job today everyone! :D

I keep an extra box of strips in my Hypo kit or as another member coined it the "Oh Crap Kit".:p Every time I stock up on strips I simply swap out the vial of strips in my Oh Crap Kit for a newer one. That way I always have current strips at the ready for any emergencies/unforeseen circumstances. Doing me good this weekend because my girl decided to nose dive last night and I may need to pilfer a few to get me through till Wednesday when I pick up more. :)
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Haha I like that... an "Oh Crap Kit". hahaha good idea having a kit ready to go.
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Good job today everyone! :D

I keep an extra box of strips in my Hypo kit or as another member coined it the "Oh Crap Kit".:p Every time I stock up on strips I simply swap out the vial of strips in my Oh Crap Kit for a newer one. That way I always have current strips at the ready for any emergencies/unforeseen circumstances. Doing me good this weekend because my girl decided to nose dive last night and I may need to pilfer a few to get me through till Wednesday when I pick up more. :)
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Linda

I start to panic if I have less than 400 strips on hand :rolleyes: With the amount of testing I do for two FD kitties I really never have to worry about them getting outdated.
 
Hi Janet,
If it were my kitty - and given that unexplained low number today - I'd not give a shot if the blood glucose was below 200 this evening. And then not more than 1.5 units. ...And even then, I'd be testing a couple of hours later 'just to be sure' that the blood glucose wasn't dropping at that point... (I'm the cautious type...) ...If in doubt - or if you want other opinions - don't hesitate to post for help. ;)

Eliz
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Hi Janet,
If it were my kitty - and given that unexplained low number today - I'd not give a shot if the blood glucose was below 200 this evening. And then not more than 1.5 units. ...And even then, I'd be testing a couple of hours later 'just to be sure' that the blood glucose wasn't dropping at that point... (I'm the cautious type... ;) )

Eliz
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I'll keep that idea in mind. Last night and the other morning when it was a lower preshot we fed, and tested again, and then only gave 1.5 so as to not overdo it.
 
JanetNJ said:
I'll keep that idea in mind. Last night and the other morning when it was a lower preshot we fed, and tested again, and then only gave 1.5 so as to not overdo it.
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If you get a lower than expected preshot number wait 20 minutes WITHOUT feeding and test again. If you feed and retest you can't tell whether the increase is from the food or from the insulin wearing off. Ideally you want a "clean" number with no food influence before you make a dose decision.
 
Tuxedo Mom said:
If you get a lower than expected preshot number wait 20 minutes WITHOUT feeding and test again. If you feed and retest you can't tell whether the increase is from the food or from the insulin wearing off. Ideally you want a "clean" number with no food influence before you make a dose decision.
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ok, sounds like a plan
 
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