? 11/9 Bea Lower BGs- ultrasound fasting guidance

K

Kirsten ACG

Member Since 2021
Hi,
I have posted with concerns about my cat Bea’s numbers dropping too low. During the day and over night I let her free feed until 2-3 hours before I need to test her which I think probably helps her not go too low. She is also a grazer and does not eat very much at one time. She has an ultrasound at 3pm tomorrow to check in on her small cell GI Lymphoma. I am told to feed her her normal meal in the morning (around 6am) and administer her usual insulin dose but not to let her eat after that. I am worried about her dropping too low since she won’t have food out. Should I follow these instructions and just monitor her with testing through the day? Would it make sense to feed her medium carb food in the morning, especially since the gravy food is something she is often more likely to eat more quickly and fully? Thank you for any input.
 
My vet would have me skip. Others here give a half dose. When is she getting the ultrasound? You could try not feeding after insulin before that day and see she does. See what others suggest. There will be lots of different opinions.

Feeding higher carbs at amps will wear off so it won’t change the outcome.
 
tiffmaxee said:
My vet would have me skip. Others here give a half dose. When is she getting the ultrasound? You could try not feeding after insulin before that day and see she does. See what others suggest. There will be lots of different opinions.

Feeding higher carbs at amps will wear off so it won’t change the outcome.
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The ultrasound is tomorrow. My vet wants me to feed her in the am and give her insulin but then fast her until the ultrasound in the afternoon, for at least 7 hours at least I think.
 
Then my last suggestion is out. So it’s half dose, full dose or skipping. What dies your gut tell you?
 
Kirsten ACG said:
The ultrasound is tomorrow
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I really don’t know but maybe the full dose or at least half if she eats well and doesn’t have a really low amps because I will be able to monitor her at home and take action if she drops before the appointment. The vet gave me the instructions to feed her and dose her as usual last week when her numbers were in the 200s and some 300s and now I’m seeing lower numbers so I’m not too sure. Vet won’t be in until tomorrow so I can’t make contact with her again. Thanks for your help!
 
Kirsten ACG said:
The ultrasound is tomorrow
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tiffmaxee said:
Then my last suggestion is out. So it’s half dose, full dose or skipping. What dies your gut tell you?
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I really don’t know but maybe the full dose or at least half if she eats well and doesn’t have a really low amps because I will be able to monitor her at home and take action if she drops before the appointment. The vet gave me the instructions to feed her and dose her as usual last week when her numbers were in the 200s and some 300s and now I’m seeing lower numbers so I’m not too sure. Vet won’t be in until tomorrow so I can’t make contact with her again. Thanks for your help!
 
People give a half dose when they are going under anesthesia if that helps. Whatever you decide she will recover from either approach.
 
tiffmaxee said:
People give a half dose when they are going under anesthesia if that helps. Whatever you decide she will recover from either approach.
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Thanks, she is having hypo numbers now so I don’t know what to do for her dose tonight or tomorrow before ultrasound.
 
Kirsten ACG said:
Thanks, she is having hypo numbers now so I don’t know what to do for her dose tonight or tomorrow before ultrasound.
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First of all she’s not having hypo numbers. That would be under 68 on an AT. She was at 66 so that’s the take charge number but unless she had symptoms she wasn’t hypo. She has earned a reduction to 2.75. Situations like this are why my vet had me skip. If she were my cat I would skip the morning shot. I would shoot 2.75 tonight.
 
tiffmaxee said:
First of all she’s not having hypo numbers. That would be under 68 on an AT. She was at 66 so that’s the take charge number but unless she had symptoms she wasn’t hypo. She has earned a reduction to 2.75. Situations like this are why my vet had me skip. If she were my cat I would skip the morning shot. I would shoot 2.75 tonight.
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I do use the AT. This is very helpful. Thank you. She was acting very hungry and pacing a bit but other than that no symptoms. I was going to to leave my house so tested her with how she was acting and found she was dropping hour over hour
 
Of course she responds so well with the ultrasound tomorrow. :cat: Good catch! She might have gone lower if you hadn’t intervened. Honestly right or wrong I would skip the morning insulin. Safety first. Pretend it’s a fur shot. :bighug:

If low tonight at pmps, stall, don’t feed and post for dosing advice. Retest in 20-30 minutes to see if up and post results.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Of course she responds so well with the ultrasound tomorrow. :cat: Good catch! She might have gone lower if you hadn’t intervened. Honestly right or wrong I would skip the morning insulin. Safety first. Pretend it’s a fur shot. :bighug:

If low tonight at pmps, stall, don’t feed and post for dosing advice. Retest in 20-30 minutes to see if up and post results.
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Her PMPS is 175, fairly low. Post for dosing advice here, yes? I wouldn’t start a new post because one post or day, right? Thank you
 
Okay. You still need to watch the first half of the cycle. Are you going to skip in the morning?
 
tiffmaxee said:
Okay. You still need to watch the first half of the cycle. Are you going to skip in the morning?
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Yes, I will watch. Thank you. I talked to the vet’s office and they want me to give her at least some insulin in the AM if not full dose. They also said it’s not the end of the world if she has some food throughout the day as they really want to see her intestines which won’t be affected by food. An empty stomach is ideal so they can see everything but not critical for her. So, I’m still not sure but will see how tonight and tomorrow Amps goes. Thank you so much for your help and support.
 
I see you shot this morning. I just want to make sure you know that dosing is not based upon the amps or pmps unless too low to shoot. It’s based upon how low tge dose takes your cat. I hope the ultrasound gives you good results.
 
tiffmaxee said:
I see you shot this morning. I just want to make sure you know that dosing is not based upon the amps or pmps unless too low to shoot. It’s based upon how low tge dose takes your cat. I hope the ultrasound gives you good results.
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Yes, thank you. When I talked to the vet office yesterday they really wanted me to give her a normal dose. They also said she doesn’t really have to fast so I figure as long as I’m testing/monitoring her and she can eat we will be okay.
 
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