Help! Just tested 32, No insulin since Saturday!

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Mamalou

Mamalou

Member Since 2014
Got my first reading today, one hour after shot, meter said 37mg! I don't think I did it right because she is fine. Alert and happy, walking just fine, playful, should I be concerned? Will try again in one hour. What do you think? Scared.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Do you have any gravied foods? If so try to feed her some of that, If not do you have any karo syrup on hand. If so rub a little on her gums.
Then test again.

Terri
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Thanks Terri, I do have some gravy food. Will try it.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

If she is really that low I will try to get some help from the Lantus board as I have no experience with numbers that low. Edit, I now see that she is on Novolin not Lantus, I can still try to get someone to help.

Terri
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

At 39, on Novolin this early, I think I'd go straight to some honey rubbed on her gums. Then in 10 minutes or so, another test. N does hit early but she may drop further in the next few hours.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Anything under forty, Lou Ann, is hypo territory - we usually see these numbers much later in the cycle. If she drops much further and the gravy/honey don't mean a rise, I think I'd take her to the vet. Hypo is very dangerous.

Test again in case the first one was a fluke. If not, please add a 911 to your post. (go back up to your first post, choose Edit and add 911)
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

26!!! What! I gave her some Karo. Good grief! I am wondering if the meter is correct or not. She is fine. What is going on?
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Lou Ann,

I think I would pack her right up now and get her to the vet NOW. Test maybe one more time NOW and if you get that again go to the vet.
Edit, Yes as Sue said test the meter on your self and make sure it is working correctly
Terri
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Try the meter on yourself. Does it read in a normal range (in the 100s). Is it possible you have it set to metric? Check the instructions to see.

If she is acting fine, something may be wrong with your meter.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I tested myself, 124. normal. The meter is set for mg/dl. No decimal point in the results as in mmol/L. Waiting one more hour and will retest, and if it is still low, will call the vet. I also tested her urine, it was normal. She seem just fine. She is watching the birds in the backyard and flipping her tail back and forth, ready for the kill. I don't get it.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I don't either. Watch her carefully. I would test every 15 minutes. If she goes any lower, I would take her in and have her checked. (i know she is acting fine, but those are LOW numbers!)
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Lou Ann,

I would test her again now and if she is still that low, off to the vet.

Terri
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

She is up to 55! I had given her more of the gravy/high carb food and re-tested her. I am wondering how the rest of the day will go. Testing every hour. I am hoping that she has gone into remission. No shot tonight if the BG is within an acceptable range. Thoughts?
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Lou Ann,

I think 55 is a good number. Wait to see if Sue comes back online as she has much more experience than I do. I have no experience with Novolin. At least right now she is not dropping any more. Just don`t feed her a whole bunch of food in case you may have to feed her more later. Wait to see how the day goes before you decide about the shot tonight. Yes I would test her every hour if you can.

Terri
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Great! The usual advice is 3 rising tests before you relax. Tonight, get advice. The high carb food and bouncing may mean a higher number, but I'd reduce. And no shot under 200
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I am not sure what you mean by:
terri1962 said:
The usual advice is 3 rising tests before you relax
Click to expand...

This is all pretty new to me, so please explain further.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Lou Ann,
I want to make sure I have the timing right.

What time did she get her shot this morning, and what dose?

And the test at +1, that was the first test you got? You didn't get one at shot time?

Carl
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Lou Ann,

What Sue means is you want 3 tests of her BG levels where her numbers are going up, 55, 63, 78 for example instead of any of her numbers going back down.

Terri
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

No, I didn't get a pre-shot test in, I have learned my lesson!! 2 units

The first test was 1 hour after the shot (7:30 am). 37
The second, (9:00 am) 26
The third (10:20 am) 55

Will test again in another 30 minutes.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

OK, thanks for the clarification.

There's no way of knowing for sure but my guess is that the BG was pretty low at shot time. Probably low enough that you would have held off on giving insulin.

That's water under the bridge. Just very happy that you were able to catch it when it dropped and have been able to stop it from dropping.

Test in 30 is a great idea :-)
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Lou Ann,
Your insulin is Novolin "N", right? What does the vial say?
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Hello. I'm so glad you tested at +1 and caught that number. I'm so glad you learned to home test, because you just may have saved Lily's life by catching that number and acting on it.

I'm assuming you are using Novolin N and not Novolin R, right?

I believe Novolin R is usually about a 4 hour duration and Novolin N is usually about a 6 hour duration, but I could be wrong and every cat is different (ECID).

This is how I determine when to test next, and it does have a little do with when the tests are in the cycle and how fast the BGs are changing:
Over 70, test every hour
50 to 69, test every 30 minutes
Under 50, test every 15 minutes.

I'm just so glad you tested and were preparred with gravy and karo.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Much better.
When did she eat last?
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

She ate at 9:00 am that was the gravy meal. Yes, it's Novolin N Carl. I am hoping I can find her for her next test. She ran to the basement when I started the vacuum! Probably shouldn't have done that. I still have a little time before I have to test her again.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I'll be watching.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Hi Lou Ann,

You're getting great at testing! Well done, you!

How is your girl doing now? (Is she still in the basement? (Cats, eh..?))
And how long is it now since she had that insulin shot?

Eliz
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Hi Eliz and Carl:

She came upstairs when I opened a can of tuna for my lunch. :lol: Couldn't get any blood this time and she was squirmming too much. Gave her a treat and let her go for a bit. Will try again later. Crossing my fingers for another good reading.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

1:40 pm = 137!!!

