Two lows in a row after lots of treats etc

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Dds35day

Member Since 2019
I am new and floundering. My kittys BG was 200 then 120 this morning. Just before I went out it was 50. I gave her FF and many treats. When I came home in an hour I expected it to be very high. Instead it had dropped to 41. I again gave her FF, treats and some honey..it appears to have gone up slightly. How much treats etc do you give from a low. Why would it continue to go down with all that in her. I am not going anywhere now but I'm scared. I just scanned her and she is up to 103. After probably too much treats honey etc I don't know what I am doing. I never knew she had lows..
Thank you
 
My cat takes 30-40 minutes sometimes to move up after eating. Honey is usually quick. There are some great admin here on this site who would be happy to look at your data if you are concerned about your insulin dosage.
 
Lmiller86 said:
My cat takes 30-40 minutes sometimes to move up after eating. Honey is usually quick. There are some great admin here on this site who would be happy to look at your data if you are concerned about your insulin dosage.
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Thank you. I will finish up the spreadsheet tomorrow. She is now up to 198. Should I give her the evening insulin? She was very low most of the afternoon. Don't know what to do. Thank you.
 
Here are the general guidelines on that (taken from the forum's stickies)

  1. Here's from the "Prozinc Basics" sticky:
    • The proper sequence for dosing insulin is: Test/Feed/Shoot. In the beginning, if your cat’s BG is not up to at least 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, if your schedule allows, you can stall (without feeding) for 20+minutes, then retest the BG. You are looking for a number that is rising, not falling and up to 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}. If you stall once, but can’t do another round of stalling and your cat hasn’t reached a BG of 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, you’ll need to skip the dose and wait until the next cycle. NOTE: Because pet-specific meters (such as the AlphaTrak2) often read higher than human meters, you may want to adjust the NO-SHOOT number to 225 mg/dL {12.5 mmol/L} or even 250 mg/dL {14 mmol/L} This gives you an added margin of safety when using an AlphaTrak2 or other pet-specific meter.
    • And from the dosing sticky:
  2. Q4.4. My cat's pre-shot level was way below the usual value. Should I give the injection?

    A4.4. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you don't have data on how your cat responds to insulin, here are some general guidelines.
    • Below 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), don't give insulin.
    • Between 150 and 200 (8.3-11.1 mmol/L), you have three options:
      • a.) give nothing
      • b.) give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose)
      • c.) feed as usual, test in a couple of hours, and make a decision based on that value
    • Above 200 (11.1 mmol/L) but below the cat's normal pre-shot value, a reduced dose might be wise.
 
I would also post in the Lantus forum with " help" as your title. Someone will need to see recent numbers and doses to give you a suggestion. But the dose today was too much.
 
Lmiller86 said:
Here are the general guidelines on that (taken from the forum's stickies)

  1. Here's from the "Prozinc Basics" sticky:
    • The proper sequence for dosing insulin is: Test/Feed/Shoot. In the beginning, if your cat’s BG is not up to at least 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, if your schedule allows, you can stall (without feeding) for 20+minutes, then retest the BG. You are looking for a number that is rising, not falling and up to 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}. If you stall once, but can’t do another round of stalling and your cat hasn’t reached a BG of 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, you’ll need to skip the dose and wait until the next cycle. NOTE: Because pet-specific meters (such as the AlphaTrak2) often read higher than human meters, you may want to adjust the NO-SHOOT number to 225 mg/dL {12.5 mmol/L} or even 250 mg/dL {14 mmol/L} This gives you an added margin of safety when using an AlphaTrak2 or other pet-specific meter.
    • And from the dosing sticky:
  2. Q4.4. My cat's pre-shot level was way below the usual value. Should I give the injection?

    A4.4. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you don't have data on how your cat responds to insulin, here are some general guidelines.
    • Below 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), don't give insulin.
    • Between 150 and 200 (8.3-11.1 mmol/L), you have three options:
      • a.) give nothing
      • b.) give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose)
      • c.) feed as usual, test in a couple of hours, and make a decision based on that value
    • Above 200 (11.1 mmol/L) but below the cat's normal pre-shot value, a reduced dose might be wise.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much.
 
