BG question

[Vader723]

Vader is just a few days out from a hypo episode, so I have been really nervous about his dosing since that time. On 2 days ago his BG was 383, so I gave him the 1u Prozinc as advised by the ER vet. I checked his blood 6 hours later, and his glucose was 110. Appetite and drinking normally. I have been checking his sugar about every 12 hours since then, and with BG <200 I have not given more insulin. ER vet called last night to give the all clear on his UC (yay!) and when I gave her the run down she said I had done the right thing, and to not give him insulin for a BG in the 100s “even 199”. I checked his sugar this morning, and it was 263. I feel like this warrants at least a partial dose, but I am not convinced he ate enough. 5-6 bites and some water, then back 10 minutes later for a couple more nibbles. Not a plate cleaner, that one. I am headed to work and won’t be able to watch him. At this point I’m feeling like if I come home at lunch and check, and his level is the same or higher, I can give him a dose then because I will be home less than 5 hours later to check on him. Is this ok? I feel like 263 isn’t crazy pants high and he can tolerate this for 5-6 hours. Help!

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

I'm not a ProZinc person, so I can't advise in detail, but with that grain of salt, I think you'd be OK with either course (skipping or shooting and coming home at lunch to check), but if it were me I'd skip.

Reasoning: he dropped a lot on that 1.0 dose, we know that post-hypo cats can be more sensitive to insulin, and he isn't eating heartily. While he'd likely be fine if you were to shoot, I'd be cautious in this case while you're still figuring out his "new" insulin response. What do you mean by "UC" (sorry I'm not familiar with Vader's history, I haven't been on the boards that much recently)? Is that some kind of infection? If so, that's another reason why, if it's now clear, his insulin needs may have dropped some.

I have to run off now-- good luck, whatever you decide!

 

[Vader723]

Sorry, when he was in the ER, the vet ran a urine culture (UC). The results came back as negative/no growth. I decided to wait on the insulin and go home to check on him at lunch time. Thank you for your response!!

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Sounds good!

266 is high enough that he will likely need more insulin going forward-- maybe you can shoot tonight if you can monitor? Hopefully some of the ProZinc people can chime in with a recommendation, but if he isn't substantially higher by tonight, I think I'd go with a reduced dose given the hypo and his response to 1.0U the other day.

 

[Vader723]

Ugh! I tried to get a glucose test when I went home for lunch, and I had to stick his poor little ear 4 times. By the 4th time he was pretty fed up, and so the bead of blood I was finally successful with went flying. The good news is that he ate, and had a good amount of water after, so I am not worried he is feeling too punky. I will go home tonight and try again. Thank you again for the support

 

[Critter Mom]

the bead of blood I was finally successful with went flying

Tip: If kitty's getting restless try catching the blood droplet on your fingernail. You can then let kitty go sooner and dip the test strip into the blood sample caught on your nail.


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