Another hypo...

Status
Not open for further replies.
SpotsMom

SpotsMom

Active Member
I took a risk tonight cause I knew I’d be able to steer him but I certainly didn’t expect 27 at +3!! He’s been picky with his food since yesterday so I knew something was brewing, then he stopped eating altogether pretty much right after his PM shot... after I shot on a lower than usual PS. He was up to 66 after steering for 30 minutes and assist feeding about 3oz of pate, and about 2T of his gravy food with some Karo mixed in. Barely interested but he did lick off some of the liquid and he tolerated the assist feeding. Rechecking again in about 15 minutes (+4).

When does this get easier?? 1.75u is too low then 2u seems good for a few cycles, then suddenly it’s way too much! And I don’t even know what happened with the flat cycle of blues today... I don’t feel like I’m taking too many risks with him until this happens!
 
104 @ +4. Getting better. I’ll recheck in another hour to make sure he’s still going up. Hopefully slowly!
 
Wow! Okay Spot, slow down buddy!

If it helps, I would have shot the exact same amount. 194 is so close to 200 and while not quite the same as AMPS, it's so close, I would never have expected that deep dive. So grateful you were testing!

As for what happened...I have no idea. You say he stopped eating pretty much as soon as you shot? So he didn't get much food? That could be it...he might just not have had the calories on board to help prop up the BG.

It's hard to say what's happening here. Let me go over my observations. It seems that Spot runs lower at night...not unusual for kitties. He still gets low numbers during the day (not too low, just nice low ones) but the nighttime dose seems to last longer and cause blues that last longer. The crazy thing is you've gotten some pretty late tests in PM cycle and he still seems to pop back up at AMPS time. You might be seeing some light bouncing there, but even that isn't much since usually bouncing would involve a much higher preshot and yours aren't that much higher. My thought is that most of the time Spot doesn't go too low. Yes, this was an exception, but mostly he's been in safe numbers lately. So maybe the thinking should just be to be more caution with nighttime shots that iwth day time shots. So if you get a lower than normal number at night, shoot a slightly reduced dose, but if you get that similar number at AM, be more willing to shoot the normal dose.

I know that doesn't seem like a great strategy since it's kind of wishy washy, but it seems best. That 2 isn't giving you too low numbers usually and it's giving you good preshots that are usually high enough to shoot. I think if he had eaten better last night, it would have been a different outcome too. Do you shoot as soon as you feed? You might try waiting half an hour or so to be sure he's going to get some good food into him first if he is prone to not eating. That might help?

I'm sorry you had a rough night. You did everything exactly right to keep Spot safe. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
Oh wow. You've had an eventful night! That 27 is certainly a bit of a surprise given the other cycles around it.

I agree with Rachel in that I'm really wondering about the food situation? Is not eating typical for him? Why wasn't he eating last night? You have another night with lime greens where there is a note about assist feeding, and another cycle with assist feeding but no mid-cycles. I'm thinking if he isn't eating, then you either need to be assist feeding more, or injecting less. Or as Rachel suggested, give a bit more time between feeding and injecting to give him more time to eat.

Do you think the eating issues are because the pancreatitis is chronic? Or might there be something else going on?
 
Rachel said:
Wow! Okay Spot, slow down buddy!

If it helps, I would have shot the exact same amount. 194 is so close to 200 and while not quite the same as AMPS, it's so close, I would never have expected that deep dive. So grateful you were testing!

As for what happened...I have no idea. You say he stopped eating pretty much as soon as you shot? So he didn't get much food? That could be it...he might just not have had the calories on board to help prop up the BG.

It's hard to say what's happening here. Let me go over my observations. It seems that Spot runs lower at night...not unusual for kitties. He still gets low numbers during the day (not too low, just nice low ones) but the nighttime dose seems to last longer and cause blues that last longer. The crazy thing is you've gotten some pretty late tests in PM cycle and he still seems to pop back up at AMPS time. You might be seeing some light bouncing there, but even that isn't much since usually bouncing would involve a much higher preshot and yours aren't that much higher. My thought is that most of the time Spot doesn't go too low. Yes, this was an exception, but mostly he's been in safe numbers lately. So maybe the thinking should just be to be more caution with nighttime shots that iwth day time shots. So if you get a lower than normal number at night, shoot a slightly reduced dose, but if you get that similar number at AM, be more willing to shoot the normal dose.

I know that doesn't seem like a great strategy since it's kind of wishy washy, but it seems best. That 2 isn't giving you too low numbers usually and it's giving you good preshots that are usually high enough to shoot. I think if he had eaten better last night, it would have been a different outcome too. Do you shoot as soon as you feed? You might try waiting half an hour or so to be sure he's going to get some good food into him first if he is prone to not eating. That might help?

