Camii, understanding the numbers

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camocustom

camocustom

Member Since 2017
Coming to this group as a new member, here is some back story on my baby:

Working at a local pet store back in 2004, we fostered and provided homes for kittens. That one day in Sept 04 I fell in love with this big eared white w/ tabby stripe blotches, Camii was named and came home with me that night.

Shes been a wonderful loving lap kitty, was diagnosed with kidney stones, heart murmur and UTI, 8 years ago, food had to be adjusted and she gained a lot of weight. 1 year ago i feared kidney failure, but I was relieved it was FD, manageable, best of all, telling my 4 year old Camii was able to come home with us.

Fast forward to today, just started home testing, SS is new but going to get her numbers documented and better regulated.

Thank you all so far for the great information!!
 
camocustom said:
Coming to this group as a new member, here is some back story on my baby:

Working at a local pet store back in 2004, we fostered and provided homes for kittens. That one day in Sept 04 I fell in love with this big eared white w/ tabby stripe blotches, Camii was named and came home with me that night.

Shes been a wonderful loving lap kitty, was diagnosed with kidney stones, heart murmur and UTI, 8 years ago, food had to be adjusted and she gained a lot of weight. 1 year ago i feared kidney failure, but I was relieved it was FD, manageable, best of all, telling my 4 year old Camii was able to come home with us.

Fast forward to today, just started home testing, SS is new but going to get her numbers documented and better regulated.

Thank you all so far for the great information!!
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I am glad you decided to home test. 5 units is a huge dose, and 244 is not a high starting number. Any chance you can do a curve on her? At least try to get a +4-5 number. I would caution you giving so much on such a low preshot number, esp with a fast action insulin like N. How did she wind up on such a high dose? It's double what most cats take.
 
JanetNJ said:
I am glad you decided to home test. 5 units is a huge dose, and 244 is not a high starting number. Any chance you can do a curve on her? At least try to get a +4-5 number. I would caution you giving so much on such a low preshot number, esp with a fast action insulin like N. How did she wind up on such a high dose? It's double what most cats take.
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That would be the vet giving that dose, working on a curve today, going to check every +2, just did another test, updated the SS.
 
camocustom said:
That would be the vet giving that dose, working on a curve today, going to check every +2, just did another test, updated the SS.
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Going to be honest... I don't think your vet is good at dosing. Raising the dose a whole unit is dangerous... Dosing 5 units at a low preshot may cause hypoglycemia. Do you have honey to steer the numbers up if she falls too low? 136 with several hours to go on this dose is a little scary.
 
JanetNJ said:
Going to be honest... I don't think your vet is good at dosing. Raising the dose a whole unit is dangerous... Dosing 5 units at a low preshot may cause hypoglycemia. Do you have honey to steer the numbers up if she falls too low? 136 with several hours to go on this dose is a little scary.
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I do have honey, do members use karo syrup? Used to treat hypo puppies with karo as well, will keep monitoring, just tested at BG at 60! Going to give some honey now
 
Karo wears off quickly so you may need to give more.... So don't feed too much where your cat will fill up and not eat. He's still got about 3 hours of dropping to do so you'll have to be vigilant.
 
I'll stay online if you need support. If it drops too low is there an emergency clinic or open vet near you?
 
Do not leave her now. 34 is way too low, and 48 is also too low. Please give more karo. You can add a few drops to a tsp of wet food, but don't feed too much at once.
 
camocustom said:
Im sending my wife, I'll stay with her here and check again
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OK, good. If I'm reading the spreadsheet, looks like you are around +4 now after 5U of Novalin N? We're hitting (typical) peak action of that insulin about now and for the next couple of hours. The goal is to keep her numbers above 50. We'll use karo and/or gravy from the fancy feast when she's lower than that, testing every 15-20 minutes. Once she starts getting above 50, don't feed but keep testing to see if she can maintain the numbers on her own.

And, as Janet says, locate the closest ER vet-- we should be able to handle this at home with food, but if she starts showing symptoms of hypo do not hesitate, it's time to go. Let's hope it doesn't get to that point.
 
Nan & Amber said:
OK, good. If I'm reading the spreadsheet, looks like you are around +4 now after 5U of Novalin N? We're hitting (typical) peak action of that insulin about now and for the next couple of hours. The goal is to keep her numbers above 50. We'll use karo and/or gravy from the fancy feast when she's lower than that, testing every 15-20 minutes. Once she starts getting above 50, don't feed but keep testing to see if she can maintain the numbers on her own.

