My kitty went hypo today. Had to give her honey. Should she still get her shot tonight?

Kylee and Her Mom Renee'

Kylee and Her Mom Renee'

Member Since 2018
My Kylee just ate and is sleeping again. I want to feel her before I go to bed. (if I can sleep) Should I give her the regular shot? It will be 12 hours at 9:30pm (2 hours) I will do a test before I feed her again.
I understand eating for my hypothyroid, but not sure for diabetics. Please help. Thank you.
 
Hello, I do not feel comfortable giving you dosing advise. But I looked at her ss and there are no numbers recorded. It will be hard to advise on dosing without some numbers to go by. Glad you went into action at that number. That's a scary number. How is she acting this evening? Just wanted to give you a :bighug: and you might want to put the ? Next to title of the thread to get more eyes on it.
 
Any Admins that can HELP here?

Based on my limited knowledge, which is none, I'd hold off on the shot since your kitty went hypo!
 
Honestly, if you got a test of 21 after only 2 doses of insulin, I'd skip the shot. When did that 21 happen? Ie. how many hours after insulin shot? Can you give us more info on your kitty? What was the basis for diagnosis of diabetes? 2u seems to be too high. We normally start around 0.5u to 1u twice a day and see how things go. Can you give the yellow stickies a read, there is a lot of good info. Considering where you are at, I wouldn't shoot anything under 200 in your case, until you get more data. And I would definitely try a lower dose to start. Some kitties can become sensitive to insulin after going really low...I hope more experienced people weigh in, but hope this helps in the meantime.
 
She's using a human ReliOn Confirm.

I highly suggest you skip this shot until you can get more track numbers. That 21 was WAY too low. Liver may dump sugar making it high this evening and tomorrow. That will have to just wear off - keep testing to find out patterns tho'.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Honestly, if you got a test of 21 after only 2 doses of insulin, I'd skip the shot. When did that 21 happen? Ie. how many hours after insulin shot? Can you give us more info on your kitty? What was the basis for diagnosis of diabetes? 2u seems to be too high. We normally start around 0.5u to 1u twice a day and see how things go. Can you give the yellow stickies a read, there is a lot of good info. Considering where you are at, I wouldn't shoot anything under 200 in your case, until you get more data. And I would definitely try a lower dose to start. Some kitties can become sensitive to insulin after going really low...I hope more experienced people weigh in, but hope this helps in the meantime.
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She has only had one dose of insulin. 2 units. (USA) 21 was about 3 hours after her shot. She had a blood sugar of 500 when tested at the vet the 21st of September. Today was the first day I tested. No excuses. I have info in my profile that may help. I am new to all this and trying to learn the spreadsheet and record. I will read the stickies. I seems to spend all day just reading and it is not good for my glaucoma and IC. And I have low blood sugar. I am hypo. It seems all the days and hours are running into each other....Thank you, I appreciate your help.
 
Ah, ok I thought I saw 2u on Sept21. We are all new at some point :):bighug:, I hope I didn't sound short with you, I was trying to get some idea of where you are at with your kitty. It is very important that you get a preshot test before giving insulin. Do you think you can do that tomorrow morning? Please skip tonight, and see where you are tomorrow.
 
HI Renee'! There's a steep learning curve. Don't worry. It'll all make sense in a few weeks. This might help with the spreadsheet: UNDERSTANDING THE SPREADSHEET/GRID. If you have questions, just ask.

Have you tested this evening? I don't see anything since Kylee tested LO earlier today.

I agree with the others. My suggestions include:
  • skip tonight's shot
  • test her BG in the morning.
    • If she's over 200mg/dL in the morning, I'd reduce the dose to 1 unit every 12 hours
    • If she's less than 200, but more than 150 post and ask for dosing advice
    • if she's less than 150, I'd withhold insulin, feed, and retest in 3 to 4 hours to see if she brings herself down <----- This will be an experiment to see where she's at since we don't have any data to compare today's numbers with.
Post her numbers and ask for guidance throughout the day. There are many who will offer suggestions and support.

Welcome to the group! Hope you're able to get a good night's sleep. I would imagine you're exhausted from the day you've had. :nailbiting:
 
Test again at shot time but don't give insulin without consulting here first. She shouldn't eat for the 2 hours immediately before shot times so that you get a number that's not influenced by food. The best bet is probably to just skip tonight and start over in the morning with a reduced dose like 1U

2U is definitely too much if it took her down to 21, but she may also "bounce" high from dropping that low.

The body will respond to numbers that are too low by releasing stored sugars and hormones to bring them back up quickly, so they "bounce" high.

