BG 176, Should I Give Insulin?

[Alec John Belle]

Hello all,

So my sweet baby's BG just now when I checked her, right before giving her food, was 176. I'm wondering if I should even bother giving her insulin (yesterday morning, well, morning for me, I gave her 1 unit of vetsulin, then gave her 0.5 a unit last night). It's not too high and I'm afraid that even giving her half a unit might drop her too low.

Anyway, let me know what you all think. She's eating her first meal of the day right now.

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Hello!

I would not shoot. When new, we use 200 as a cutoff number, and a hard-hitting insulin like Vetsulin requires special caution.

Did you just start home-testing? Congratulations!

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

I'd test her again in a couple hours, to see how her pancreas responded (or didn't) to the meal. 176 is definitely a "diabetic" number, but it's pretty good for just starting out!

Next time you get a number like this at pre-shot, there's another option besides skipping entirely. Stall, don't feed, and test again in 30mins to see if she's safe to shoot then (we don't want food to influence that decision).

Once you have a lot of BG data, you might also have other options (shooting lower, reducing the shot, etc.) but it really requires understanding your cat's patterns and how her BG responds to the insulin.

 

[Alec John Belle]

Hello!

I would not shoot. When new, we use 200 as a cutoff number, and a hard-hitting insulin like Vetsulin requires special caution.

Did you just start home-testing? Congratulations!

Yes, I just started home-testing today! Well, technically I've been doing it the last two days since her hypo on Tuesday, but I was using my personal meter (I'm diabetic too). But I bought her her own meter today, I got the ReliOn from Walmart.

I'd test her again in a couple hours, to see how her pancreas responded (or didn't) to the meal. 176 is definitely a "diabetic" number, but it's pretty good for just starting out!

Next time you get a number like this at pre-shot, there's another option besides skipping entirely. Stall, don't feed, and test again in 30mins to see if she's safe to shoot then (we don't want food to influence that decision).

Once you have a lot of BG data, you might also have other options (shooting lower, reducing the shot, etc.) but it really requires understanding your cat's patterns and how her BG responds to the insulin.

Good to know! Honestly, I'm not sure if I'm going to be keeping her (I took her in without knowing she was sick and there's just a lot of different reasons) and I'm currently looking into rehoming her somehow. I'm just trying to take it day-by-day while she's still here with me and give her some peace and happiness and just enjoy her company. Thanks so much for the help! I'll check her again in a couple hours to see where she's at.

I'm just nervous because yesterday she was at 220 and when I gave her one unit of Vetsulin, she dropped to 87. That's why I gave her only half a unit for her second meal last night. I figured below 200 was too low for her to get insulin. After her hypo the other day, I'm just terrified to even give her anything!

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Ah, I see.

I'll be interested to see where she is in a couple of hours!

Did you recently switch her to the Fancy Feast in your signature? Wondering if a food change could have changed her diabetic situation since diagnosis. Many diabetic cats can become diet-controlled for long periods of time, with no need for insulin.

The other wildcard here is the teeth... is she on antibiotics for the infection? Are they recommending a dental cleaning/extractions to take care of the problem? Both infections and pain can raise BG numbers, so if she's finishing up a course of antibiotics her teeth may be feeling better and lowering the numbers.

 

[Critter Mom]

Reposting this info here:

------------------------------

A +2 test would help you to catch fast drops and, if necessary, intervene early with a low carb mini feed to help slow the drop. It also would give you an idea of where the cycle might be headed.

The guts of the drop should be measurable by +3 BUT BG levels could still go lower in the following hours (typically between +4 and +7 but it's possible for nadir to occur later, particularly if the dose is too high).

Tests between +6 and +12 typically throw light on the duration of the dose. Numbers climb significantly when the Vetsulin dose peters out - usually several hours before the next dose is due.

Of all the tests, the ones likely to catch fast drops early and the cycle nadirs are the most valuable.

-------------------------------

Here's a helpful diagram illustrating the action profile of Vetsulin in cats (idealised curve):

Mogs
.

 

[JanetNJ]

If you are now over 200 and still nervous shoot 0.75.