Yippee!! I think we are good until shot time. Poor little ear is so red, I cannot get blood from the other one.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Sometimes two quick pokes one beside the other on the ear that doesn't work so great makes the blood come out for a reading.

With your meter you need just a tiny bit of blood.

I just switched from Humilin N to Levemir because Scooter wasn't very stable. I had to give insulin 3 times a day on Humilin but always test before giving it since it is really is not as stable as Levemir. It's on my SS if you need info.

Good luck with your kitty your in the right place! :-D

Linda
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I think then it's about +7 (7 hours after the shot), so the insulin effectiveness should be waning now.
I would test her again at +11 (5:30pm) and post the number. Getting a +11 and comparing that number to the +12 PS test can help you to know if she's staying around the same numbers or going up or going down when it comes time to give the shot.

You will need to reduce the dose tonight, if you give insulin. You do not want her going into the 20s and 30s again tonight, or any time that you can avoid it.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I also poke once and if I don't get enough blood, I poke again right next to the first poke. I rub my thumb along the outside of his ear (I test on the inside of my cat's ear) to "milk" the blood up, and be patient and wait as it can take 10 to 15 seconds to get a good enough drop of blood formed. Treats for Lily after every single whether successful or not.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I think I was wrong before in my previous post. I've only used Humilin R (and Novolin R), so I am not experienced with the N, but have been on the board for a long time so I have experience from reading thousands of posts. I think the R actually lasts closer to 4 to 6 hours, and the N lasts for 6 to 8 hours.
Anyway, the effects of the insulin should be wearing off shortly. When a cat goes into such extreme low numbers (like Lily just did), they are very often extra sensitive to insulin after that. So, be cautious on your next dose.

Hopefully, someone with more experience using Novolin N can help you to determine how much to reduce the dose to.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Great advice from Dyana on testing an hour prior to the next shot.

Don't be shocked by a higher number at PMPS after she dropped so low this morning.
Has anyone explained "bouncing" to you yet?

Carl
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

R type insulin lasts roughly 2-4 hours in the cat.
N type insulin lasts roughly 6-8 hours in the cat.

A way to steer low numbers is:
feed 1-2 teaspoons of high carb gravied food
wait 20-30 min
re-test
repeat as needed.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I would love an explanation on bouncing. No clue what that means.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

When the glucose drops rapidly or to an unfamiliar level, compensatory hormones kick in to release stored glucose (glycogen) which raises the glucose level back up, sometimes even higher than usual. We call it bouncing.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

I just saw your post. So happy you caught that low number, was prepared, had help from everyone, and Lily is rising. cat_pet_icon

Now you are an expert at home-testing. :-D

I cannot offer help with dosing your insulin...RumpelT ran on ProZinc.

Hope all goes well for the rest of the day. :smile:
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

When a kitty bounces, you just wait it out. It takes up to 3 days to settle down. Better too high for a day, than too low for a moment!

For some cats, it may work better to gradually lower the nadir aiming for 100 mg/dL first, then aiming for 50 mg/dL, to give the body time to become accustomed to lower numbers.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

BJM said:
For some cats, it may work better to gradually lower the nadir aiming for 100 mg/dL first, then aiming for 50 mg/dL, to give the body time to become accustomed to lower numbers.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but I don't understand. This is all so new to me.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Mikey is one of those cats that needs to be eased into lower numbers. What that means is that instead of having him on a dose of say 2u that brings his nadir (lowest point) to a lovely 50-80, I start with a 1.75, where he ends up only dropping to maybe 90-130. I hold that dose for a few days so he stabilizes and consistently gets a nadir under 150 before I increase him again to a "fat" 1.75u. That will bring his nadir down to around 100-120 for a few days before I increase again to a "skinny" 2u, which'll bring him into the 80-100 range for a few days before the final increase to 2u.

If I just skip the micro-increases and go straight from 1.75u to 2u, he ends up dropping into the 50s in the first couple of days and then bounces into flat 200s for a few more days and then drops to the 50s, bounces some more, rinse and repeat. Because of this, the bouncing can take a week or two for him to clear out where he's running the majority of time in the 200s vs. me doing small increases over a week or two where his nadir might not be ideal but at least he's spending the majority of time under 200 instead of over.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Mamalou said:
45 !! OMG! Now what?
Click to expand...

Give him a little of his regular food and test again in 30 minutes. You're probably going to be skipping tonight's shot so you don't want to carbo-load him if you don't have to.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Looks like I got back in time for the fun. Okay, rinse and repeat. I give him some gravy off the higher carb good and test again in 20 minutes. Interesting development and very unusual. Maybe the high carb kept him high all day and now it has worn off?

Sure glad you learned how to test! :mrgreen:
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Is this your PMPS? Definitely no insulin! Not sure about what that means with your insulin. Gypsy was ProZinc. Maybe wait 20 min and test again? See if her number goes up without food?
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

Thanks, I just fed her the regular good. Will test again in 30. I am so nervous. Don't know what I would do without all of you! Ran out of the gravy food, off to the store after her next poke.
 
Re: Lily's first BG reading..very low!

The Novolin usually wears off by now (it's an "in and out" insulin), so I don't think she'll keep dropping, however, our kitties don't read the rule book, so you'll want to keep testing every half-hour or so to make sure the numbers stay above 40.
 
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