Hypo Episode Non Threatening

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Megan Peck

Megan Peck

Member Since 2016
Hello all. I think my cat Jack had a Hypo episode tonight, moderate systems no seisure..disoriented, circling the room, possibly trouble seeing, ravenous hunger when I fed him to bring his level up. I'm new to home BG testing and actually did it the first time in the midst of the situation. Easier than I thought! I'm using a ReliOn Confirm. I got a reading of 78 and 72, 15 minutes apart. I fed him and another 15 minutes back up to 87. I would normally shoot at 7 so I will test him again but I'm thinking he won't need a shot tonight. I would assume I test again at 7 am and kind of move from there. He is acting normal again...purring and snuggling with his sister cat, he has eaten and drank...used his box. So the numbers is where my confusion lies and I feel troubled. My vet of course uses an Alpha and out of curiosity we took a BG Wednesday using both and got a 56 point difference his higher than mine. How do I compensate for the difference in numbers? He told me he thought there would be this difference, but is that a large difference between the two and how does this help me accurately determine when to give insulin, how do I know the true number? Is there a way I should be compensating for a difference using the ReliOn? So worries about when and if it will be right to give him the next shot!! TIA 4 the help!
 
Hi Megan. What insulin are you using? Readings of 78 and 72 on the Relion meter would not usually be considered hypo. Generally we don't consider a cat hypo unless there are symptoms and BG is reading 50 or less on a human meter. Did you get those readings of 78 and 72 after feeding Jack or before?

It does sound like Jack was having symptoms of a low BG so no shot tonight might be a good call but without any further information it's difficult to advice you. Has Jack ever had DKA? If so, no insulin may not be the best answer. If you are using Lantus/ Levemir, it may be necessary to get a couple more tests in to make sure Jack is continuing to maintain or rise as far as his BG is concerned to keep him safe. It would be really helpful if you could set up a spreadsheet so we can see what is going on in case you have any future need for assistance but that can wait for now.

What time is it where you are located? How long ago was your last test? Is Jack still acting normally now?
 
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Hi there thx for reply. Those readings were before food, however I came home from an outing to discover him this way and so I do not know how long he might have been in this situation. :(

We use ProZinc and he gets 2 units. Never DKA before. Also never Hypo before tonight. I'm not able to get him to sit still now for another reading, even with some help in struggling getting him in the right spot, he's real squirmy.

I'm in AZ it is 930. He has been acting normal though now for several hours.
 
Hi Megan, how is Jack? You may want to post on the ProZinc forum for some dosing advice. There are several very knowledgable people there that can help you with testing and dosing. @Sue and Oliver (GA) is one. Good Luck.
 
Hi Megan

Sounds like you and Jack have had quite a time. :bighug: Well done for spotting the hypo symptoms, keeping a cool head, and mastering BG testing at the same time! (Crises are great motivators, eh? ;) Thank goodness you had your meter and that Jack is now safe and comfortable. :)

MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Readings of 78 and 72 on the Relion meter would not usually be considered hypo. Generally we don't consider a cat hypo unless there are symptoms and BG is reading 50 or less on a human meter.
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As Linda says, the human meter readings you report are not typically associated with hypoglycaemic episodes. That said, it is important to know that a symptomatic hypo can occur at numbers above 50 (human meter). It is possible that Jack may have actually gone lower than 50 before you intervened, but if he were mine I would be extra cautious from now on when his BG dips below 100. I've not used Prozinc so can't comment on dose other than that it needs to be reduced.

Important Note: After a symptomatic hypo some cats may become extra responsive to insulin and therefore may need to have their insulin dose reduced.

You've got two factors pointing to dose reduction now. As suggested above, try posting in the Prozinc forum for dosing advice (and put a question mark next to the thread title). As it's the weekend the forum has been a little quiet. If you don't get a response on the Prozinc board, post for dosing advice here. (Probably easier to just use Thread Tools at the top of this thread to add the words " - Dosing Advice Needed" to your existing thread title and the add the question mark icon.)

Glad you're both OK. Well done for remaining calm and managing the hypo situation successfully. :)


Mogs
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Glad to hear Jack continued to act normally! Sharon and Mogs have given you a good suggestion about posting on the ProZinc Board to get dosing advice because it does look like a dose reduction is in order. As I mentioned last night, it would be really helpful if you could set up a spreadsheet so those trying to help and advice you can see what has and is going on with Jack. Here are the instructions for the spreadsheet and if you have any problems, just holler and we can give you a hand. :)
 
Thank you so much everyone. I will work on setting up the spreadsheet and also post to that board. I just checked him and he reads 132. He is still acting normally and he just ate. I appreciate everyone's advice and help so much!!
 
MrWorfMen's Mom said:
Glad to hear Jack continued to act normally! Sharon and Mogs have given you a good suggestion about posting on the ProZinc Board to get dosing advice because it does look like a dose reduction is in order. As I mentioned last night, it would be really helpful if you could set up a spreadsheet so those trying to help and advice you can see what has and is going on with Jack. Here are the instructions for the spreadsheet and if you have any problems, just holler and we can give you a hand. :)
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OK you will see I got the spreadsheet link set up, I am off to a start. Good idk but a start. Is there somewhere I can get some guidance as to how to input numbers? I understand that there is a units column and I would assume that is how many units given. What are the +1, +2 etc numbers?
 
Megan Peck said:
OK you will see I got the spreadsheet link set up, I am off to a start. Good idk but a start. Is there somewhere I can get some guidance as to how to input numbers? I understand that there is a units column and I would assume that is how many units given. What are the +1, +2 etc numbers?
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Oh and the AMPS and PMPS, I looked yours over but I am just not sure I am understanding where to put these numbers??
 
The spreadsheet looks confusing but it's really very simple. Because our members are all over the planet, we don't worry about times. We keep track of the hours in the day (AM) and night (PM) cycles. The AMPS and PMPS columns are where you put the readings taken before each shot. The next column called "units" is where you put the dose of insulin given. The remaining columns marked +1 to +11 indicate readings taken following the last shot. So if you give insulin at 7am, your pre-shot test reading would go into the AMPS column. If you take another test at 11am, you would put that reading into the +4 column because the test is 4 hours after his shot. Same applies to the PM cycle. That way, if someone is trying to help you with low numbers or dosing, they can see how many hours post shot Jack is and when he is reaching his nadir in each cycle. Hope that helps but if not, let us know!
 
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