COOPER low BG before PM shot..Advice needed

[Jerry Allen]

Just tested my cat before PM dose and BG was much lower than past days so have delayed shot because not sure what to do..Cooper's PM readings at +12 were low BG 119 and tested 30min later were 92.. Nothing had changed in dose, food or activity.. So not sure what is going on?? ...If BG goes up in a few hours, should I give Cooper his normal 2.5u dose or reduced about or just skipped this one?

 

[Djamila]

From the notes on your spreadsheet, it looks like you've already fed. Is that right? Also, what insulin are you using? Was your kitty just started on insulin on 8/23?

 

[Djamila]

It doesn't look like you're online anymore. If you check in later: No, do not give a shot later. You'll be off schedule and it will require you to change your schedule in the following days and cycles to make up for it. Different insulin types have different allowances for adjusting the timing, and I'm not sure what insulin you're using, so can't give more specific advice on that.

As far as what's going on, it's hard to know without mid-cycle data, but most likely you are seeing longer than normal duration on this cycle, so Cooper just didn't rise as quickly as usual. Sometimes that just happens, or sometimes it hints that he may be getting ready for another reduction.

You may find it helpful to add some information to your signature, so that when you need advice, people have answers to some of those questions from my first post and you can get more specific advice that way.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Repeating my comment from other thread (and I'm glad to see you started a new one...that one was getting pretty long!)

Since you're using Novolin, you don't want to shoot anything under 200 because of the harsh nature of that insulin

Generally, if you're getting Preshots that are too low to shoot, it's a good indication that the dose is too high, so I'd probably skip tonight and if he's high enough in the morning, go with 2U and see how he does

Could you please add some information to your signature like:

Your name/cats name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems? and a general location

Having to go back and read the entire thread to remind ourselves of what's going on and this basic information takes a lot of time....and in a crisis, it's time we might not have.

 

[Jerry Allen]

From the notes on your spreadsheet, it looks like you've already fed. Is that right? Also, what insulin are you using? Was your kitty just started on insulin on 8/23?

Thanks for reply and excuse the lack of data, which I have now added to my general information..and yes, I went ahead and fed him after those two test because with the BG dropping I figured he should have food since 12 hrs since his last meal.

 

[Jerry Allen]

Repeating my comment from other thread (and I'm glad to see you started a new one...that one was getting pretty long!)

Since you're using Novolin, you don't want to shoot anything under 200 because of the harsh nature of that insulin

Generally, if you're getting Preshots that are too low to shoot, it's a good indication that the dose is too high, so I'd probably skip tonight and if he's high enough in the morning, go with 2U and see how he does

Could you please add some information to your signature like:

Your name/cats name, age, sex, date of diagnosis, type of insulin, type of meter, type of food, any other health problems? and a general location

Having to go back and read the entire thread to remind ourselves of what's going on and this basic information takes a lot of time....and in a crisis, it's time we might not have.

General Information has been updated....

 

[Jerry Allen]

From the notes on your spreadsheet, it looks like you've already fed. Is that right? Also, what insulin are you using? Was your kitty just started on insulin on 8/23?

Updated Cooper's profile, so you can see more data now...Vet first started him on Novolin, with spot test at vet, but Cooper just got worse, so switched to ProZinc 9/6...

 

[Jerry Allen]

Since 2.5u of ProZinc has been working for a few days, is it normal for BG to drop that lower if nothing has changed in dose, food or activity? ...If skipping tonights shot and tomorrow the BG is back up to 300, should I not keep dose same at 2.5u?

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

is it normal for BG to drop that lower if nothing has changed in dose, food or activity? ...If skipping tonights shot and tomorrow the BG is back up to 300, should I not keep dose same at 2.5u?

"normal" isn't a word we use around here a lot considering it's cats we're working with....LOL As soon as they start to show some kind of pattern, they switch it up!!

I think I'd still go with 2U tomorrow......if you're getting PS's that are too low to shoot, that's a pretty good indication that the dose is too high

We can always go back up if we need to

Thanks for adding the info to your signature! That makes it a lot easier for us!

 

[FurBabiesMama]

I noticed that you had a note on the day before that you were thinking of going up in dose. Aren't you glad you didn't? We have to learn patience in dealing with this and not be too quick to jump up and up and up (like the vet did). You do not want to cause extreme drops during the cycles but rather keep a gentle curve (highest at pre-shot, going down until somewhere around mid-cycle-ish then heading back up before next pre-shot) and allow his body to adjust somewhat gradually. How they respond to insulin can and does change over time, and it does not necessarily seem to make sense to us. That can be a really good thing though. If you think about it, you want the pancreas to start working on it's own. If that happens, it should mean needing less and less insulin and maybe even none - the ultimate goal.

If you want, you could drop to 2.25 rather than all the way to 2 and see how that goes. Either way, you will be able to adjust again, if needed. Just keep getting those pre-shot and mid-cycle (when possible) tests. The dosing changes need to be based not just on pre-shot but also on mid-cycle - or in other words, the impact the current dose is having.

Based on your spreadsheet note, I think you waited 20 minutes and re-tested (it does not say if you fed or not, but 'not' is the way to go). That is the recommended thing to do. If you do that once or even twice and the number is not rising enough that you are comfortable giving the shot (after feeding), then you skip the shot. So, you did the right thing.

 

[Jerry Allen]

I noticed that you had a note on the day before that you were thinking of going up in dose. Aren't you glad you didn't? We have to learn patience in dealing with this and not be too quick to jump up and up and up (like the vet did). You do not want to cause extreme drops during the cycles but rather keep a gentle curve (highest at pre-shot, going down until somewhere around mid-cycle-ish then heading back up before next pre-shot) and allow his body to adjust somewhat gradually. How they respond to insulin can and does change over time, and it does not necessarily seem to make sense to us. That can be a really good thing though. If you think about it, you want the pancreas to start working on it's own. If that happens, it should mean needing less and less insulin and maybe even none - the ultimate goal.

If you want, you could drop to 2.25 rather than all the way to 2 and see how that goes. Either way, you will be able to adjust again, if needed. Just keep getting those pre-shot and mid-cycle (when possible) tests. The dosing changes need to be based not just on pre-shot but also on mid-cycle - or in other words, the impact the current dose is having.

Based on your spreadsheet note, I think you waited 20 minutes and re-tested (it does not say if you fed or not, but 'not' is the way to go). That is the recommended thing to do. If you do that once or even twice and the number is not rising enough that you are comfortable giving the shot (after feeding), then you skip the shot. So, you did the right thing.

Thanks for the good advice.. wish the reaction to insulin was linear , but then that would be too easy ... will keep Cooper at 2.0u for awhile.