BG is at 73 ?

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Karen Mulholland

Karen Mulholland

Member Since 2017
Hi, Rocky's BG is 73. This is 6 hours after 2 units of Novolin. I gave him a snack? I understand it should be around 100. I'm nervous. He was feed at 5:30 a.m., Tested at 370 BG at 7:oo, given 2 units Novolin and the tested again at 1 with a BG of 73. I gave him a snack. Is this correct? Thank you so much.
 
Karen Mulholland said:
This is 6 hours after 2 units of Novolin. I gave him a snack? I understand it should be around 100. I'm nervous. He was feed at 5:30 a.m., Tested at 370 BG at 7:eek:o, given 2 units Novolin and the tested again at 1 with a BG of 73. I gave him a snack. Is this correct? Thank you so much.
Click to expand...
It is very hard to understand your time table - any chance you can start a Spread Sheet going?
There is a good instruction Sticky Note for that however I opted to ask someone on the Forum to set it up for me - I am no tech at all... Let me know if you want someone to help you you setting it.
Karen Mulholland said:
Tested at 370 BG at 7:eek:o, given 2 units Novolin and the tested again at 1 with a BG of 73. I gave him a snack. Is this correct?
Click to expand...
Please help me to understand: the preshot BG was 370, you gave 2 units then and he tested 73 only one hours later? Is that correct understanding?

Yes, give him a treat, it ok, but please answer so I understood it ok.

ETA: PS sorry, but I can understand what's going on only if I look at the spreadsheet - but there are others who can do without. I am not sure any of them are online due to the Holiday, thou....
 
So, if I understand the day so far:

5:30am: meal
7am: BG370, 2U Novalin given
1pm: 73 (+6hrs after shot)

The snack was a good thing to do here. Being six hours into the cycle means that the Novalin probably isn't going to do too much more to lower BG and he'll be on his way up soon, but it doesn't hurt to take out a little insurance policy on that!

A couple things to note here: Novalin tends to be at peak action a bit earlier than +6, at +4 or +5. If he's 73 now, he might have been lower earlier, so it would be a good idea to try to grab a test or two at those times on the next few cycles to see what's going on then.

The "take action" number (when you definitely need to intervene with high carb food or honey) on a human meter is 50. So, that 73 is a great, safe number in itself, but you want to keep a bit of a safety margin with Novalin because it's powerful stuff-- that's why I suggest getting some earlier tests in, to make sure he's not getting too low.

It isn't terribly important when he's in such high numbers at pre-shot, but in general you don't want to have that long a gap between the morning meal and the pre-shot test, because the numbers might be artificially inflated by food (we're testing here to make sure it's safe to shoot). The usual order is "test, feed, shoot", with (for this insulin) at least a half-hour between the meal and the actual shot. I don't think it mattered much this morning, but you are likely to soon be shooting numbers in the low 200's, and at that level you wouldn't have been able to tell if it was "really" safe to shoot this morning if he'd had a meal 1.5hrs before.

Whew! OK, all of that out of the way, how is he feeling?
 
Tanya and Ducia said:
It is very hard to understand your time table - any chance you can start a Spread Sheet going?
There is a good instruction Sticky Note for that however I opted to ask someone on the Forum to set it up for me - I am no tech at all... Let me know if you want someone to help you you setting it.

Please help me to understand: the preshot BG was 370, you gave 2 units then and he tested 73 only one hours later? Is that correct understanding?

Yes, give him a treat, it ok, but please answer so I understood it ok.

ETA: PS sorry, but I can understand what's going on only if I look at the spreadsheet - but there are others who can do without. I am not sure any of them are online due to the Holiday, thou....
Click to expand...

The 73 BG was 6 hours later. Sorry if it's unclear. I will attempt the spreadsheet and ask for help if I need it. Thank you again.
 
Karen Mulholland said:
It is an Alpha Trac.
Click to expand...

Ah. Well, in that case, the 73 is a bit closer to the line-- the "take action with high carb and honey" number is 68 for an AT meter. So I'm going to re-emphasize my suggestion to get some tests earlier in the cycle-- even a +2 or +3 before bed tonight would be good. I'm a little worried that the 2U might be too much for your little guy.

And when the dust settles, as Tanya mentioned, putting BG data into a spreadsheet (we all use the same template with color-coding already set up, instructions are HERE) would be a good thing. Especially as you get more numbers, it makes it so much easier to see patterns!
 
