70bg level at vet & 36 with home meter

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taylor_hubbard

taylor_hubbard

Member Since 2014
Hi All,

Tyrone went in for a follow up at the vet this morning and came in at 70. Vet seemed a little concerned and debated on keeping him on insulin for the week but then decided to lower to .5u of lantus 2x daily. I went directly home and tested with the the Relion meter and clocked in at 36mg, which from researching is considered hypo. He showed no signs but I gave him food and he ate and is doing fine so far.

I am hopeful this is a good sign and not that I didn't give him enough food this morning with his insulin. It was about 2 tablespoons of the hills md and he walked away this morning but I held off on feeding him again before his test because I didn't want his results skewed. I will give him the .5u tonight and test him about 4 hours later to see where his bg levels are. Hope this is good news today!
 
Did another test about an hour ago and he popped up to 48. I am feeding him again right now and will re-test in 30 minutes.
 
Hi there :cool:

Not sure if you are following the TR Protocol - in any case a 36 calls for a reduction in dose.

Reducing the dose:

If kitty drops below 40 (long term diabetic) or 50 (newly diagnosed diabetic) reduce the dose by 0.25 unit. If kitty has a history of not holding reductions well or if reductions are close together... sneak the dose down by shaving the dose rather than reducing by a full quarter unit. See additional notes in the next paragraph about drops into the 20s and 30s. Alternatively, at each newly reduced dose... try to make sure kitty maintains numbers in the normal range for seven days before reducing the dose further.

Please do not let yourself become complacent or blasé about drops into the 20s or 30s.

If kitty drops into the 20s, a full reduction of 0.25u (or 0.5u if kitty is on a higher dose) is strongly recommended.

If your cat drops into the 30s, a full reduction of 0.25u is recommended. There are very few exceptions given for caregivers who have collected years of data and KNOW their cat's response to the combination of insulin and food backwards, forwards, and inside out.

Caregivers whose kitties have "High Dose" conditions may find the need to reduce in whole units or more.

Please ask for advice.
Click to expand...
Please post your kittys PS BG and ask for advice before shooting tonight.
 
Just in case you've not seen this yet!
* * *​
Here's what you need to understand the glucose tests with a glucometer - human or pet-specific.

We suggest using an inexpensive human glucometer with pet-specific reference numbers. One many of us use is the WalMart Relion Confirm, or Confirm Micro, which is also sold at American Diabetes Wholesale as as the Arkray USA Glucocard 01 or 01 Mini (same manufacturer - Arkray USA). It uses a tiny blood droplet and the cost is significantly lower for test strips (like $0.36 each).

Comparing a human glucometer to a pet-specific glucometer is like reading temperature in Celsius vs Fahrenheit. Both are correct. You just need to know the reference ranges to interpret what the numbers mean.

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​
Examples of using the chart:

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.)
 
Hi BJM,

I did see your guides and they have been super helpful! :smile: I printed out as a guide but being new, I really want to make sure I am doing it right. We reduced Tyrone down yesterday to .5u of Lantus (2x a day -7am/7pm). I took a Bg reading before food & insulin and got a 54mg reading yesterday. I gave him food & the .5u shot at 7pm. Tested again at 10pm and got a 52mg reading. I gave some more food (fancy feast pate) before bed.

This morning, we fed him and I instructed my husband to get a bg reading before shooting but he's never done it with Tyrone yet and wasn't able to get enough blood. Still gave him the shot and is monitoring- says he was doing fine. I really wish I could be at home right now to another reading but I am at work.

So long story shot- when you do the BG reading- I assume it's AFTER feeding correct? When it's 50mg- sounds fine to give him the .5u, correct? If it's after feeding - do you wait about 20 minutes?

Other questions...my little guy was diagnosed on April 5th. Is it typical for them to start pulling themselves into remission this quickly? This is all happening so quickly & I would be very excited if that's the case but I really want to make sure I'm not getting my hopes up and sticking with the right protocol. Thanks friends! :-D
 
POSSIBLE HYPO SET-UP Please test him again, a.s.a.p.
Have you got high carb food, Karo or other syrup, and an oral syringe if he should go too low?

The low number process is this:
Test
If below 50 mg/dL, feed 1-2 teaspoons of high carb gravy, OR food with a couple drops of Karo or other syrup on it.
Wait 20 minutes.
Re-test.
Repeat until past nadir (+7 hours after Lantus shot.

Are you following the Tight Regulation protocol? That is an awfully low number to give insulin without much data. For safety, we recommend you not shoot below 200 starting out.


(Its test, feed, and shoot within about 15 minutes for Lantus.)
 
My husband just tested him at 1:45pm. He's at 53mg and this would be around the peak of his insulin. He did feed him at 12:30pm so do you think he will be dipping back down? Again, very new to this testing and we gave him his shot because yesterday the vet instructed to reduce to .5u and see where it goes this week. From my understanding on the chart above 50mg is great control so I thought we were doing good...am I wrong?
 
You've jumped in with both feet! We tell newcomers no shot under 200 mg/dL, for safety reasons As you collect data, you can lower the no shot level, but few give insulin when the cat is in normal numbers at pre-shot, without a lot of data showing that it is safe. You've been lucky.

Here's How to Shoot and Handle Low Numbers.

We'd really like you to set up a spreadsheet on Google Drive so that we can give you feedback.

Here is the stickie post for the Lantus Tight Regulation Protocol

By the way, what are you feeding him?
 
We usually advise those that are new to this to stall and wait for the number to go up or skip the shot with a number that low. 50 is a great number but not at the beginning of a cycle, you expect the insulin to take them lower than the preshot number. When you are new to this shooting at 50 can be a little sketchy. You don't know yet how Taylor will react to the food and how much is needed to bring him up and keep him safe. 50 is the low end of normal for a cat. If you shoot that low you really want to be around to keep an eye on him. and be prepared w/ some high carb food if he starts dropping..

We have a saying, "Better too high for a day than too low for an hour!"
 
Got home and tested Tyrone again and it was 46mg. Gave food and I am monitoring. I will re-test in about 30 minutes.

He is eating the hills m/d.
 
taylor_hubbard said:
Got home and tested Tyrone again and it was 46mg. Gave food and I am monitoring. I will re-test in about 30 minutes.

He is eating the hills m/d.
Click to expand...

Based on his number below 50, he earned himself a 0.25 unit reduction. You'll have to eyeball it as nosyringes measure quarter units. He may test higher tomorrow from going so low. It can trigger compensatory hormones to release stored glycogen which converts into glucose.

And if you ditch any dry, you may be able to get him completely off insulin as he's almost there. now.
 
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