Angel, reduced appetite, is it safe to shoot?

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SweetAngel

SweetAngel

Member Since 2014
hi,

Tomorrow morning I have to go out almost immediately after Angel's shot is due. I won't be back in time to do the 4-5 hour test. On Sunday he had a suspected hypo 4 hours after getting 2 units caninsulin. He was 15.5/ 279 pre-shot so I thought it was fine, but 4 hours later his bg was 2.5/ 45 and he seemed really hungry. He just gets one unit now. Can someone please have a look at his spreadsheet and advise me what would be a safe number to test him? (I understand US numbers as well as UK). I'd rather miss his shot than risk him having a hypo. I definitely wouldn't shoot under 200/11.1

Also he's not really enjoying the low carb wet food and I'm worried he's not eating enough. He should have the equivalent of 1-1.5 cans of purina dm per day.

Tested him at +4. going to do him at +5 and will update his spreadsheet. I have to be up and out of the house in less than 7 hours aaargh!
ohh, I just went to do his +5 test and he was eating so I waited until he finished, he was 148 /8.2, exactly the same as an hour ago before he ate.
c x
 
Just posted on your other thread. Check out the glucose reference ranges, especially the ones for the AlphaTrak meter.
 
Hi Cassandra,

It looks like Angel is getting a nice response to that 1 unit Caninsulin. :smile:
(And to think that he was on 3 units just a little while ago. That's a good improvement.)

Regarding whether to give a shot or not, you may find this info from the FDMB FAQ's helpful as a guide.
"Q4.4. My cat's pre-shot level was way below the usual value. Should I give the injection?

A4.4. There's no hard and fast rule, but if you don't have data on how your cat responds to insulin, here are some general guidelines. Below 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/L), don't give insulin. Between 150 and 200 (8.3-11.1 mmol/L), you have three options: a.) give nothing; b.) give a token dose (10-25% of the usual dose); c.) feed as usual, test in a couple of hours, and make a decision based on that value. Above 200 (11.1 mmol/L) but below the cat's normal pre-shot value, a reduced dose might be wise. In all cases, if you are reducing or eliminating insulin, it's wise to check for ketones in the urine. Above the normal pre-shot value, give the usual dose, but if the pre-shot value is consistently elevated, it's a good idea to schedule a full glucose curve to see whether a change in dose or insulin is appropriate. In most cases, the target "peak" value should not be below 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L), and for some cats it might be higher.

Keep in mind that these are general guidelines, and they should be personalized to your own cat's reactions to insulin. If your experience is that your cat does not became hypoglycemic with a dose which is close to her usual, then your experience should be your guide."
The link to the page is here: http://binkyspage.tripod.com/faq.html#glucose

If in doubt then the safest option is not to give the shot. Next safest is to give a teensy token dose.

Do be aware that Angel's numbers may still be dropping now that the (probable) 'bounce' is clearing.

BJ gave some good info in your other thread. It may be worth your printing that out so that you have it available as a reference (especially if the board is offline!)

Re Angel's reduced appetite. It might just be the hot weather that's causing that. My kitties are turning their noses up at everything... :roll:

Eliz
 
thanks both of you x

Yes, could be the hot weather, that has really set my mind at rest. (I bet he'd help himself to the dry given half a chance)
I have the shooting guide from my other thread saved and have now saved the other link.
He was 17.8/ 320 this morning and I gave him 1 unit. I had hardly slept the night before worrying about leaving him for 6 hours if he'd had a reading in low 200's and a shot. So I was kind of relieved. I was ridiculously tired tho, nearly fell asleep in the hospital waiting room when my friend was getting her nerve connectivity test. Then we went for lunch and the reflux (suspected lpr, I'm on PPI's twice a day) kicked in and I rushed to the ladies and coughed until I was sick, ugh.

Came back and Ang was fine and lively, more than I was, I kept dozing off on the train (Mine is the last stop) and the 15 min walk took about 25! I gave him some treats, meant to test him at +6 but we snuggled on the sofa and we slept cuddled up for 5 hours!!!! pre shot 320 again, since I'm home and can test at +4 I gave him just above the 1 unit after some no carb food. (I kind of feel that if the vets had the right info on Mon they would have sent him home 1.25 or 1.5)

I think Angel was nursing me for a change earlier, now the left side of my throat is raw and my left ear hurts, this happens if I'm sick and the hospital STILL won't see me until 21st July. So I'm going to take a painkiller and lie down with Cera (Lili will get cuddles in bed) so apologies if I'm not around, I'm not ignoring anyone with a crisis.

x
 
Awful not feeling well sending you tons of healing green vibes for a better tomorrow and have a good night all tucked in Hugsssssss Kath
 
Thanks Kath,

Angel is doing ok despite me being 90 mins late with his curve tonight. My ear has stopped hurting. I just want to get this lpr (silent reflux) officially diagnosed and get better treatment or worst case an op so I can get myself well and be a better cat mum. The worst thing about this condition is not the pain or the throwing acid up, it's that EVERYTHING, even water, tastes vile, so really difficult to eat healthily. If I had money I'd go privately, Angel's vet bills are in excess of £1,000 already though so I don't feel I can ask my dad to pay out for me too. What with me, one geriatic arthritic partially blind HCM cat, one geriatric cat who suddenly went almost completely deaf overnight last year, and one 8 year old diabetic cat, it's like an inter species hospital here!!

Aaargh!!

xx
 
SweetAngel said:
...I just want to get this lpr (silent reflux) officially diagnosed and get better treatment or worst case an op so I can get myself well and be a better cat mum.
Click to expand...

Hi Cassandra,
I'm glad your ear has stopped hurting, but am so sorry you're going through all this.
Incidentally I don't know if you've seen this thread on Patient.co.uk forums (I expect you have seen it!). It seems that some folks have sent off saliva samples to a UK company to test for pepsin levels.
http://www.patient.co.uk/forums/discuss ... his--38289

Angel's numbers are looking good. :smile:
Is he still getting any high carb treats? Or is he just on the low carb ones now? (I'm just wondering whether eliminating the higher carb treats will inch his BG levels down a tad more...)

Eliz
 
thanks for this Elizabeth, my human 'angel'!

re me:I had seen that site but there are new posts since I checked, so it was really helpful. I did research those tests and they had very mixed reviews, but I was bad again yesterday (I'm sure it's acid I'm coughing/throwing up as my throat is so bad afterwards) so I think I will go for it and just hope I get a positive result.

re Angel, the important one! Again thanks to you, Angel has had no dry food unless a few nuggets of the girls have spilt un noticed) and no high carb treats since the emergency vets. Please with his half point last night but a bit disappointed with his amps. I put it down to having no insulin for 13.5 hours plus he ate a reasonable amount of purina dm in the night. I've tweaked his dose again for this morning to 1.25.

I've got another list of foods for him to try, the smilla seems like it was a waste of money as at the moment between the 3 of them they will only eat about 1/2 a can (even if it is kept in the fridge) before turning their collective noses up.

Angel spent another night on the bed, he really is the most forgiving boy.

xx
 
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