HERE is the spreadsheet setting instructions - in reality doing it is so much easier than it's read! But again a human help is available if needed.
I asked someone to set it up for my but since being doing so well with it - and I am classic non techy!
 
Nan & Amber said:
So, if I understand the day so far:

5:30am: meal
7am: BG370, 2U Novalin given
1pm: 73 (+6hrs after shot)

The snack was a good thing to do here. Being six hours into the cycle means that the Novalin probably isn't going to do too much more to lower BG and he'll be on his way up soon, but it doesn't hurt to take out a little insurance policy on that!

A couple things to note here: Novalin tends to be at peak action a bit earlier than +6, at +4 or +5. If he's 73 now, he might have been lower earlier, so it would be a good idea to try to grab a test or two at those times on the next few cycles to see what's going on then.

The "take action" number (when you definitely need to intervene with high carb food or honey) on a human meter is 50. So, that 73 is a great, safe number in itself, but you want to keep a bit of a safety margin with Novalin because it's powerful stuff-- that's why I suggest getting some earlier tests in, to make sure he's not getting too low.

It isn't terribly important when he's in such high numbers at pre-shot, but in general you don't want to have that long a gap between the morning meal and the pre-shot test, because the numbers might be artificially inflated by food (we're testing here to make sure it's safe to shoot). The usual order is "test, feed, shoot", with (for this insulin) at least a half-hour between the meal and the actual shot. I don't think it mattered much this morning, but you are likely to soon be shooting numbers in the low 200's, and at that level you wouldn't have been able to tell if it was "really" safe to shoot this morning if he'd had a meal 1.5hrs before.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I will feed Rocky sooner from now on and have just posted "test, feed, shoot" in my kitchen. I imagine their is a fairly long learning curve associated with this diagnosis? Next I will take on the SS. Happy New Year

Whew! OK, all of that out of the way, how is he feeling?
Click to expand...
 
Nan & Amber said:
Ah. Well, in that case, the 73 is a bit closer to the line-- the "take action with high carb and honey" number is 68 for an AT meter. So I'm going to re-emphasize my suggestion to get some tests earlier in the cycle-- even a +2 or +3 before bed tonight would be good. I'm a little worried that the 2U might be too much for your little guy.

And when the dust settles, as Tanya mentioned, putting BG data into a spreadsheet (we all use the same template with color-coding already set up, instructions are HERE) would be a good thing. Especially as you get more numbers, it makes it so much easier to see patterns!
Click to expand...

Thank you for your kind help. I will test at +2, +3,+5 tonight. I was thinking the 2 units might be too much as well. I'm so grateful to have found this forum because the vet wanted me to go to 4 units when I called in the numbers. I had at that point not changed over to Fancy Feast Classic. He had told me he did not think the food was a big factor, but as per Dr. Lisa's article, I lowered it myself. Again, I am grateful for your help.
 
Karen Mulholland said:
I had at that point not changed over to Fancy Feast Classic. He had told me he did not think the food was a big factor,
Click to expand...
:eek::eek::eek:
if I could get a dollar for every time I wondered where those "doctors" get their diplomas from and giving such "wonderful" advises I'd be a rich girl by now!
we are what we eat, really - humans and felines...your instincts do you credit!
Happy New Year!
 
I'd just give a snack and lower that dose to 1.5 next time you have a similar preshot. Novolin usually peaks around +5 so it may have gone a little lower. Start a spreadsheet when you can. I got a 74 on my alphatrak today too but steered it back to the 80's where I like to be.
 
@Karen Mulholland

Gosh, Karen, well done for catching that!
As others have said, the blood glucose may actually have been lower earlier in the cycle. The 'peak' varies a lot with Novolin. Do you know when your kitty usually has the lowest number of the cycle?

This is from the FDMB 'Beginner's Guide to Novolin':
"Experience of N/NPH on this forum has shown that the time of the peak can be quite variable, and, depending on your cat’s own response to the insulin, you may see this anytime between 2 - 6 hours after the insulin shot; though in most cats it will be between 3 - 5 hours after the shot. With N/NPH it is particularly important to know when the peak/nadir of the cycle typically occurs in your cat."
The link to that document (which was put together by a team of members here to help Novolin users) is below. Do read through it as it has a lot of useful info:
Beginner's Guide To Novolin/Humulin/NPH

I second others' suggestions that you get an SS set up to record your kitty's blood glucose data. If you get stuck there are folks here who will gladly help you set that up. :bighug:

Eliz
 
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