Frodo - first thread | BG dropping overnight?

[Puck + Frodo]

Hi everyone! Long time lurker, first time posting.

Does anyone have any suggestions for why Frodo's blood glucose levels would dip overnight? I've just started using the tracker, but have noticed that his PM levels will often be around 300-350 in the evening (after receiving insulin), but by the morning has dropped to the 100-150 range (before receiving insulin). We only feed him wet food and are very strict to make sure that he doesn't get into his sisters' kibble, but because it only dips overnight I don't really have much observational data on whether he's acting strangely.

We've adjusted his insulin dosage a couple of times this year after consulting with his vet, so I know the answer may just be that he's adjusted and needs his dose to drop again, but appreciate any insight that this community has in the meantime!

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Hello and welcome! First and foremost, please reduce his dose immediately. I do not mean a temporary reduction. He had a number in the 40s with an Alpha Trak meter on the 2 unit dose. 2 units is too much insulin for him obviously. I want you to keep him safe. In fact, I would reduce his dose to 1.5 units and I would get some mid-cycle tests with that AT meter.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

It’s quite a common phenomenon for cats to have lower BG numbers at night. Usually we would not recommend shooting a lower p.m. dose as most cats will do better on a consistent dose. Changing doses too frequently can result in quite a bit of fluctuation in the cycles. If the evening dose is taking your cat too low, it’s often the case that the regular dose it too high. Sometimes with ProZinc, we will need to do a temporary dose decrease if the pre-shot number is lower than expected and you don’t have spreadsheet data to support shooting the full dose. The goal is to gradually be able to shoot lower numbers as you have data to support that.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

We do recommend always getting a BG test before every insulin injection. It’s the only way to know if the BG is high enough to give the full dose or if it’s warranted to skip the shot or to shoot a reduced dose.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

have noticed that his PM levels will often be around 300-350 in the evening (after receiving insulin), but by the morning has dropped to the 100-150 range (before receiving insulin).

This is most likely indicative of him dropping into green at some point earlier in the cycle — probably around +6 — and then rising up to 100 and 150 by AMPS. So we need to make sure he isn’t dropping into a dangerous zone during the night.