7/20/ Frost AMPS = 92, +3 = 69, +6 = 42, +9 = 78, PM = 64

[Dorothy D]

Should I give Frost his PM shot with his PM BG being 64?? He got 2 units this morning and at +6 he was down to 42, but he was alert. Is there any way to test the AlphaTrak to see if it's working properly? Seems like from what I read, that at 42 I should have been seeing some "panic" signs - but I didn't. I even pulled out a toy and played with him and he was responsive.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Should I give Frost his PM shot with his PM BG being 64??

No!!….that's a reduction number on the Alphatrak

Have you already fed him?

He needs to go down….I'd go down to 1.5 and continue getting as many tests in between shots as you can but I'd just skip tonight

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

I'm on a business call so have to make this very short. Do not shoot. 64 is below the take action number on an Alpha Trak. It is not safe to give insulin.

 

[Dorothy D]

No!!….that's a reduction number on the Alphatrak

Have you already fed him?

He needs to go down….I'd go down to 1.5 and continue getting as many tests in between shots as you can but I'd just skip tonight

What do you mean a reduction number?

I did not give him a shot tonight. I did feed him and he ate it all.

 

[Margie and Jackson]

It means you immediately reduce all subsequent injections by at least .25 unit. But skip tonight.

 

[JeffJ]

I recommend reading about hypos and how to have a hypo kit ready. See the top "sticky" notes at the top of the forum. The 42 value is quite low.

Nice testing and chart posting today.

Agree with Chris - to reduce to 1.5. Probably safer to dose lower, then safely increase over time based on nadir tests.

 

[Figaro's Liz]

Since you are using an alphatrak meter (as I do), you must be very careful not to confuse the numbers written into many of the protocols on the board, which are written for human meters. Human meters test lower than an alphatrak does. Ln a human meter, 50 and below is considered dangerous, so you will see that number mentioned. Remember that on the alphatrak, numbers below 68 are considered dangerous. They show up on the spreadsheet as lime green cells.
Please read here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
At 42 I personally would have been very concerned and given some food to bring it up. (I am NOT very experienced, and I do worry a lot, so this is only my opinion based on what I know).

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

What do you mean a reduction number?

Since he's a new diabetic (diagnosed less than a year) and you're using the AlphaTrak, when he drops below 68, he's "earned" a reduction.

The idea behind this whole dance is to hopefully have them earn enough reductions that they're on nothing!!

Just something to remember in the future....if you get a Pre-shot you're not sure about shooting, you should Stall, don't feed and post for help. Test again in 20-30 minutes to see if the number comes up without the influence of food (now we're talking under 150 at first....Nobody would shoot a 64 (AlphaTrak) until they had LOTS of experience and data)

When you post for help, make sure your subject line says something like "STALLING...NEED HELP!" to get eyes on it as soon as possible.

We have a tradition here. If someone responds and tells you to shoot, they will stay available to watch you however long it takes to make sure everybody is safe. If they have to leave, they'll find someone else with experience to take over and if they can't stay available at all, they'll tell you up front. We don't leave you hanging!

 

[Dorothy D]

Since you are using an alphatrak meter (as I do), you must be very careful not to confuse the numbers written into many of the protocols on the board, which are written for human meters. Human meters test lower than an alphatrak does. Ln a human meter, 50 and below is considered dangerous, so you will see that number mentioned. Remember that on the alphatrak, numbers below 68 are considered dangerous. They show up on the spreadsheet as lime green cells.
Please read here: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/
At 42 I personally would have been very concerned and given some food to bring it up. (I am NOT very experienced, and I do worry a lot, so this is only my opinion based on what I know).

I gave him a can of Hill pers m/d since it is higher in carbs and just his BG and it's up to 122. I took it twice because it seemed odd that his number would double with 1 small can and an 1.5 hours time Is that possible??

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Is that possible??

Absolutely yes...first of all, that 42 today probably triggered a bounce. Bounces happen when they 1. drop too low, 2. drop too quickly, 3. drop into numbers their body isn't used to (or any combination of all 3)

Bounces are the body's response to 1,2 and/or 3....the liver releases stored sugars and hormones to bring the blood glucose up quickly. A bounce can last up to 6 cycles while those sugars and hormones clear out of the bloodstream so if your cat is bouncing, you don't raise the dose just because you see those higher numbers....give it time to clear.

Also, anytime you feed, the numbers should go up. That's the body's natural response to food. This is where getting the occasional +1 test is helpful. You learn what kind of "food bump" your cat generally has.

 

[Dorothy D]

OK, Thank you. I'll try and get those +1 in tomorrow.

 

[Crista & Ming]

Some cats don't exhibit any symptoms when they go low or they have atypical symptoms. This thread explains it: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

I've tentatively figured out that Ming's "symptom" when dropping low is heavy breathing. He will still walk around and ask for food but when he lies down, he starts breathing heavily.

 

[Sandi and Toby]

As others have said, please read that hypo article. Most importantly, it tells you that some cats have NO symptoms in low numbers.

Whispy is one of those, fortunately or unfortunately (not sure which!). We are ending our third full year with him and his diabetes, although he was diabetic about 3 years before adopted him as well. I believe our lowest recorded number with him was 39 just a few months in, and I swear he looked and acted exactly the same at 39 as he does during a bounce in the high 300s.

Stay vigilant with testing, but as time goes on you'll learn patterns. That doesn't mean that you won't test as much once you learn their patterns, but you'll start to get a really good intuition on WHEN are the best times to test based on the pattern that you are seeing that day/week. We still test Whispy at least 5 times a day, more if the data dictates.

 

[Sandi and Toby]

One quick administrative tip @Dorothy D is that when you don't give a shot, you suffix AM or PM with "BG" in your post title.

In your title you've put "PM", which insinuates the same, but old timers will know for sure that a "No Shot" decision was made if you put PMBG (or AMBG if it had been no shot in the morning, of course).

I see your +2 is 122, that's not unexpected due to the no shot this evening.

 

[J.J. and Phoebe Squeak]

Just wanted to chime in since I'm up with Phoebe Squeak who decided to have a PJ party tonight. We also use the AT2 meter and once Phoebe Squeak got down to 42 and tonight she was at 55 with no symptoms at all. As others have said, those numbers too low on an AT2 meter and you should feed right away. Glad so many smart experienced folks were able to help you. I'm still new, but I've learned so much from very wise and helpful folks on this site.