BG 57, Legs Shaking, Difficulty Walking

[Caitlin & Charleston]

Just checked Charleston's BG at +4 and got a 57 on my ReliOn Prime. His legs are also shaking and he's moving around a little awkward. I gave him a tablespoon of FF gravy lovers and he ate it right away. He's begging for more food.

What do I do now? Apologies if this isn't an appropriate 911, wasn't sure what to do. Thanks!

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Great catch!

Test again in 20-30 minutes to see if he's come up. If you see more symptoms in the meantime, don't wait for the test to give a little honey or more gravy.

 

[Caitlin & Charleston]

Thank you for responding so quickly! Will test him again shortly and report back.

 

[Caitlin & Charleston]

Just checked him again and he is 65 now. His legs are still shaking and he's begging for more food, but no other new symptoms.

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

I'd feed him some more, then. We usually try to be restrained when feeding in these circumstances (to keep them a little hungry in case we need them to eat later on), and normally we wouldn't be feeding carbs at these numbers, but I don't like the leg shaking symptom at all. This may be an every cat is different situation-- it's rare for cats to show hypo symptoms at these BG numbers, but that certainly sounds like what is going on.

 

[Caitlin & Charleston]

I just called him over and the leg shaking seems to have subsided. His frantic meowing for food stopped too and he settled down. Do you think I can skip giving him more carby food? I'll keep monitoring and check him again in another 20 min. I'll remove the 911 too.

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Yes, you can do that. We want to keep doing it for a while, until you get a couple of rising/steady tests without a food influence.

 

[Sandi and Toby]

Good catch.

I know you have it noted on your spreadsheet and your post, but once the concern has passed, you may want to also update the meter in your signature to say ReliOn instead of Alphatrak.

 

[Caitlin & Charleston]

Okay, will do. Grateful this happened on a day when I am home with nowhere to be. Seeing his little legs shaking was so scary I am endlessly grateful for the support this place provides.

Good catch.

I know you have it noted on your spreadsheet and your post, but once the concern has passed, you may want to also update the meter in your signature to say ReliOn instead of Alphatrak.

Thanks for catching that, I got it updated. I noticed his dose was outdated too.

 

[Sandi and Toby]

Seeing his little legs shaking was so scary

Oh, I have no doubt. But you are right, at least now you know, and you have more data going forward. Namely, you'll have to consider whether your BG "take action" number needs to be a little bit higher for Charleston. Because it is unusual to have any kind of symptoms with a BG 57, but if his legs really are fine, and stay fine, once his BG is higher...then you may have to start to intervene sooner than most of us.

You are doing great

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

I second that, you’re doing great!!!

Minnie has gone down to 48 without any symptoms so his threshold is definitely lower

 

[Caitlin & Charleston]

Thanks everybody! Yes, definitely good to know he's got a lower threshold than many cats. I've been checking him and he's consistently headed back up.

Looks like under the Prozinc dosing methods, he also earned another .25U dose reduction. Is that correct? I just reduced his dose yesterday after his BG was 89, so it feels weird to reduce it again so quickly.

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

I just posted about the same thing with Minnie, but I believe that is correct and he earned another reduction. Right @Nan & Amber (GA) ?

 

[Nan & Amber (GA)]

Yes, especially after what happened today! Be aware also that after a symptomatic hypo, some kitties are more sensitive to insulin for a while.

 

[Sandi and Toby]

(Just a quick note, Charleston's BG threshold for safety appears to be higher than usual, not lower)

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

A true lost in translation moment yes, what she said

 

[Red & Rover (GA)]

Minnie has gone down to 48 without any symptoms

Each cat is different and each time can be different. That is why numbers below 50 (68 on an AlphaTrak) are taken seriously whether a cat is showing symptoms or not.

 

[Ale & Bobo & Minnie (GA)]

Each cat is different and each time can be different. That is why numbers below 50 (68 on an AlphaTrak) are taken seriously whether a cat is showing symptoms or not.

Of course. I was giving an example of that precisely. My cat didn’t show symptoms at 48 and hers did at a higher number so it’s even more important for her to watch for those lower numbers

 

[Lalkabee]

Hi Caitlin, i am glad Charles feel better