BG Reading versus symptoms confusion!!

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Mia and Sped

Mia and Sped

Member Since 2021
Hi all,

I come with full humility looking for answers! I joined this forum about 6 months ago looking for answers. Boy do I regret not following the advice y'all gave then! For some info, my cat Sped has been getting 4 to 5 units of Prozinc for the past 2-3 months. I've taken him to the vet periodically for fructosamine and BG readings and there hasn't seemed to be any issue up until this point.

The past week Sped has been drinking A LOT of water. Pre-diagnosis amounts of water. He also seems a bit thinner. This week I have SLOWLY introduced Dr. Elsey's cleanprotein in hopes to get him feeling better. Sped grazes throughout the day. Today I buckled down and bought the Relion Premier Voice (all they had) and decided that doing this thing blind wasn't going to work anymore, despite my very high anxiety surrounding it.

I tested him just now, 30 minutes before his PM shot time, and the reading was 141 mg/dl. I was expecting a much higher number so I tested again to see 124 mg/dl. I should note that I don't think he has ate a lot today, but I know that he has ate some.

I have no intentions of giving him the dose of 4 units with this reading, but I am completely lost as to what to do. Do I give no insulin despite his symptoms of lethargy and excessive drinking? Do I give a lowered dose? He doesn't seem intent on eating anytime soon, he seems quite lethargic.

I am so anxious and confused about what to do and accept all fault that I haven't tried to help him more sooner :( Any help on what to do now is greatly appreciated!
 
I got Sped to run around the house with his laser and eat a couple treats (UPDATE he is now eating his regular food). He seems a bit lively at the moment. The window for giving him his dose is closing though. Any insight on what I should do?
 
Mia and Sped said:
I got Sped to run around the house with his laser and eat a couple treats (UPDATE he is now eating his regular food). He seems a bit lively at the moment. The window for giving him his dose is closing though. Any insight on what I should do?
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I am not a Prozinc user and I can’t see a spreadsheet so I can’t advise you on dosing. I would suggest getting a SS set up so we can see some data. Maybe the Prozinc girls will be along soon
 
Bold text is high priority

Sorry, hectic day and I'm just now sitting down.

So without any data I can't really say much unfortunately. Not shooting full amount was definitely a good call! Please get a test as soon as you can, I am still worried he may drop low even with the 1.5U.

Do you have a hypo kit? Does he have a history of ketones?

Please take inventory of the foods you have now, as well as their carb %, you can use this link: https://catinfo.org/chart/index.php

Can you define "slowly" transitioning the diet? What was he eating before, and what's the current split between old food and Dr Elsey's?
 
Thank you for your help!

I do have a hypo kit with karo syrup, a meat flavor baby food, etc. He has no history of ketones. I would test him but of course he is under the bed (one of his favorite spots) at the moment and I cannot get to him! Tricky cat. I am keeping a close watch on him until he comes out. He seems alert and has been receptive to food and water.

He is currently eating around 70% Dr. Elsey's and 30% Purina gentle. He was eating 100% Purina gentle prior. The wet food I have on hand (that he has expressed little to no interest in despite using Fortiflora, adding water, etc.) are as follows:

FF Chicken Feast in Gravy - 13
FF Chicken Feast Classic Chicken Feast Pate for Seniors, which I don't see listed but the closest - 4
FF White Meat Chicken Florentine - 14
FF Tender Beef and Liver Feast Pate - 2
FF Grilled Feast Pate - 3
Friskies Beef in Gravy - 14
Sheba Roasted Turkey Pate - 3
Sheba Roasted Chicken and Liver Pate - 3

I've tried to get a wide variety just to get him used to the idea of wet food. He does not even recognize it as being edible, in fact he will give an extra wide berth when walking past the bowl like it scares him. I can see that the pate foods are the best. I tried the Sheba Roasted Chicken Pate today with Fortiflora on it and he gave it a few licks before disregarding it. I know he's probably addicted to the dry stuff so just trying to be patient.
 
Just got a reading on Sped, 51 mg/dL at +3. That definitely seems low, I think I read with Prozinc it should be above 90? He is still drinking quite a bit of water, which I thought would mean he's high! I've offered him a bit of dry food which he is eating now. Could the excessive thirst be something else?
 
Oh that is low. Can you get some of the higher carb wet food into him somehow. The dry food takes longer to kick in. Is the baby food higher carb? Will he have a bit of that?
 
