Just shot my lowest #

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Cherish Gallagher

Cherish Gallagher

Member Since 2017
Going to be a long night. Will need to check her BG at least 2 times before +8. My bf was successfully able to check Angel's blood twice today while I was at work so I'm so happy about that. Now with his help we can be sure to keep her safe always so mommy doesn't have to worry (me). Hahaha. This crazy cat is really something. Her numbers have been so back and forth. But today she seemed different. Playful and so happy. Maybe this is a turning point.
 
Cherish Gallagher said:
Going to be a long night. Will need to check her BG at least 2 times before +8. My bf was successfully able to check Angel's blood twice today while I was at work so I'm so happy about that. Now with his help we can be sure to keep her safe always so mommy doesn't have to worry (me). Hahaha. This crazy cat is really something. Her numbers have been so back and forth. But today she seemed different. Playful and so happy. Maybe this is a turning point.
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Um, you shot 4 units on a blue number. I am actually very concerned. Do you have honey or Karo and some high carb food handy in case of hypo?
 
I wouldn't have recommended no more than 1 unit tops.... 0.5 would have been safer as you have no data shooting such a low preshot.
 
JanetNJ said:
Um, you shot 4 units on a blue number. I am actually very concerned. Do you have honey or Karo and some high carb food handy in case of hypo?
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I didn't know I had to adjust doses based on numbers. :( uhggg. And yes I do. :( is the number really that low?
 
Please post if the number starts to crash.... If it dips really quickly you may need to bring to a vet. Are there any er vets in your area?
 
If she's already beginning to drop, I'd steer right away with high carb food and if you don't have that, add some honey or karo to her regular low carb food. This isn't a situation where you're trying to get the BG nicely low. This is a situation where you want to abort the cycle for safety's sake.
 
Cherish Gallagher said:
Yes but she didn't finish her small can of wet food. We just took up the remainder and the dry food in case we need to feed her again soon.
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When steering BG numbers, it's usually better to use the gravy from high carb food first (carb heavy and doesn't fill them up too much), then small amounts of wet food because its effect lasts longer. Dry food takes too long to affect BG.
 
While I'm waiting can we talk about what I do with her doses based on AMPS & PMPS? don't give at all? Reduce? When do I reduce? How much do I reduce?
 
As Kris says, there's a lot to learn, we have all been there, trust me! We will help you make sure Angel will be okay! :bighug:

Since you are new to this and don't have a lot of information in your spreadsheet, we would recommend you not shoot any numbers below 200.
 
Cherish Gallagher said:
While I'm waiting can we talk about what I do with her doses based on AMPS & PMPS? don't give at all? Reduce? When do I reduce? How much do I reduce?
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Until you have a lot more data on your SS, we recommend using 200 as your "no shot" number, especially with Vetsulin that can act fast and drop BG low. Once you have much more data that shows you Angel's patterns, your no shot number can drop a little lower.

When you end up in a no shot situation the dose should be dropped enough to give you two shootable pre shot numbers. How much to drop the dose is guesswork based on your experience, knowledge of Angel's responses and your gut. Until you reach that level of confidence it's safest to post here with the question mark icon and ask for dosing advice.
 
Hopefully we'll be able to head off any dangerously low numbers, so there won't be any signs to look for! Good that you got onto this quickly, early on in the cycle.

Not all cats show signs of hypos when their numbers get low. My cat has been as low as 23 and was asymptomatic, showed no signs at all.
 
Cherish Gallagher said:
Low as in what?
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Just under 200. You have to judge the likelihood of the BG rising enough on its own after stalling up to an hour or so to enable you to shoot.

Example #1: PS is 185. You stall 20 minutes without food, retest and get 193 - looks promising. Stall another 20 minutes without food, retest and get 203. Give a slightly reduced dose - maybe 0.25 u to 0.5 u less depending on the size of the regular dose.

Example #2: PS is 162. Your judgment is that it's not likely to get up to 200 or so in an hour. You opt for a no shot.

I suggested that the stalling/retesting can go on for up to an hour or so because the timing of Vetsuin dosing can move about an hour in either direction without having a big effect on BG.
 
Even when it's over 200 I would reduce when it's lower than usual. So if it's 200- 240... Until you have more data.... Be conservative maybe 1 u. 240-280 1.5 280-325 2 units.... The insulin needs change, sometimes every few days.


When my cat was still on insulin I would test and then literally study her last 3-5 days of data to figure out her dose based on how she recently reacted. How she reacted a week or two ago was irrelevant.
 
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