I would caution you to be
very careful with the insulin at this point. Just because she had a reading in the 400s doesn’t mean she needs an increase in dose just yet. That was a catastrophic hypo situation, and depending on how often you were testing before and whether you were adjusting dose according to a slow and methodical protocol, it’s possible that she was being overdosed for quite some time and her body’s compensatory defenses were overwhelmed. I’m not saying that happened, but without comprehensive data, it’s possible. We’ve seen it before.
What insulin are you using? What is the strength? What syringes are you using? Photos are great if you can post them (copy/paste into the message if you can because the upload function is broken). I believe I saw reference to Lantus (100 mg/ml is typical strength) but it’s worth verifying. In some countries, we’ve seen vets prescribe insulins that are harsh and not really appropriate for cats as well as syringes that aren’t ideal for drawing small doses.
It’s important to have a clear understanding of what insulin you’re using as well as the syringe type in order to understand what “one line” means as far as units of insulin. Also, different insulins have different “action” and that matters too. You’re working with a very delicate situation so details really matter right now. And the more BG values you can collect over the next few days, the better it will help paint the picture of what’s happening.
Again, please be very, very careful about increasing the dose just yet. Especially if she’s on Lantus, you’ll want to allow time for the depot to fill. You absolutely don’t want to find yourself in another hypo situation. I doubt she’d have the strength to survive it.
It sounds positive that you’re seeing little improvements. Recovery takes a very long time, and we just don’t know what’s possible if we don’t try. She’s obviously wrung out from the experience but it doesn’t sound like she’s suffering, so if she continues to be stable, and if you have the time and resources to see how this plays out, I don’t think it’s wrong. You can always make the decision to let her go if things start going the wrong direction.
We had a cat on the board many years ago who was massively overdosed (30x normal dose) by a worker at a vet clinic. Toonces seized for hours while no one was around and nearly died. He recovered up to a point but did have permanent injuries as a result. I don’t think Stefani comes around much these days (Toonces passed away approx 15 years ago) but she moved heaven and earth to help Toonces and she might be able to provide insight into what the recovery looked like and how long things took to happen.
@Stefani Olsen
Best wishes. I’m pulling for you.