Mia and Sped said:
Just got a reading on Sped, 51 mg/dL at +3. That definitely seems low, I think I read with Prozinc it should be above 90? He is still drinking quite a bit of water, which I thought would mean he's high! I've offered him a bit of dry food which he is eating now. Could the excessive thirst be something else?
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Yes give him some higher carb food. They don’t like Prozinc users to go below 90 …at least until you are very experienced.
Has he had his thyroid test done recently. It could possibly be that or his kidneys.
Add.. I thought I had sent this off just after you posted the low BG but just found it.
 
I got him to lick some of the gravy from one and have given him some high carb treats (Meow Mix soft chicken). I'll crack open the baby food and try to get him to take some right now. UPDATE: he took about a half spoonful of the baby food. He seems alert but calm at the moment.
 
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You may still have up to 3+ hours til nadir. Unfortunately I can't stay up, keep giving him 1-2 tsp of the highest carb food you have, test every 20-30 minutes until he's at least 70. If he goes below 50, high carb food AND honey. Test every 15 mins til above 50, then follow directions above (high carb food and testing every 20-30 mins til above 70).

You don't want to feed too much because you need to keep him a little hungry

Also tagging @Bandit's Mom to keep an eye out as well

I don't think I'll be able to check in the morning but I'll try - give 0.5U only if he's above 200. Get whatever tests you can manage the next few days and nights.

Since he is on dry food yes ideally we want him above 90. 50 is the very lowest end of safe so we need him up up up
 
If you cannot get him up out of the 50s in the next 45 mins, or he goes below 40, and you aren't getting replies here, please change your thread title to add the 911 prefix (to the right of the title is a drop down, select Thread Tools, and the red 911 button). That will get eyes on you hopefully
 
Hi Mia, how is Sped? Any more tests after that 51 at +3?

BTW, in the spreadsheet, you just need to enter the numbers and not "mg/dl" along with it.
 
He just tested 191 at +7. I think he is sick of me poking him and his ears look a bit painful :( It's my first day doing at home testing so I'm sure my technique isn't very good yet. He's a trooper though. He is not drinking excessively the past few hours as well, which I take to be a good sign. Seems like he just wants me to leave him alone and sleep since it is past both of our bedtimes!
 
For those following: Sped tested at 300 just now. I will give him 0.5u as FrostD suggested. He has eaten about <20 minutes ago which may have affected the test from what I understand. Can anyone give some insight on how feeding windows affect numbers? Edit: Just checked for Ketones, still negative. He seems ok, just becoming increasingly annoyed with me :(
 
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Mia and Sped said:
For those following: Sped tested at 300 just now. I will give him 0.5u as FrostD suggested. He has eaten about <20 minutes ago which may have affected the test from what I understand. Can anyone give some insight on how feeding windows affect numbers? Edit: Just checked for Ketones, still negative. He seems ok, just becoming increasingly annoyed with me :(
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You can give him a break, he's bouncing from those low numbers last night (his liver panic and dumped stored glycogen and hormones I to his body). If you can get a +3 or +4 that will be good, then you can probably give him a break til shot time.

Edit: withhold food 2 hours before shot time. No need to withhold food at any other time
 
I wasn't around to get his +3 or +4 numbers unfortunately (although he was being supervised to make sure he was ok) :( Is there any guideline on what dose I should give him tonight depending on his PMPS number?

Additionally, he seems to be having some soreness/pain in his back legs. I would assume this is a neuropathy problem from being unregulated for the past week or more? He was running around just fine last night but he seems a bit stiff when he walks today. Does anybody have insight on how immediately concerned I should be about this?
 
When is the last time you had labs done? I really would get his kidneys checked. The increased water drinking is very concerning to me. So is the hind leg weakness. For that, I recommend checking his phosphorus level because high phosphorus will interfere with nerve signals being sent and it frequently shows up in the hind legs. That will all be included in the bloodwork. I recommend getting a CBC and Chemistry with a T4 to check thyroid (also can cause the excessive thirst). I hope it is not any of these things, but it is better to check. Can he jump up onto things?
 
He had a full work up 6 months ago with fructosamine and glucose checks since then. I will schedule him to be checked ASAP. He can jump up onto the couch and bed, I've just noticed a stiffness in the back legs when walking around along with behavior indicating that he might not like me patting his haunches, which he usually enjoys.
 
