Martin's BG has been raising by as much as 100 after his shot (happened last night and this morning) and that has never happened before. Last night I thought maybe we'd given him a fur shot and that was the reason for the increase, but it happened again this AM and has continued throughout the day. Maybe it's time to increase the dose? Yesterday was his first full day off the dry food completely too! I'm also wondering about glucometer reliability – from what I've read about human meters, it's normal not get the same reading if you test twice in a row, but how much variation should I expect? I did two tests in a row just now and got 263 and 269, but I've gotten numbers as different as 350 and 294 in two consecutive readings.
Hello! Glucometers do vary by as much as plus or minus 20 percent. It’s too soon to raise back up to the .75 units dose. I would hold this dose for 7 days. What other factors could influence the BG? Asthma attack? Other things you can think of?
Hi!! Hmm I'm not sure what else could be influencing his BG levels. I don't see any asthma symptoms although last week he sounded a tiny bit congested – not in the past few days though. We've been transitioning from exclusively dry to Lily's Kitchen wet and he loves it but he's soooo hungry all the time, even though we're feeding him two cans daily (1 in the morning and morning and 1 at night) as well as the occasional LC snack in the afternoon. Last night was the first night we didn't leave any dry food out and he greeted me this morning with a nice puddle of frothy, leafy vomit... he likes to chew on the plants when he's hungry (just out of spite I think, lol). Maybe it's the sugars in the plants? He doesn't eat them when we're around or during the day though, so if that's the reason I'm not sure why the levels would increase during the afternoon cycle. Another thing is that he was very hungry this morning and I fed him 1/2 can and he hasn't been very hungry since, which is strange for him. I put out a little more wet food and he ate a tiny bit but there's some still left on his plate.
Last night looks like he bounced from the daytime blues and stayed high and flat through the PM cycle. Even though he 'crossed colours' 283 & 323 are the same number with meter variance. And today AM cycle looks like he was trying to clear the bounce but didn't quite make it. Prozinc onset is 'usually' around +2. This morning AMPS AM+2 could be a bit of a food bump along with lack of absorption which can vary up to 50% from shot to shot. And just to confuse things more.... this morning AMPS 244 could be 293 with 20% meter variance this morning AM+2 356 could be 284 with 20% meter variance So, basically flat with meter variance. Diabetic cats can't efficiently process the nutrients in their food properly, as they become better regulated you may find he's not as hungry anymore because his body is able to utilize nutrients better. I'm hoping that's what you're seeing here. How was his appetite tonight? Try leaving a small LC snack out overnight. Jess used to foamy vomit if she went too long between feedings.
You're right as always, Shelly! His appetite was great last night and I feel like he's not getting as anxious about food – though I did try to leave out some LC wet food for him to graze overnight right before we went to sleep but he inhaled it in two seconds. Woke me up at dawn scratching at the food cabinet so I gave him a Leonardo drink pouch. This morning he surprised me with an 86 so I'm stalling right now but by the looks of it, I won't be giving him his AM shot. My theory based on what you and everyone here has so kindly explained is that maybe his body was trying to compensate for the lack of HC food with those higher numbers yesterday and the day before and now that it's been two full days with wet LC only he may be starting to become better regulated?
Update: stalled for 20 min and retested and BG was still at 86, so I fed him didn't give AM shot. Tested 1 hour later mostly out of curiosity and he was at 94. This is the first time ever he's tested low pre-shot so I'm anxious to see how the daytime cycle goes without insulin. Fingers crossed he doesn't spike right back up
Great job stalling this morning - you did exactly the right thing! Dose reduction tonight if he's high enough to shoot. Down to 0.25u. He may struggle a bit with this reduction. Give him time to settle in and show us what it can really do. Don't be disappointed if his numbers shoot up today, it's expected, but I'm hoping he surprises us and keeps it down! Many cats naturally seek out food when their BG starts dropping too fast or goes too low, probably what happened at dawn today. If it happens again, please grab a BG test right away to see if he needs more than just a LC snack. Fingers crossed here too! Go Martin Go!!
Thanks for the tip!! I thought about testing but then thought maybe I was just being paranoid – and mostly I wanted to go back to bed! I thanked him for waking me up so early because the sunrise was beyond gorgeous, though. And I did get a bit worried that maybe he dropped too low during night when I saw the 86 this morning but thankfully nothing bad happened, phew! Noted. What's high enough to shoot, over 200? And how do I even measure 0.25?! We're drawing to the very first line of the syringe with 0.50
Oh my goodness! Very impressive Mr. Martin Yes, 200 for now until you gather some data for 0.25u and any No shot(s) required and see what he does/where the numbers land. Yep, you're getting down to those teeny doses! Just like 0.75u but this time halfway between the 0 mark and 0.5 unit mark. To try and keep those smaller doses consistent, some members draw up a sample syringe to use for comparison when drawing the subsequent real dose(s) to be given. Just make sure to mark the sample syringe clearly with tape, a sharpie or bend the needle over so you don't mistakenly use it!
Thanks Shelley! I'll upload pics of the syringe tonight to confirm I'm doing it right i just tested him again at +5 and he's still at 94. Seems ideal but is that normal? Tested on me and my sister that was just here visiting just in case the meter was off and se got different numbers so that's not it...
Normal? No. But, I've learned with FD to expect the unexpected. They're cats, anything is possible! Sometimes, something just clicks, and that's it, they're done with insulin. Keep gathering the data, he'll let us know. Diana, I can't stress enough what a fantastic job you're doing. FD can be so confusing. I wouldn't be able to try and help you understand what might be going on without your dedication
ETA: Think I may have misunderstood what you were asking about "Normal" I was thinking about the cycle so far this AM, the no shot and his numbers staying the same. Realized you may have been asking about the actual reading and if it's considered a normal number or not. If so, then Yes, a BG reading of 94 falls under the normal range as noted below. (Sorry if I was confused. Geesh, that's all you need! ) Have you seen the 'What is Regulation' guideline yet? Not treated - blood glucose typically above 300 mg/dl (16.7 mmol/L), poor clinical signs Treated, but not regulated - often above 300 (16.7) and rarely near 100 (5.6), poor clinical signs Regulated - generally below 300 (16.7) with glucose nadir near 100 (5.6), good clinical signs, no hypoglycemia Well regulated - generally below 200-250 (11.1-13.9) and often near 100 (5.6), no hypoglycemia Tightly regulated - generally below 150 (8.3) and usually in the 60-120 (3.3-6.7) range, no hypoglycemia, still receiving insulin Normalized - 60-120 (3.3-6.7) except perhaps directly after meals -- usually not receiving insulin
Oh yes I totally meant the AM cycle! The three readings staying both the same and low stroke me as kind of amazing but so weird
