trying Freestyle libre - cat acting strange

[Hettie]

I decided to try the Freestyle on my boy - took him to the vet on Friday afternoon to have it put on. He seemed to do ok with it that evening but by the next day, he didn't seem like himself. He's been hiding a lot, not eating as much as he normally would and vomited his food last night. His BG was really low this morning, so I gave him some Karo syrup and high carb food. I'm wondering if others have experienced this with their cat? Is the sensor causing pain? Should I take it out? Should I give it another day? I'm quite worried about him.

 

[Dyana]

I'm not quite understanding your spreadsheet, as it looks to me like there are two PMPSs a 333 and a 305 yesterday.
What were his test results last night? A 43 is pretty low on the AlphaTrak. I'm glad you were able to catch that and steer his BG. Has he eaten this morning and kept it down? I would test for ketones. Please let us know what the result is.

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

You might be interested in reading this thread written by @Larry and Kitties
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/results-of-using-libre-on-my-badger.212928/#post-2359139

 

[Hettie]

I'm not quite understanding your spreadsheet, as it looks to me like there are two PMPSs a 333 and a 305 yesterday.
What were his test results last night? A 43 is pretty low on the AlphaTrak. I'm glad you were able to catch that and steer his BG. Has he eaten this morning and kept it down? I would test for ketones. Please let us know what the result is.

The first line of numbers is the reading with the AT, the second line labeled "freestyle" are the corresponding numbers from the Freestyle Libre. He did eat this morning and kept it down and just ate again a few minutes ago. Ketone test just now was 0.3.

The numbers from the Freestyle show a downward trend from his PMPS - when I scanned it this morning it just said "LO"

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Glad you caught that low number this morning.

Come over to the Lantus forum and post where there are a lot of experienced people who can help with the dose. Some of them have tried the Libre. That low earned Max an automatic reduction to 2.25 units, but I would like to see what the experienced Lantus people have to say since the numbers were quite low.

You will be asked what "method" you are using. TR (tight regulation) of SLGS (start low, go slow). http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...-low-go-slow-slgs-tight-regulation-tr.210110/
Since you are feeding dry, you will be using the SLGS method.

Tagging @Crista & Ming who also used the Libre for a time.

 

[Hettie]

That low earned Max an automatic reduction to 2.25 units


Tagging @Crista & Ming who also used the Libre for a time.

This low was not normal for him and I think it's due to him not eating like he normally does and vomiting his food last night. I don't typically see low numbers like this in the morning.

 

[J.J. and Phoebe Squeak]

I'm no expert, but when Phoebe Squeak wore the FL meter she was not herself the whole time. She did eat, but she was clearly sad/mad -- not playing or jumping up on the bed and she was hiding most of the time. It was clear she hated wearing it and we actually took it off early and will not do it again. I loved getting the data, but it's not worth it in her case. Others on this board have had great results, so it all depends on the cat. I really hope Max feels better soon!

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

This low was not normal for him and I think it's due to him not eating like he normally does and vomiting his food last night. I don't typically see low numbers like this in the morning.

The numbers this morning were dangerously low. Regardless of eating, getting a 43 and a LO is automatically a decrease.

 

[Hettie]

The numbers this morning were dangerously low. Regardless of eating, getting a 43 and a LO is automatically a decrease.

I thought those dosing guidelines were meant for newly diagnosed kitties? My boy has been on insulin for over 2.5 years.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

@Hettie
Looking at the SS I see you are testing for ketones in the urine. Please keep testing.

When you got these low numbers with the Freestyle libre, did you check the blood glucose levels manually with the Alphatrak meter?
Does the meter look as if it is attached properly to his body?

Always try and get at least a before bed test in for the pm cycle.

If Max is hiding, vomiting and not eating. I am most concerned because he has missed 3 or 4 doses of insulin,(from looking at the SS).
I would take him to the vet as soon as possible for assessment.
With missed doses of insulin, and not eating well and vomiting, he could be at risk of getting DKA again.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

I’ve just looked at the SS again and it looks as if you are using both the alphatrak and the freestyle libre and documenting both in the SS. So there has been no insulin for 1 day not two. Is that correct?
How is Max now?
Is he eating and managing to keep it down?

 

[Hettie]

I’ve just looked at the SS again and it looks as if you are using both the alphatrak and the freestyle libre and documenting both in the SS. So there has been no insulin for 1 day not two. Is that correct?
How is Max now?
Is he eating and managing to keep it down?

Yes, I'm tracking with the AT and FL simultaneously. Since I'm more accustomed to seeing numbers with the AT, rather than a human meter, I wanted to have both. I've only skipped AM and PM doses yesterday.

He seems to be doing better. He's a bit more active today. He is eating and hasn't vomited since Saturday night.

 

[Hettie]

@Hettie
Looking at the SS I see you are testing for ketones in the urine. Please keep testing.

The ketone test is actually a blood test and those are numbers from the meter.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

I have attached the sensors to two cats. Neither seemed to be bothered by them. The were covered to help prevent being scratched off. With Wiggles, my foster, I did find out that he is very sensitive to insulin. He can see a 200 point drop in 3 hours on about 0.1 units Levemir. I also see a large increase between when I test before food/shot and when I give the shot. I noticed this when I read the sensor bout 3 hours after shot and got <40 since the sensor only reads 40 and above. I did testing with my human meter and go 45.

 

[Hettie]

Yes it seems to be attached pretty well. As others have suggested, we used some tissue adhesive to help it stay put and I have a shirt on him so he doesn’t try to bite it off.

 

[Crista & Ming]

Are you able to get the data from the PM cycle from your Libre?

 

[Hettie]

Are you able to get the data from the PM cycle from your Libre?

Yes. The app I’m using provides a graph. I’m still trying to figure out if I can export it to extract the actual numbers at each hour, otherwise I’ll have to just estimate based on the graph. Below is the graph from the past 24 hours.

 

[Crista & Ming]

If you go on www.libreview.com and sign in, go to your glucose history, you can download the raw data. It comes out as an excel sheet and looks very confusing so let me know if you need help reading it.

Here's where to download it:

 

[Hettie]

If you go on www.libreview.com and sign in, go to your glucose history, you can download the raw data. It comes out as an excel sheet and looks very confusing so let me know if you need help reading it.

Here's where to download it:
View attachment 48704

Ok thanks! I’ll give that a try.