Asymptomatic hypo?

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Tiger and the squid

Tiger and the squid

Member Since 2018
Tested Tiger at +4 and hes reading 42. He is acting okay (minus a peepee incident), just hanging out in the closet. His blood sugar has been really unstable but always running high, not this low.

Should I keep checking every 20-30 minutes? I gave him a tablespoon of dry food, which he nibbled at (Discordia got maybe a third of it)
 
He dropped another 2 points in 20min. I dont have any gravy food (I've been meaning to pick some up) but I do have a teaspoon of karo and his fancy feast in the closet with us.

His head is up and hes alert (but I think he's going deaf - that's another thing) he just had a nibble of his fancy feast, and got up to get it. Seemed fine on his feet.
 
40's aren't usually dangerous, but they are too low for us to be comfortable when there's insulin on board.

Keep testing every 20-30 minutes until he's at least 60.....then test again an hour later. We usually want you to test for at least 2 hours from the "low"

If you have to give more food (or Karo) because he drops below 50 again, that 2 hour clock starts over
 
Chris & China said:
40's aren't usually dangerous, but they are too low for us to be comfortable when there's insulin on board.

Keep testing every 20-30 minutes until he's at least 60.....then test again an hour later. We usually want you to test for at least 2 hours from the "low"

If you have to give more food (or Karo) because he drops below 50 again, that 2 hour clock starts over
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Thank you for the response. That is what I was reading in another thread.

Guess I'll go make some coffee and try not to cry because nothing is wrong with him I just get overwhelmed.
 

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You can try mixing some karo into his FF if that’s what he’s showing interest in but just getting any food on board may be enough to keep him from dropping. The kibble can take a little longer to hit his system than gravy would, so see where he is in another 20 minutes. Hopefully he’ll eat a little bit for you!
 
You’re doing great. Keep trying to coax him to eat a little and check again in another 20. The last few numbers are basically the same, but at least he’s not dropping! From your spreadsheet it seems like he should be close to nadir, so hopefully you’ll see those numbers start to rise soon :nailbiting:
 
Squid said:
These low numbers are a VERY recent development
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You'd still drop the dose

It's possible he's been getting too much insulin and that's why his PS's are so high.....IF he was dropping low, his liver could be reacting and causing a "bounce" by the next shot time.
 
I'll drop him to 3.75 tomorrow. I will try at least. I have half unit markings so it shouldn't be too difficult. I'd only raised him up to four because I wasn't getting much results or regulation. Maybe hes just slow to respond.

Up to 101, and his +6 is just thirty minutes away. I gave him the rest of the wet food and karo (two heaping teaspoons of food with one teaspoon of karo)

Should I keep testing for an extra hour (two hours from his 65 reading) or just the +6 reading in thirty minutes?
 
Once he was above 60, you didn't need to give any Karo

We want to give them just enough help to get them up to a safe number …..as soon as they're there, we don't want to give anymore high carb food or sugar so that we know for sure that they're able to stay up above it without us having to intervene......a little regular low carb is OK, but save the Karo for when he's actually below 50

I think considering you just gave him the Fancy Feast and Karo and he was at 101, you could wait and test one more time in an hour just to make sure he's doing OK and then call it a night.
 
You can wait another hour now that he’s up to 100. Also no more karo. You don’t want him to jump too high, so just his normal food now unless you see him drop again (doubtful at this point).
Good work keeping him safe! And glad to hear he’ll be getting a reduction tomorrow :)
 
Chris & China said:
Once he was above 60, you didn't need to give any Karo

We want to give them just enough help to get them up to a safe number …..as soon as they're there, we don't want to give anymore high carb food or sugar so that we know for sure that they're able to stay up above it without us having to intervene......a little regular low carb is OK, but save the Karo for when he's actually below 50

I think considering you just gave him the Fancy Feast and Karo and he was at 101, you could wait and test one more time in an hour just to make sure he's doing OK and then call it a night.
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Thank you so much for your input.

I'll go wash his plate and give him regular food and water now. This entire thing has been a learning experience I only hope i never have to put what I've learned tonight to use again. This wasn't even that bad, I'm just a worrier by nature (virgo, if you buy in to astrology) and he is my old baby.
 
We all totally understand!!

The first time China dropped below 50, I knew I needed to get her up, but wasn't real clear about how much I needed to give her.

I had maple syrup and I pour about a cupful into a bowl and gave it to her.....I was surprised she liked it and lapped it up willingly!!

I found out later I was supposed to give "a drop or two", not half a bottle.....LOL

Needless to say, she went up....and up....and up!!:oops::rolleyes:
 
I'm sure this is just punishment because Tiger got half a bath today. We sat in about an inch of warm water and washed his tail and derriere. He was so pathetic about it, so he decided to make me pathetic.

