First Hypo in 10 years

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DebraandOliver

Member Since 2011
I'll quickly reintroduce ourselves, as we really aren't "new" to FDMB. Oliver has been diabetic for 10 years, He is now 15 and still doing very well. About 4 years ago, I stopped testing him before each shot... he's been steady at around 200 on 4.5 units of Lantus for years. No hypos, no ketones, no real complications since his initial diagonsis in March of 2003. Last night, however, was a gamechanger.

We came home to find him sprawled on his belly, legs splayed wide with a confused look on his face, at his peak insulin time... 6 hours after his last shot. Without even thinking, I grabbed the maple syrup and began giving it to him. Luckily, he tolerated it pretty well. The next step was the meter. Reading was LO. First time I've ever seen that on him. My husband ran out to the store to get some high carb dry (we only keep grain free here, big mistake due to complacency). Within about an hour, he started to come back to himself. We skipped his shot last night, of course, and this morning, he's looks pretty good. His BG is 248. With an hour to go until his shot, we'll probably skip it again this morning, unless he's over 300. Then 2 units would be the most he'd get. If that much.

What I'd like to get across is this:

The information you get here never ever leaves you. I remembered everything I learned here 10 years ago in about 2 seconds, and we were able to save Oliver, because have no doubt that had we hesitated in administering that syrup, and then the dry food, Oliver wouldn't be here this morning for me to test. He was that close.

So, Oliver will more than likely (knock on wood and antijinx) celebrate his 10th sugarcat anniversary with us, and we'll go on as before, except with more caution and more vigilence. Truly a wake up call. :thumbup
 
So glad you got there just in time and knew just what to do! It's also a very good example of how things can change, even after years at the same dose. You absolutely saved his life!

You might have a general vet visit and have him checked out. There are other conditions that might lower blood glucose levels, but unlikely they would hit suddenly. I am going to hope he has decided to get by on less insulin!
 
Gosh, good catch! nailbite_smile

I'm so glad Oliver is OK, and so pleased too that he will be able to celebrate his 10th anniversary as a sugar kitty (anti-jinx)!

This is probably a silly question now, but I'm guessing after this you will be testing before every shot...? And it looks like Oliver may need a dose reduction too, so it would be good to get some nadir numbers for him. The lantus forum is pretty active if you want to post there to get some experienced lantus eyes on Oliver's case.

Welcome back to FDMB!
 
Elizabeth, you are right, I will be testing at every shot for the forseeable future. His BG this morning, pre-shot was 454, (he predictably went up pretty quickly from 248 two hours ago) so insulin was called for. We're starting right now with 2 units, and we'll see where we are at nadir, or slightly after, this afternoon.

And Sue, you are correct. My first thought was that there may be something else going on. He's due for his 6 month check next month. I'll be making the appointment today.
 
:shock: Blimey.

This is a lessen to us all. Newbies & 'Oldbies' alike. :shock:

So glad you caught him in time. Hope he's OK.
 
I would definitely be monitoring more....
It doesn't sound like you got a number while he was so low ( obviously busy working to get him up) ; hypo's can make them
oversensitive to the insulin.
So he could do it again.
 
We didn't get a number, but we got LO on the meter, pretty much right after we found him, which told the story pretty clearly. After the carbs, he started moving up... we got a 47, then a 70, so I knew he was coming out of it.

Will be leaving work shortly and will test him when I get home. Normally on two units, he doesn't budge below 300, so it should be interesting to see where he is.
 
So today's readings were 248 at about +10, 450 pre shot, 212 at 6 hours and just now 312. He got another 2 units. He's looking good, aware and spry. Hopefully the curve will flatten out again, and at a lower dose.
 
Just a quick update 4 days after that hypo. We've been able to keep Oliver under 300 on 2 units of Lantus. He's been exhibiting a nice gentle curve, nadir numbers are around 150 and pre shots are under 300. Tonight's was 222. I was not comfortable, after the hypo, giving him 2 units on a preshot of 200, so I cut it back a smidge. I'm sure he would have been fine, and it's probably best to just leave the dose and let it flatten out more, but I just couldn't do it. We'll see where he is in the am and then continue on a steady dose, and see if we can get the Lantus to do it's magic again.

Spoke to the vet.. she said to keep on this course for now, and bring him in in March for his 6 month check as scheduled. He's eating fine, active and spry. Btw, I'm not sure if this was discussed anywhere, and I know it's a function of having diabetes long term, but do any other cats here have cataracts? Olly's had them for years, they don't seem to hinder him at all. Just curious.
 
I'm really glad Oliver's OK.

And I understand your nervousness about the insulin dosage now. I know from personal experience with my own cat how a hypo can really shake you up. And Bertie's hypos were nowhere near as bad as Oliver's was. But you will regain confidence again, (((Debra)))

Bertie has cataracts in both eyes, and the vet thinks he's probably blind in one eye (although you wouldn't think it the way he keeps trying to paw at the little cursor on my computer screen!)

But the vet said that - although Bert's cataracts have worsened in recent years - he has probably had them since birth or infancy, and that diabetes doesn't usually cause cataracts in cats the way that it does in dogs and humans. Although diabetes in cats can be trickier to manage, cats seem to fare much better in terms of the side effects from the illness.
 
One of my non diabetic cats was diagnosed with immature cataracts a few years ago. My vet said that was really the only indicator of him being a senior cat. Fast forward to now (hes 18-19 years old), the haziness of his eyes are more prominent and I think sometimes he does get frustrated but our vet suggested having night lights on around the areas he most ventures to and it does seem to help me see a little bit more.
 
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