Lmiller86 said:
Here are the general guidelines on that (taken from the forum's stickies)

  1. Here's from the "Prozinc Basics" sticky:
    • The proper sequence for dosing insulin is: Test/Feed/Shoot. In the beginning, if your cat’s BG is not up to at least 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, if your schedule allows, you can stall (without feeding) for 20+minutes, then retest the BG. You are looking for a number that is rising, not falling and up to 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}. If you stall once, but can’t do another round of stalling and your cat hasn’t reached a BG of 200 mg/dL {11 mmol/L}, you’ll need to skip the dose and wait until the next cycle. NOTE: Because pet-specific meters (such as the AlphaTrak2) often read higher than human meters, you may want to adjust the NO-SHOOT number to 225 mg/dL {12.5 mmol/L} or even 250 mg/dL {14 mmol/L} This gives you an added margin of safety when using an AlphaTrak2 or other pet-specific meter.
    • And from the dosing sticky:
  2. Q4.4. My cat's pre-shot level was way below the usual value. Should I give the injection?

    A4.4. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you don't have data on how your cat responds to insulin, here are some general guidelines.
    • Below 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), don't give insulin.
    • Between 150 and 200 (8.3-11.1 mmol/L), you have three options:
      • a.) give nothing
      • b.) give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose)
      • c.) feed as usual, test in a couple of hours, and make a decision based on that value
    • Above 200 (11.1 mmol/L) but below the cat's normal pre-shot value, a reduced dose might be wise.
Click to expand...
Hi her kitty is on lantus :cat:
 
Do you have these at home to bring her BG up
Med and High Carb food and some honey



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Good idea to mark the cans with magic marker how many carbs

Or any on the food chart.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
 
Thank you. The previous vet only did spot checks and had increased her to two units based on one in office bg test. Clearly that is too high. I dropped her to 1.5. Because she was having some high numbers I didn't go to 1 unit.. but that was a mistake.I am anxious to get her in the regulated range because she has lost a lot of weight and could be dangerously thin if this is not corrected. I see now that 1.5.may be too much for now and her numbers may have to be a little high. I also need to correct to be really strict about 12 hour dosing. I work very variable schedules and will get home at 8:30 pm one night and need to be back at 8:00am two days later at 8:00am. Thank you for helping me.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
First of all, what is the Lantus dose you are giving? The dose is too high, if she goes below 50 you need to reduce the dose.

Here are some important posts, telling you what to have on hand and how to handle low numbers, last one is specifically for Lantus:
Symptoms of & how to treat HYPOGLYCEMIA - what to do if your kitty experiences hypoglycemia
Jojo's Hypo Tool box - be prepared, what to have on hand in case of an emergency
Don't Panic! or How to Handle Low Numbers
Click to expand...
Thank you very much
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Once you get a spreadsheet set up, we'll be able to give you some more specific dosing suggestions.
Click to expand...
I had a bad day yesterday. First she had two lows. I fed her probably too much food and treats. Then later and over night it went up to 400. I gave her 1/2 unit. It went up to 411 over night and this morning was same. I gave her 1 unit this morning.
I can't figure out how to do the spreadsheet. I had two times I didn't inject. I think I am a total abysmal failure. So I took a break from the spreadsheet and she is napping. Hopefully her bg will be lower. If I give
 
We don't change the dose of Lantus based on the preshots or high numbers you see, but rather on how low the dose takes the cat. If 1 unit took her too low before, you shouldn't be giving 1 unit again. We can help you set up a spreadsheet. @Bandit's Mom
 
Q
Wendy&Neko said:
We don't change the dose of Lantus based on the preshots or high numbers you see, but rather on how low the dose takes the cat. If 1 unit took her too low before, you shouldn't be giving 1 unit again. We can help you set up a spreadsheet. @Bandit's Mom
Click to expand...
Thank you for educating me. I have reduced her dose so she is not having lows although her glucose readings are about 250. I am very grateful for telling me that the insulin doesn't impact glucose levels for several hours. She has lost a lot of weight and I am afraid she will be in danger if it doesn't stop. I really need a syringe with a 1/4 dose. I will post the numbers by the end of the week but I stopped overdoing it with treats for lows and creating highs. What a dumb bunny. Very grateful for your help.
 
Dds35day said:
. I really need a syringe with a 1/4 dose.
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Hi they don't make syringes with 1/4 dose units only half inch, so you would have to eye ball them
You can order the U-100 syringes with half unit markings from ADW Diabetes

Just call them and tell them what syringes you want and they will contact your vet , your vet can fax it over, give your vet the heads up. Ask for refills also, then you can just order the refills yourself. These make it easier when you have to increase or decrease by 0.25 units ,you still have to eyeball quarter units but its easier to do with half unit syringes
Give them this code
adw-coupon-dia10.jpg

10% off your next order
Any of the ones below
A lot of members like the Sure Comfort Syringes
https://www.adwdiabetes.com/product/1316/surecomfort-u100-syringes-half-unit-31g-3-10cc-5-16in-100ct
 
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