? Help Plz. 11/5 Kit, AMPS 104, +3=61, +5=50

C_Star

Member Since 2018
Not sure if this is a 911 (please let me know if I should repost as that), but I'm very concerned with low numbers I'm getting right now.

Kit is on 0.25 Lantus BID. He's gone much lower than usual today, 50 (2.8) which is very unusual for him. I tested twice to make sure it was accurate and that I had enough blood and came up with the same reading each time. I had come home from work to check on him since he was low at +3.

I gave him 8 Temptations with some honey. He seems ok -- maybe a little drowsy, but he just woke up so I might be projecting. He's sitting on my lap and seems ok otherwise.

PS. We test with AlphaTrak II so I know the numbers are slightly different than a human meter.

What should I do? Please advise.

@Christie & Maverick @Wendy&Neko thank you for the wonderful advice yesterday. Do you have any further insight?
 
Last edited:
The honey will work faster than the Temptations. The usual advice is to test again in 20 minutes and post, as well as monitor him visually of course. Do you have any Hi carb food with gravy? You can press the gravy out with the lid and give him a tsp if needed next test.

Keep testing every 15-20 min. until he gives you 2 readings each higher then the last test you did. Then test in a half hour as he could still drop again and you want to make sure he stays high. If his numbers are still rising but not by lots, tests again in 2 hrs and he should be up. He's drinking and eating because he's in hypo mode and craves food. If he's still in hypo mode then keep feeding and testing as stated. You really need to watch him as with the low BG's his depot will be releasing the insulin.........keep posting
 
Here is yesterday’s post. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/11-4-kit-amps-86-3-70-6-86-9-104.205943/ linked here for connectivity. Yesterday I suggested going down to 0.1 units. You stayed at 0.25 units and today he showed you that is too much insulin. Please reduce his dose tonight.

Please give him some more honey, a drop or two, or maple syrup or corn syrup if you have that. Just add it to a tsp of his regular wet food. Then test again in 20-30 minutes. It takes that long for the carbs from the plate to hit the blood stream. You want him well above 68 before you can go back to work.
 
To answer one other question, it is not a 911. We reserve those for medical emergencies, and you do have eyes on you now. Putting up the ? and words on the subject line like you did is the right thing to do.
 
Here is yesterday’s post. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/11-4-kit-amps-86-3-70-6-86-9-104.205943/ linked here for connectivity. Yesterday I suggested going down to 0.1 units. You stayed at 0.25 units and today he showed you that is too much insulin. Please reduce his dose tonight.

Please give him some more honey, a drop or two, or maple syrup or corn syrup if you have that. Just add it to a tsp of his regular wet food. Then test again in 20-30 minutes. It takes that long for the carbs from the plate to hit the blood stream. You want him well above 68 before you can go back to work.
Yes, I feel like such an idiot. I thought he was ok to stay at 0.25 because the vet said it was fine, but obviously that was the wrong thing to do.

Once he gets back to normal numbers (knock on wood) do I always give him 0.1 after that?
 
To answer one other question, it is not a 911. We reserve those for medical emergencies, and you do have eyes on you now. Putting up the ? and words on the subject line like you did is the right thing to do.
Thank you. Good to know I did that right.
 
I just did another tests (3 readings to make sure they were accurate) and got the following:

8.9 (160)
9.6 (173)
9.5 (171)

So now he's super high 30 mins after the original low dose.
This f**@^$ AlphaTrak never gives me consistent numbers. Although some tears may have dripped into the blood, so maybe that's it, haha.

Do I just keep testing and posting every 15 mins?
 
Do you have any Hi carb food with gravy? You can press the gravy out with the lid and give him a tsp if needed next test.

I only have high-carb dry food. But I can run out and get some 9 Lives or Friskies Indoors -- or do you recommend that I not leave him alone?
 
He's also very hungry and meowing for food and pawing at me -- should I give him a bit of his low-carb normal food? Or just abstain from everything?
 
