Bad Update/Gluose Dropped too Low

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roxyboxy

roxyboxy

Member Since 2021
For context: In my last post on here, I wrote how Roxy was attacking me and hissing, refusing her insulin all of the sudden. I got it sorted out with the vet and they told me it was probably because I was sticking the needle in the vial too many times, and to try tempting her with food/treats to behave.
That worked, sort of. She stopped attacking me and would let me give her the insulin, but she did it grudgingly. It became easier again and I thought maybe she was just anticipating it to hurt and would realize it doesn't anymore after a while.
Well, the last few days she has been trying very hard to get away from me, and she even hissed/swatted me the other morning. I thought okay, maybe I'm not rotating well enough and should shave a patch on her so I can see/rotate better.

But then today, my mom found Roxy having a seizure. We gave her corn syrup like the vet instructed previously, and after about an hour she was standing and ate quite a bit of food. She ate her usual amount this morning, and I've been wondering if she doesn't like it because her dose is too high? Especially since her glucose dropped to the point of seizure?

I've brought that up with the vet yet again, and have an appointment to check her out but they're not doing a blood glucose curve despite knowing about the seizure/blood sugar drop.

I don't know anymore... What do you guys think could be going on? I feel frustrated and worried sick.

EDIT: I am terrified to give her anymore insulin until her appointment on Wednesday. Is that okay? Is that a good idea considering the circumstances? I don't want to risk this happening again.
 
What dose are you giving her? It is clearly too large a dose and I wouldn't give that dose again. Cats are smart about that. Are you home testing her blood sugars? You don't need to do a curve if you are testing at home. Also, which insulin are you using?
 
Wendy&Neko said:
What dose are you giving her? It is clearly too large a dose and I wouldn't give that dose again. Cats are smart about that. Are you home testing her blood sugars? You don't need to do a curve if you are testing at home. Also, which insulin are you using?
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i am using vetsulin, they did her last curve and said she was good to go in early may at 3 units twice a day. i was going to buy a monitor initially but they said i didn't have to do that. after this i am definitely going to find one.
 
Since you are in the US and if have a Walmart near you, go and get a Relion meter. I think the Prime has the cheapest test strips. So many vets start on too high a dose and discourage home testing. Unfortunately it results in hypos like you have just seen. Vetsulin also isn't a recommended insulin for cats, though some do OK on it. 3 units is a reasonably high dose. What dose did she start out on?

Do you know if she had any other medical conditions when she got her diabetes diagnosis, like DKA or ketones? That would impact dosing.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Since you are in the US and if have a Walmart near you, go and get a Relion meter. I think the Prime has the cheapest test strips. So many vets start on too high a dose and discourage home testing. Unfortunately it results in hypos like you have just seen. Vetsulin also isn't a recommended insulin for cats, though some do OK on it. 3 units is a reasonably high dose. What dose did she start out on?

Do you know if she had any other medical conditions when she got her diabetes diagnosis, like DKA or ketones? That would impact dosing.
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Thank you, I do have a nearby Walmart so I will look for it.
She was doing pretty well, even when trying to refuse her injection. Like, her health improved and she was going outside with me and seemed a lot better. But I think the dose being too high got to her. So idk if the vetsulin was doing well until this.
She started out on 1 unit, then a week later they upped it to 2, then a week later they said 3.
They didn't tell me she had either of those things. They claimed she had kidney disease but when I asked the tech she was confused and checked her results and told me she doesn't and showed me.
 
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/beginners-guide-to-caninsulin-vetsulin.231587/

We never increase by full units
Do you have syringes with half unit markings
We increase or decrease by 0.25 units

Please go buy a meter at Walmarts
Relion Prime 9 dollars it's a human meter , that's what our numbers are based on
17.88 for 100 test strips
Lancets 26 or 28 gauge to poke his ear
Cotton rounds put it behind his ear when poking the fold it over to stop the bleeding for about 15 seconds

Home testing is the only way to keep him from going hypo
What are you feeding him all wet, wet and dry?

Don't let the vet tell you to buy the Alpha Trak pet meter, the strips are way too expensive
Like 55 dollars for 50
You will be going thru a lot of strips
It will make it easier for you


30-unit-insulin-syringe-markings.jpg
 
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Most of us feed fancy feast classic pates , we like to stay under 10 % carbs

Food chart
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/dr-pierson-new-food-chart.174147/
For your hypo kit you can get the following and also look at the food chart

Have some honey on hand also


med and high carb food on hand in case he drops too low and you need to bring his BG up to safe numbers

Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Beef Feast in Gravy 20% High Carbs



Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Gourmet Chicken Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs




Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Turkey Feast in Gravy. 15% Med Carbs


Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers Chicken and Beef Feast in Gravy 15% Med Carbs

Or any other ones from the food chart
 
Always aim for the sweet spot warm the ears up first, you can put rice in a sock and put it in the microwave, test it on the inside of your wrist to be sure it's not to hot, like you would test a babies bottle. You can fill a pill bottle with warm water and roll it on the ears also.Just keep rubbing the ears with your fingers to warm them up
c2b8079a-b471-4fa6-ac36-9ac1c8d6dcca-jpeg.57072
fec17d29-5ab4-44a8-912b-3a91944c3954-jpeg.57073

6. As the ears get used to bleeding and grow more capilares, it gets easier to get the amount of blood you need on the first try. If he won’t stand still, you can get the blood onto a clean finger nail and test from there.
When you do get some blood you can try milking the ear.
Get you finger and gently push up toward the blood , more will appear
You will put the cotton round behind his ear in case you poke your finger, after you are done testing you will fold the cotton round over his ear to stop the bleeding , press gently for about 20 seconds until it stops
Get 26 or 28 gauge lancets
A lot of us use the lancets to test freehand
I find it better to see where I'm aiming
 
Might be a good idea to set up your signature, it's at the end of everyone's post in gray

Click on your name upper right hand corner , a drop down will appear , tap in signature , fill out info
  • On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature. This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. There is a limit of two lines which may include two links; you may separate pieces with commas, dashes, | etc. This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
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Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.
 
roxyboxy said:
I got it sorted out with the vet and they told me it was probably because I was sticking the needle in the vial too many times,
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The syringes are supposed to be used one time only!! Please don't reuse syringes even once. You will be putting her at risk for infection and may contaminate the vial of insulin. Not to mention how painful!
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I wouldn't give more until you get a meter which you can get at any Parmacy today. Sometimes a severe hypo can throw them into remission or make them sensitive to insulin. I have a video in my signature showing how I test my cat CC at home. If the testing shows elevated bg I would start back at no more than 1 unit.
 
My testing showed little difference in needles after 10 uses.

needle-new.jpg

new

needle 10times2.jpg


Used 10 times

Maybe human skin is tougher than cat skin.
 

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I would still not use a needle more than once. There are issues related to keeping it sterile as well as the possibility of contaminating the insulin. It is at the best not standard practice if not bad practice to use a disposable needle more than once.
 
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