? Help with LOW numbers tonight

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Tillie and Valentino

Tillie and Valentino

Member Since 2020
I didn't put this as an emergency, as after Valentino ate quite a bit of high carb dry food, in 20 minutes his number is 278 up from 52 but he is only at +3.5. I'd say he usually nadirs at +5 or +6. Not sure what to do to keep it up. That is with the Alpha Trak ....I had been using Freestyle Libre but it stopped working suddenly.

Of course, this happens on New Years' Eve. Any advice you can give would be great. I just think it would normally be heading down but the high carb food helped swiftly. How long do I need to watch ?
 
Tillie and Valentino said:
How long do I need to watch ?
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Anytime you get a test number that's really unexpected and out of character, it's possible the test strips was bad so you should always re-test immediately.

If his numbers stay up for 2 hours from the last time you fed anything high carb, it's usually safe to call it a night.

Next time, try not to panic though. We don't usually like to use kibble because it takes too long to break down and get into the bloodstream. Most of us use something like Fancy Feast Gravy Lovers. What I did was pop the top, put it back down and "squeeze" the gravy into another bowl (it's messy but it works!) Then you give a couple of teaspoons of just the gravy part (that's where most of the carbs are) and then test again in 20-30 minutes to make sure they're coming up. Then you test again 30 minutes later and again an hour after that (for a total of 2 hours from the time you fed the high carb gravy).

If they drop down again and you have to feed more high carb food, that 2 hour clock starts over.

We want to just nudge them back up, not send them to the moon.

Also, you're changing the dose too often and not taking reductions when you should. Lantus needs to be given at the same dose both AM and PM and if you're doing the SLGS method, anytime he drops below 90, his dose needs to be reduced by .25. You need to hold the same dose for 7 days (unless he drops below 90) before you make any dose changes.
 
Oh, thanks so much for replying! I didn't realize that the dry would be that dramatic a shift. He was ravenously hungry suddenly after being very mellow and tried eating stuff off the floor which he really never does. I should have retested though, for sure. I have been using a human meter most of the time so seeing it on the pet meter really shocked me. He seems sort of exhausted now and went to lie down. I will follow the checking procedure you outlined and make sure he's okay. It was early in his cycle too so that really worried me.

You're right, it's been confusing knowing what to do after he has had these low numbers out of the blue. He is on Prozinc but I know that his needs are coming down now. Do you think I should shoot tomorrow morning at .25 less, or .5 or skip?
 
No worries, I so appreciate your help tonight! Tonight I shot 2.5 but I think it was still fairly low when I shot that. Should I go down to 2.25?

I will read that link regarding the dose protocols, too, thank you!
 
Tillie and Valentino said:
No worries, I so appreciate your help tonight! Tonight I shot 2.5 but I think it was still fairly low when I shot that. Should I go down to 2.25?

I will read that link regarding the dose protocols, too, thank you!
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I had a feeling he would be going low is why I suggested in your other thread doing 2 units am and pm for a few days. You did 2 for only one day then raised it up to 3. Too big of a jump and you didn't give the 2 units enough time to work. I would suggest do 2 units for several days. If it proves to be not enough then raise it to 2.25 and hold the dose. Don't be surprised tomorrow morning if he bounces back up into the high 300's-400's. That's normal after going too low. The highs you're seeing is from bouncing.
 
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You were right on the money @JanetNJ. I guess I was afraid when I saw the hugely high numbers. Thanks for explaining that. I clearly don't know what I'm doing! This is so stressful. He's at 481 right now on AT so no problem giving his 9 am dose. I'll do 2 units and stay there for several days and see how that works, unless of course he still goes low. Does it seem like this sudden need for a new lower dose is related to the acromegaly or the fact that his ear infection is maybe clearing up?
 
Tillie and Valentino said:
You were right on the money @JanetNJ. I guess I was afraid when I saw the hugely high numbers. Thanks for explaining that. I clearly don't know what I'm doing! This is so stressful. He's at 481 right now on AT so no problem giving his 9 am dose. I'll do 2 units and stay there for several days and see how that works, unless of course he still goes low. Does it seem like this sudden need for a new lower dose is related to the acromegaly or the fact that his ear infection is maybe clearing up?
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I'm guessing it's the infection clearing. Infections raise bg.
 
Tillie and Valentino said:
You were right on the money @JanetNJ. I guess I was afraid when I saw the hugely high numbers. Thanks for explaining that. I clearly don't know what I'm doing! This is so stressful. He's at 481 right now on AT so no problem giving his 9 am dose. I'll do 2 units and stay there for several days and see how that works, unless of course he still goes low. Does it seem like this sudden need for a new lower dose is related to the acromegaly or the fact that his ear infection is maybe clearing up?
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I definitly agree it can be stressful. Lol. He's lucky to have you. :) Bounces can take several cycles to clear.
 
Good to see Valentino coming down the dosing scale, though a little scary! Do make sure you have higher carb wet food around. The reason we don't do dry food for lower numbers is not because it's slower to impact the blood sugar numbers (it's not), but rather that it sticks around longer in their system, keeping numbers higher longer than than wet food would.

If you do take him for SRT, his response could keep you hopping as he goes down dose. Good thing he's on a small dose for an acro.
 
Wendy&Neko said:
Good to see Valentino coming down the dosing scale, though a little scary! Do make sure you have higher carb wet food around. The reason we don't do dry food for lower numbers is not because it's slower to impact the blood sugar numbers (it's not), but rather that it sticks around longer in their system, keeping numbers higher longer than than wet food would.

If you do take him for SRT, his response could keep you hopping as he goes down dose. Good thing he's on a small dose for an acro.
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Oh, good to know on the impact of dry versus high carb wet food. My concern was that it would spike and then come right back down again but luckily not as he still had a couple of hours til his typical nadir.

I'm taking him for a single high dose of SRT of his pituitary gland and also for his lung mass (which is suspected carcinoma but can't be sure) this coming Tuesday. I do expect him to keep me on my toes ! Because the single-dose is a protocol some places like North Carolina do routinely, my radiologist thinks it will be effective. Also, his is a very mild enlargement of the gland so I'm hoping that this will do the trick. It will be the same price as the 3 including the additional radiation of the lung mass which is a whole other thing.
 
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