I think he's out of the woods for now, the temptations are pretty high carb. I am no expert, but I would test again in 30 minutes and see what he's doing. Get some of that HC food for your hypo kit when you shop next.
I think you can probably give him a little LC food now, if he's hungry, just not too much in case he drops again and you need to give more food.
I found better/more info on hypo:

If your cat is testing in low numbers and you are not getting a quick response to your post, there are several things you need to do. (Low numbers are under 50mg/dL or 2.8 mmol/L.) Pet meter: 65 mg/dL
Depending on how carbohydrate sensitive your cat is, feed approximately a teaspoon or less of gravy from high carb food or high carb food only. (If you have a cat with GI issues, using a couple of drops of syrup plus low carb food is an alternative.)
Test again in 15 – 20 min. Depending on the numbers, give more HC food.
Repeat the above steps every 15 – 20 min. until your cat tests in the 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) or above range for 2 consecutive tests. Continue to feed in small amounts to keep numbers in a safe range.
Test in 30 - 40 min. and repeat the test and feed process until there are 2 consecutive tests where numbers are stable or rising.
Test in an hour and follow the same steps.
DO NOT become complacent. If number have risen after one or two tests, it’s important to continue testing. Numbers may bobble up and down as the HC food and/or Karo wear off. DO NOT get one test where your cat has risen from low numbers into the 50s and go to sleep or leave the house. You are putting your cat in a risky situation. When in doubt, leave HC food out.
 
You'll very rarely get the exact number in 2 tests even with the same drop of blood. Handheld meters aren't an exact science - they can vary by up to 20% high or low and still be 'acceptable' to the FDA.
 
Tested again (twice), 15 minutes after the last reading and he's at:

11.1 (200)
11.0 (198)

I hope I haven't ruined his chances of remission...
 
Last edited:
The effects of high carb food are temporary. You haven’t ruined his chances of remission. :bighug: When we give high carb food, the goal is to bump their blood sugars by 30 points or so, into a safe range. Next time, try just a couple Temptations. Some people just need to give one if that is what they are using,

Yes, shoot 0.1 units next until one of three thing happens. Option one, he goes below 68 again. Option 2, he spends a week in normal blood sugar numbers. Option three, his numbers keep going up. Option 1 and 2 mean a dose reduction, option 3 means an increase.

Drink that tea and take a big breath. You got this.
 
Thank You!! Scary stuff.
I thought I was all prepared with the Hypo Kit and print-outs of all the Stickies, but what I really needed was advice and reassurance from wonderful people like you.

Kit says thank you too!

Kit.jpg


We have 7 mins until our next reading and will post again <3
 
Kit is adorable, hugs and kisses to the boy. We will be dancing at his OTJ party. Idjit really likes to wear his dancing shoes and make lots of noise. (He has very big round Maine Coon paws and needs huge shoes)
 
Kit is adorable, hugs and kisses to the boy. We will be dancing at his OTJ party. Idjit really likes to wear his dancing shoes and make lots of noise. (He has very big round Maine Coon paws and needs huge shoes)
That was so sweet and lovely it brought a tear to my eye!
Kit will get his dancing shoes ready (fingers crossed)! He has a bowtie already and looks forward to a dance party with Idjit! <3
 
30 mins after a reading of 11.1 (200) he's now at 11.7 (211).

Will test and post in another 30 mins. Hopefully he levels out and doesn't rise or crash.
I gave him 2 Tbsp of his normal low-carb food (watered down to a soup), so I hope he gets back to normal numbers.

Thankfully my work understood that I needed a personal day, so he's getting around-the-clock monitoring :)
 
I think you can ease off on the testing. We suggest hourly testing over 80. He's well over that. :rolleyes:
 
Thank you!

Just tested before reading this and he's at 10.3 (185) so he's coming down.
Will test hourly and hopefully he won't get too low again.

Tonight we'll only shoot 0.1!
 
Back
Top