You don't want to freak out if you see a high number and shoot the same dose that just dropped your cat so low.....You have to give a bounce up to 6 cycles to clear out those hormones and sugars.
 
Welcome. Good you asked for help and didn’t shoot. I suggest that you add the type of meter you are using to your signature. It’s important to get a test before shooting every time and at least another 2-3 hours after and again mid cycle if possible to see how low the current dose takes your cat. How much does your cat weigh? Is she at a good weight, overweight , or underweight ? That will help figure out an appropriate dose.
 
Christie & Maverick said:
Ah, ok I thought I saw 2u on Sept21. We are all new at some point :):bighug:, I hope I didn't sound short with you, I was trying to get some idea of where you are at with your kitty. It is very important that you get a preshot test before giving insulin. Do you think you can do that tomorrow morning? Please skip tonight, and see where you are tomorrow.
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No, you did not sound short. I hope I did not sound that way. Tonight I tried twice to check her BG. I got plenty of blood, but my RediOn meter said error 7 which meant not enough blood. I could have chucked the meter on the wall. Ha ha. Then I talked to the meter say....are you kidding me....look at all this blood....
And there was plenty....
She seems to feel better. I have not given her the shot for her second dose. Yes, maybe I should wait...
 
Jill & Alex (GA) said:
HI Renee'! There's a steep learning curve. Don't worry. It'll all make sense in a few weeks. This might help with the spreadsheet: UNDERSTANDING THE SPREADSHEET/GRID. If you have questions, just ask.

Have you tested this evening? I don't see anything since Kylee tested LO earlier today.

I agree with the others. My suggestions include:
  • skip tonight's shot
  • test her BG in the morning.
    • If she's over 200mg/dL in the morning, I'd reduce the dose to 1 unit every 12 hours
    • If she's less than 200, but more than 150 post and ask for dosing advice
    • if she's less than 150, I'd withhold insulin, feed, and retest in 3 to 4 hours to see if she brings herself down <----- This will be an experiment to see where she's at since we don't have any data to compare today's numbers with.
Post her numbers and ask for guidance throughout the day. There are many who will offer suggestions and support.

Welcome to the group! Hope you're able to get a good night's sleep. I would imagine you're exhausted from the day you've had. :nailbiting:
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Thank you. I tested twice tonight. My meter gave me an error message that there was not enough blood when clearly there was. Yes, I will add my meter to my signature. How do members do this while working. Yes, we both are tired. And my IC has flared up and my glaucoma eyes hurts.....oh well life goes on.
 
image.jpeg This the setting the vet showed me to use. 2 units twice a daily. I hope you can see it.
 
Chris & China said:
That's usually a good dependable meter.....it's the one I use too. Make sure you just barely touch the tip of the strip to the blood...it will "suck it up" on it's own. Too much blood can also give you an error

Just a quick question….can you take a picture of your syringe and where you pulled the insulin up to?
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I posted a thumbnail in this post. Here it is. Hope this helps.
 

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Kylee and Her Mom Renee' said:
I posted a thumbnail in this post. Here it is. Hope this helps.
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OK....you're using the wrong syringes and instead of giving 2U, it looks like you've been giving 4!! (That's why I asked....we see that too often here!!)

The syringes you need will hold no more than 30 units.....You're using syringes that hold 100 units so each hash mark is 2 units.

You need to get some U100, 3/10ml, 31 gauge insulin syringes. You can get them at WalMart or order them at ADW. A box of 100 syringes is $12.58 at WalMart and they have half unit markings

Relion syringes.jpg


All these syringes have half unit markings (very important when you're doing microdosing) and are the correct syringes for U100 insulin and are available from ADW online:
UtiCare
Monoject
Carepoint
Sure ComfortB/D

I suggest you skip in the morning and get the right syringes (as long as there's no history of ketones)
 
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Chris & China said:
OK....you're using the wrong syringes and instead of giving 2U, it looks like you've been giving 4!! (That's why I asked....we see that too often here!!)

The syringes you need will hold no more than 30 units.....You're using syringes that hold 100 units so each hash mark is 2 units.

You need to get some U100, 3/10ml, 31 gauge insulin syringes. You can get them at WalMart or order them at ADW. A box of 100 syringes is $12.58 at WalMart and they have half unit markings

View attachment 39355

All these syringes have half unit markings (very important when you're doing microdosing) and are the correct syringes for U100 insulin and are available from ADW online:
UtiCare
Monoject
Carepoint
Sure ComfortB/D

I suggest you skip in the morning and get the right syringes (as long as there's no history of ketones)
Click to expand...
Good catch, Chris!