I'm sorry you had a rough night. You did everything exactly right to keep Spot safe. :bighug::bighug::bighug:
Click to expand...
I typically shoot while he's eating, usually soon after he starts as long as he's looking like he's in the mood to eat. I didn't even realize this time that he had stopped eating until I went to test him and saw most of his food was untouched. I agree that maybe giving him a little more time to get some food in him is a good idea.. especially on nights that he's a little low to start with. I think part of the problem this time is that he hadn't been enthusiastic about food for over 24 hours, so he was maybe already running a little bit on empty. Even though he had some food in him, it wasn't as much as usual. He definitely has his ups and downs with food, but I did get complacent after several weeks of good eating...

To get him eating this morning I gave him some Cerenia & an appetite stimulant and lots of coaxing, but within about 15 minutes of the meds he was scarfing on his own. He had a bit of a bounce this morning, so I went ahead with the 2u after he ate about half of his normal breakfast. Now I'm just crossing my fingers that this recent bout of lack of appetite doesn't mean another pancreatitis episode....

I miss sleep... we used to be best friends LOL
 
Djamila said:
Oh wow. You've had an eventful night! That 27 is certainly a bit of a surprise given the other cycles around it.

I agree with Rachel in that I'm really wondering about the food situation? Is not eating typical for him? Why wasn't he eating last night? You have another night with lime greens where there is a note about assist feeding, and another cycle with assist feeding but no mid-cycles. I'm thinking if he isn't eating, then you either need to be assist feeding more, or injecting less. Or as Rachel suggested, give a bit more time between feeding and injecting to give him more time to eat.

Do you think the eating issues are because the pancreatitis is chronic? Or might there be something else going on?
Click to expand...
I'm definitely afraid that his pancreatitis is chronic... so far he's only had one diagnosed episode, but many more less severe not eating and generally feeling like crap episodes. After a few weeks of eating normally, I definitely got complacent... waiting until I see him eat more than a few licks of his food is a good idea.
 
Sam went through about four months where it was round after round of pancreatitis, and then it seemed to abate somewhat. He still has days when he seems off and doesn't eat as much, but his BG is more stable again, and he seems to move past it quicker. I don't know at what point a vet would call it chronic, but I certainly do at this point.

As for the sleeping, please do make sure that you are taking care of yourself. It's so easy for us to get burned out and exhausted with all of this. Think of it like on an airplane where they say to put on your oxygen mask first, then help others. if you aren't sleeping enough, you won't be as effective in any area of your life. Even if that means shooting a little less for a cycle here or there just so you can sleep without worrying. Yes, sometimes we have to stay up and get tests, or set an alarm, but make sure that most nights you are getting what you need to be healthy yourself!
 
The reduced evening dose seems to be working for him. Now I think he’s just being difficult! Or he doesn’t want me to go to work.. ever.... he ate half of a 5.5oz can this morning so I thought he’d be fine! But he didn’t touch any of the food I left out for him all day.. now he’s 39 @ +10!! He’s acting fine - though hungry! - so I don’t feel like he went lower during the day, but that is late for him to be that low, right?? Tonight’s PS is going to be messed up cause he’s eating within 2 hours, but I can’t “not” feed him now. I hope he comes up enough to be confident in giving him a shot....
 
Also I legitimately feel that when he goes low and I have to steer him with gravy food, he always becomes a stubborn eater for a few days afterward! Like he knows if he goes low again he’ll get the yummy food again! Every. Single. Time!!
 
Wow...that is awfully low at +10. Kitties can go low without any symptoms, so it's possible that he really did go lower during the day...but you'll only drive yourself crazy trying to figure out if he did or not. The POINT is he's okay right now. And you were absolutely right to feed him. I would have done the same.

As for dosing tonight, that's a tough one. I see he was 104 at +11. Did you take up food after feeding him something or is he just grazing for the 2 hours before (again, I think feeding was the right decision...that 39 needed to come on up!). If you took up food, you could try to wait about 30 min after your normal shot time to try to account for that feeding time and see what he is then. If not, you'll kind of have to guess based on what number you get. Maybe a slightly reduced dose of 1 unit if he's in yellows? He might be more insulin sensitive tonight. It's totally up to you though!

Ha! We've theorized before that our kitties try to drive their numbers down to get that yummy high carb gravy!
 
He had 1/2 of a 5.5oz can with some gravy food mixed in, that he gobbled up about an hour ago. When he finished that, I gave him a little extra pate so he could graze if he wanted to, but he hasn't really touched it since there's no gravy mixed into this one :rolleyes:
We might be ok for his PS, as far as food goes. I agree that I may do 1u tonight even if he does come up to yellows.. he's already been sensitive at night, and I don't want to risk him going low again....
 
Ugh he’s only at 153 even with the recent-ish food. Now I don’t know what to do..... half his evening dose and do 0.75u??
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top