NEED HELP WITH BOUNCING PROTOCOL - "HI" meter reading.

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Camcat

Camcat

Member Since 2020
Hi sorry to start a new thread. I'm just super anxious.
Cam is on a bounce. Her +7 and +9 bs was 463. Her +11 and the monitor (Freestyle precision neo) just says "HI". The instructions say this means "severely high blood sugar". Has anyone else had this before? Is this an emergency?? I just need to know whether I should be rushing her to the vet right now for this "HI" reading.

It was close enough to her +12 that went ahead and gave her two units of Prozinc. I'm going to monitor again in an hour. I am hoping I can reduce her bs drop in the next cycle and prevent any more bouncing.

She's eating (not as much as usual, but still something), and drinking, grooming herself and moving around just fine (but seems a bit sleepy). I think this means she should be okay, right?

I have been reading so much on here, I keep telling myself I must ignore the bounce readings, it will come down, and try to prevent a reduction of 50% bs because it will cause another bounce. And monitor for ketones. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow for the ketone part because, as I mentioned above, she seems okay. I'm just so scared I could cry. Thanks to anyone for help and guidance, and sorry to be such a nuisance.
 
First, it helps to remember that bounces are normal and in many ways protective. They are hugely annoying to us (and the swings in BG numbers probably don't make your cat feel great) but they are a normal part of the process.

For most of us, we have no idea how long our cats have been diabetic at the time they are diagnosed. As a result, their bodies become accustomed to being in higher than normal numbers. As the insulin does it job, it can drop numbers low or it can drop numbers fast or it can drop numbers into a range your cat is no longer used to. When this happens, the liver and pancreas release a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones which cause numbers to spike. The numbers will come down although it can take as long as 3 days/6 cycles for the bounce to clear.

Take a deep breath.
 
Sienne and Gabby (GA) said:
First, it helps to remember that bounces are normal and in many ways protective. They are hugely annoying to us (and the swings in BG numbers probably don't make your cat feel great) but they are a normal part of the process.

For most of us, we have no idea how long our cats have been diabetic at the time they are diagnosed. As a result, their bodies become accustomed to being in higher than normal numbers. As the insulin does it job, it can drop numbers low or it can drop numbers fast or it can drop numbers into a range your cat is no longer used to. When this happens, the liver and pancreas release a stored form of glucose along with counterregulatory hormones which cause numbers to spike. The numbers will come down although it can take as long as 3 days/6 cycles for the bounce to clear.

Take a deep breath.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much Sienne and Gaby. You are right -- her behavior hasn't really changed much throughout all of this, so she's probably used to the spikes to a certain degree. It's just the first time I'm seeing it -- and from that perspective, not knowing was easier!

I am so grateful that this board exists and for everyone who has replied to my (somewhat crazed) posts.
 
I'm happy to say that her bg seems stable this evening. +2 was 391, +3 was 381, +4 was 365. About to test +5.

I'd love any advice on dosing tomorrow. Have been giving her 2 units, but her bg fell pretty rapidly this morning causing another bounce. Tonight on 2 units seems fine. Wondering if I should reduce tomorrow's morning shot to 1.5?
 
Belinda --

There's no way to respond to your question well in advance. The assumption is that your current dose should be fine.. Unless your AMPS is far lower than expected, shoot your usual 2.0u dose.

Why would you think to reduce Cam's dose? (I will likely not be online when you're ready to shoot.) How about opening a new thread and putting something in the subject line re. getting help with your AM dose?)
 
Hi Belinda
Are you feeding Cam during the cycles as well as feeding Preshot.?
One way to help stop/ reduce the size of the bounce is to feed early in the cycle to slow down the drop in numbers. It is the big drops, the fast drops and the drops into lower numbers than Cam is used to, that will cause the bounces.
If you look at Cams SS you will see he is sometimes dropping 100 in an hour. That will trigger a bounce.
You need to feed before the shot but try also feeding a snack at +2 and +3 and see if that helps slow the drop. You may need to change the feed times a bit to fit in with the onset of the insulin but basically what you will be trying to do is slow the drop in numbers down.
Does that make sense?
 
Hi Bron and Sheba, I always feed when I shoot. At +2, when I saw that drop from 411 to 281, I gave her more wet food and a little dry food because I was worried. At +3, when I saw the drop from 281 to 188, I gave her a little high calorie nutritional gel (has corn syrup in it). Those things slowed the next drop to 158 at +4. I just don't want the same thing to happen again today.

I took her AMPS and it's 287. Her 20 min no food retest was 301, so it's stable at least or rising (I had to poke her a few times so it may have given her some anxiety).

I gave her the 1.5 units and will retest in an hour. I probably should have gone with 2, but I didn't want to risk the drops and another bounce. And her AMPS was much lower today than yesterday's.
 
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Don't think there'll be a bounce today! Numbers are high, but not as high as they have been, and are nice and steady. Might try 1.5 tonight too. In Nov, vet told us to try low-carb (Hill's Science diet glucosupport rather than fancy feast), and in Dec. increased the insulin dosage from the normal 1.5 to 2.5. I think these two things together probably were too much.
 
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