Also a good idea to skip in the morning and get the right syringes. If you’ve been shooting 4u, she likely has a pretty large depot which might hold her a couple cycles.
 
Chris & China said:
OK....you're using the wrong syringes and instead of giving 2U, it looks like you've been giving 4!! (That's why I asked....we see that too often here!!)

The syringes you need will hold no more than 30 units.....You're using syringes that hold 100 units so each hash mark is 2 units.

You need to get some U100, 3/10ml, 31 gauge insulin syringes. You can get them at WalMart or order them at ADW. A box of 100 syringes is $12.58 at WalMart and they have half unit markings

View attachment 39355

All these syringes have half unit markings (very important when you're doing microdosing) and are the correct syringes for U100 insulin and are available from ADW online:
UtiCare
Monoject
Carepoint
Sure ComfortB/D

I suggest you skip in the morning and get the right syringes (as long as there's no history of ketones)
Click to expand...
Good Catch Chris!

Renee, well caught you too, I'm glad you posted here.:bighug::bighug::bighug::bighug:

I agree with the others, skip in the morning too, get the right syringes. In the meantime just get some spot checks to see what she is doing BG wise, that will help us help you make a decision about dosing, before you shoot again, do post here for some advice before you shoot.
 
Thank you all. I appreciate all your help so much. Kylee is feeling good this am. Her BG was 207. I put the correct 2 units in the syring. I took water to test on an old syring. Only looks like a speck came out. So maybe she will be ok on that dose. Yes, I will call the pharmacy and see if they have the other ones. They gave me the wrongs ones or did the vet prescibe the size we received???
She has eaten and is looking at me like where is my shot? Will this be ok to give her?
 
Kylee and Her Mom Renee' said:
How do members do this while working
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Kylee and Her Mom Renee' said:
Thank you all. I appreciate all your help so much. Kylee is feeling good this am. Her BG was 207. I put the correct 2 units in the syring. I took water to test on an old syring. Only looks like a speck came out. So maybe she will be ok on that dose. Yes, I will call the pharmacy and see if they have the other ones. They gave me the wrongs ones or did the vet prescibe the size we received???
She has eaten and is looking at me like where is my shot? Will this be ok to give her?
Click to expand...
I would skip until you get the new/correct syringe.
 
A reading of 200 with no shot last night is not extremely high (all things considered). I would skip until you can get the proper syringes. You may need a lower dose than 2 units. Some cats become more sensitive to insulin after a hypo event.
 
The problem with the calibration and size of those syringes is that there is too much margin of error when you draw a ,2u dose the plunger only needs to be a fraction out and the dose could vary significantly.

As long as Kylie hasn't had dka, skipping won't do her any harm.
 
Kylee and Her Mom Renee' said:
I will call the pharmacy and see if they have the other ones.
Click to expand...

If you're calling WalMart, unless they're temporarily out of them, they'll have them....as long as you get the ones pictured, they're the correct ones and will have half-unit markings (although most employee's at WalMart will swear they don't make syringes with half-unit markings)

Kylee and Her Mom Renee' said:
They gave me the wrongs ones or did the vet prescibe the size we received??
Click to expand...

Some vets also put a syringe script on the insulin script.....without seeing your original script, there's no way to know if your vet prescribed the wrong ones or the pharmacy just sold you the wrong ones.
 
Yes, I will skip dose. My hubby is picking up the other syringes. I sent him the picture of the correct ones and the discription. Walmart has them in stock. It is going to be a better day!!!
Gill & George said:
The problem with the calibration and size of those syringes is that there is too much margin of error when you draw a ,2u dose the plunger only needs to be a fraction out and the dose could vary significantly.

As long as Kylie hasn't had dka, skipping won't do her any harm.
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Thank you. I did skip her dose. She is not starving hungry like she was either. Gosh, I feel bad I did not catch the high doses of Syringes. I was just going by what I thought I saw the vet show. Not knowing it was a different syringe.
 
Kylee and Her Mom Renee' said:
Yes, thank you. We both are better. She still is afraid I either have a syringe or a tester in my hand. Poor baby. But she is doing good.
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I used to shoot George when he had his head in his bowl, he never saw me coming lol

Are you giving her treats when you test? If she's food motivated she'll soon come running when she sees you both the monitor.
 
Gill & George said:
I used to shoot George when he had his head in his bowl, he never saw me coming lol

Are you giving her treats when you test? If she's food motivated she'll soon come running when she sees you both the monitor.
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Yes, my sweet girl gets dry food as a treat. DM brand. She loves the DM can food too. She is a good kitty when it comes to her shots. It is almost as if she knows it will help her. She eats, then grooms, then she gets her shot.
 
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