Mia and Sped said:
He had a full work up 6 months ago with fructosamine and glucose checks since then. I will schedule him to be checked ASAP. He can jump up onto the couch and bed, I've just noticed a stiffness in the back legs when walking around along with behavior indicating that he might not like me patting his haunches, which he usually enjoys.
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Hopefully he does just have some neuropathy or arthritis.
 
Any other numbers from today to record? I don't know what time zone you are in or when you shoot in the morning. If he's spending a lot of time in pinks, then the water drinking may be expected. If he's in blues, then I would not expect it. It's just that this increased thirst seems to be a new thing you say. So I worry. Does he seem dehydrated at all. When you lift up his skin on the back of his shoulder area, does it take a long time to go back down to normal (some of this is to be expected in an older cat though). I don't know if you can touch his gums. A lot of cats won't let you do it, but you can touch his gums and see if they feel tacky or moist. We want moist, but as I said, a lot of cats won't let you do this check!
 
I was not available to check throughout the day but I will be getting his PMPS number in about an hour and a half (I have taken his food away per advice). I did the skin test and it seems normal, but I have noticed a bit of what sounds like dry mouth. I wouldn't say he's smacking his lips like when he is nauseous, it's more subtle than that. I could be totally wrong. After walking around a bit it seems like he's a bit less stiff. I will note that last night when he was in the normal numbers he was not drinking excessively. I have a theory on what might be happening, maybe somebody can add input.

I believe this last week when I was switching him to a lower carb food (Purina gentle to Dr. Elseys) he was getting too much insulin and dropping low then spiking. I believe this spike was causing his high glucose and thus the excessive drinking. Now that I am testing and he had a few hours of the night where he was verifiably normal, I have noticed that he was not drinking too much during that time. I feel pretty terrible that this may be the case :( He does not seem like he is feeling too bad right now, not drinking too much but maybe a bit stand-offish. I'd assume that's from me annoying him and perhaps feeling a bit off from the spike this morning?
 
Mia and Sped said:
I was not available to check throughout the day but I will be getting his PMPS number in about an hour and a half (I have taken his food away per advice). I did the skin test and it seems normal, but I have noticed a bit of what sounds like dry mouth. I wouldn't say he's smacking his lips like when he is nauseous, it's more subtle than that. I could be totally wrong. After walking around a bit it seems like he's a bit less stiff. I will note that last night when he was in the normal numbers he was not drinking excessively. I have a theory on what might be happening, maybe somebody can add input.

I believe this last week when I was switching him to a lower carb food (Purina gentle to Dr. Elseys) he was getting too much insulin and dropping low then spiking. I believe this spike was causing his high glucose and thus the excessive drinking. Now that I am testing and he had a few hours of the night where he was verifiably normal, I have noticed that he was not drinking too much during that time. I feel pretty terrible that this may be the case :( He does not seem like he is feeling too bad right now, not drinking too much but maybe a bit stand-offish. I'd assume that's from me annoying him and perhaps feeling a bit off from the spike this morning?
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That gives me hope. I thought he'd been doing this excess drinking for at least a few weeks now? Dry food is quite dehydrating for cats. If he's on a fully dry diet and also has high BG, I would expect a lot of water consumption. Whenever my cats (civvies) get a full dry meal, they drain the water bowls. But he's been eating mostly dry food for a long time (or all dry food) so it's really all about changes/increases in thirst. Still wouldn't hurt to get things checked out.
 
Suzanne & Darcy said:
That gives me hope. I thought he'd been doing this excess drinking for at least a few weeks now? Dry food is quite dehydrating for cats. If he's on a fully dry diet and also has high BG, I would expect a lot of water consumption. Whenever my cats (civvies) get a full dry meal, they drain the water bowls. But he's been eating mostly dry food for a long time (or all dry food) so it's really all about changes/increases in thirst. Still wouldn't hurt to get things checked out.
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If I said a few weeks, that was an error on my part. I have only noticed this change in drinking over the last week which coincides with introducing the new food and not lowering his dose.

Absolutely agree with you. Seeing his bloodwork will give me a lot of peace of mind although it will certainly hurt the wallet :arghh:
 
Got Sped's PMPS - 339. Any insight on what I should give as a dose, considering his low numbers last night? I was thinking 1u to start low and conservative?
 
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