Tiger wasn't interested in the plain karo but he seemed to like it with the wet food. At least I didn't give him a cup of it lol You just wanted to make sure China was the sweetest cat around lol should have given her some pancakes and waffles with that much syrup!
 
Final reading of the night up to 278. Tiger is eating his normal food, with some extra water (and a few freeze dried rabbit bites, since he's gotten poked so much tonight)

Should I do a curve tomorrow? I'm off, so I can, and he handles the pokes so much better now than his first week. But I still hate doing it too much.
 
Glad to hear Tiger is up to safer numbers now :) I'm a worrier by nature as well so I can totally relate to your reaction to this experience :bighug:
 
Once again, Tiger is at 43 at +4. I'm giving him a small amount of karo (just a quarter teaspoon) mixed with a little wet food. His dose was just 3.5u this morning (3.75 was harder to get than I imagined)

Should I adjust him down again tonight, or do I need to keep him steady like with increases? I really ... would like to avoid staying up until 2 tonight, as I work tomorrow (and the rest of the week...)
 
I think you had a bit of insulin resistance happening but it finally broke. Since you're still using Vetsulin, this is 'dose for dose' action - now I suspect even with that drop to 3.5, it's still too much. If he were mine, I'd drop back to 3 units tonight and see where he goes. I know this is scary but it's really a good thing. If you were using a depot insulin it could be 'depot action' but your insulin creates no depot - this is pure single dose action. You know how to do this! If it scares you, SING! Doesn't matter what, just sing. It really does work to calm our human nerves.
 
@Squid - good catch! And I hope your kitty is OK now. (((Hugs, hugs, hugs)))

Can you just clarify which meter you're using? (Sorry if I missed that).
If you are using a pet meter, such as Alphatrak, numbers below 65 mg/dL (3.6 mmol/L) can be hypoglycemic.
(FYI, cats hanging out in closets can actually be a symptom of hypo, especially if that's not normal behaviour for them...)

And yes, it is perfectly possible for a hypo to have NO symptoms until the situation is severe. Some cats show symptoms early on, some when a hypo is moderately advanced, and some do not show any symptoms until the hypo is severe. 'Absence of symptoms does not mean absence of hypo'.

Be aware that if your kitty has had a hypo he may subsequently be more sensitive to insulin, so do watch his BG carefully over the next few days. (Although chances are that he will initially 'bounce' up from this very low number).

For those new to using Vetsulin the general advice is to try to not let the BG drop below 90 - 100 mg/dL (5 - 5.5 mmol/L) in order to give some buffer of safety. That's just until the caregiver has got enough data to get some understanding of how the insulin is working in their kitty.

There is some information about using Vetsulin on the following FDMB link.
Beginner's Guide to Caninsulin (Vetsulin)

Eliz
 
Both of my cats like the closet, so I think it is fairly normal for him. I am using a human meter, and when I tested my non diabetic cat, she was at 68. He hasn't been acting any differently, in fact hes been acting much better than he has been lately. He's jumping up on the bed a bit more (he used to sleep on my pillow every night, so him not getting on the bed was one of the things that caused us to take him to the vet in the first place, leading to his diagnosis. That may very well just be due to old age) his appetite is getting better, but it still isn't the best.

I'm planning on giving him less insulin tonight and checking him a little earlier so I can take precautions if needed to try to avoid being up until 2.
 
Tiger got 3u this evening. I've been checking a little more often. He's at 88 at +3. I've given Tiger about a tablespoon of dry food to try to help slow the drop. I'll keep checking every hour but I dont know what I'll do tomorrow. I'm at work for 8 hours and I can't check him.
 
Wow he’s sure reacting to the insulin now! I’ve never used vetsulin but if it was my kitty, seeing how he’s reacting now I’d drop way back. Maybe even half the dose to 1.5u. Hopefully some other more experienced vetsulin users will chime in, but it’s better to have him a little high while you’re not home, than too low :nailbiting:
 
SpotsMom said:
Wow he’s sure reacting to the insulin now! I’ve never used vetsulin but if it was my kitty, seeing how he’s reacting now I’d drop way back. Maybe even half the dose to 1.5u. Hopefully some other more experienced vetsulin users will chime in, but it’s better to have him a little high while you’re not home, than too low :nailbiting:
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I made a thread in the vetsulin forum - thanks for putting that idea in my head.

I was so anxious for my vet to let me increase his dose, and now here I am, cutting wayyy back. Silly cat, can't make this easy for me, can he?
 
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