And, as Janet says, locate the closest ER vet-- we should be able to handle this at home with food, but if she starts showing symptoms of hypo do not hesitate, it's time to go. Let's hope it doesn't get to that point.
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Yes, almost to +5 at 12:45est
 
General principles to keep in mind when "carbing up" a cat in low numbers:

1. don't give too much food at once-- you may need to keep her eating for a while so you want her a little hungry, plus there's a risk of "scarf and barf" if you give a lot of rich food at once.

2. karo/honey/syrup is the fastest acting, but you want to be careful in using that alone because it can cause stomach upset. Dry food/treats are often high-carb, but take a while to take effect. In terms of staying power, it works in reverse-- karo fades fast, but dry food sticks around longer. A good option is gravy from a "gravy lovers" type cat-food-- lots of carbs, most cats find it tasty.

3. if numbers are very low or the cat doesn't want to eat, rubbing honey on the gums is another way to get a quick boost to the BG numbers

Hang in there, you're doing great!
 
camocustom said:
Ok, at 54 for +5
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and that's with honey and feeding right? Still could drop for another hour. what we want to see are three numbers in a row rising without having to be fed food or honey. 54 is still too low to risk not feeding. I would give a bit of regular food, no honey at this point and see what the number is in 15-20 min. if it's over 65 then we can try not feeding and test again in 20 and see if it continues to go up......... If it goes up, GOOD. if it goes down, give more food again.

Man, I'm really glad you decided to start testing today. without interventions this could have had an unhappy ending.
 
JanetNJ said:
and that's with honey and feeding right? Still could drop for another hour. what we want to see are three numbers in a row rising without having to be fed food or honey. 54 is still too low to risk not feeding. I would give a bit of regular food, no honey at this point and see what the number is in 15-20 min.
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Glad you replied Janet, I was wavering between food/no food on this number-- I agree that it's too close for comfort, given all the honey that's been given and given how large a dose it was this morning. Better safe than sorry.
 
Nan & Amber said:
Glad you replied Janet, I was wavering between food/no food on this number-- I agree that it's too close for comfort, given all the honey that's been given and given how large a dose it was this morning. Better safe than sorry.
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exactly.... If he had said 65 I'd say ok lets hold off and see what happens, but if he doesn't test for 20 with no food or honey and it's back in the 40's that wouldn't be good.
 
camocustom said:
Making her and my daughter lunch, got some FF gravy lovers, will see again after eating
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great.... don't give her the whole can... we don't want to OVER correct and send her numbers to the moon either. Give her a spoonful of the gravy lovers... and if she wants some of her regular low carb food do that.
 
One slight adjustment-- I think you can wait a bit longer, 30 minutes, to test on this round. Hopefully soon we'll be able to give her ears a longer break!
 
camocustom said:
Alright, we are at BG of 58 as of now
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At this point we are at about 6 hours after shot, right? This should be about nadir (lowest point) in the cycle. Ok, don't feed anything else right now and let's see what it is in 20-30 min. Hopefully we will see the number rise on it's own.
 
don't forget to add that 34 to your spreadsheet.... You could also add in the comment section of your spreadsheet the interventions you did --- giving karo and high carb gravy foods. Otherwise that dose looks like it took her low, but it doesn't really show how low it was and that it was actually in hypo range. Thanks to your testing and constant attention to her you kept her safe. well done.
 
You did great, Camii's parents :bighug:. Glad you started home testing today like the others have stated. I hope you guys switch Vets. I would not give 5.0U tonight. I have to wonder how low she went last night, considering that +2 was about the same as today. Hopefully, she is past nadir and will start rising on her own now :cat:
 
Great job today! Like Yong, I was wondering how low she may have gone last night. So glad you've started testing, and yes I'd be looking for a new vet too...
 
Thank you all, she's done really good with all this poking and sticking. As of now @ +9 BG IS 199. I will do a PMPS around 7:30est and take suggestions on new dosage.
 
camocustom said:
Thank you all, she's done really good with all this poking and sticking. As of now @ +9 BG IS 199. I will do a PMPS around 7:30est and take suggestions on new dosage.
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Sounds good. Remember to not feed for at least 2 hours prior to preshot testing. Her ears can have a break until then. :)
 
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