Hypo Help Please

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jenwales

Member Since 2012
I had a feeling today. This is the first day I've hometested although George has been on insulin for roughly 6 weeks. Lantus, 1.5 units twice per day.

My first test today was at +10 from the morning preshot and it was 100. At the PMPS he was 151. I tested him about 35 minutes ago, at +5, and the reading was 20. I retested and got "lo" I use a ReliOn Confirm.

Since then, he's gotten a little Karo syrup (maybe 2 tsp) mixed with Purina One Dry AND Friskies with gravy. He's acting fine if quieter than usual and he wants more food. What do I do at this point? I know I'm up for the long haul. I'm going to test again in 15 minutes which will be at +5:45.
 
Jen,
Do you have any gravy style higher carb food in the house?
Yes, test again in 15 minutes.
Carl
 
Answered my own question.
Don't feed too much at once, because this might go on for while and you don't want a full tummy or for him to scarf and barf.
A tsp at a time.

Carl
 
The dry food takes too long to kick in and the effects last quite a while.

Go with the syrup and high carb gravy which aren't too filling (because you need him to keep eating until he is consistently rising), plus be diligent monitoring every 15 min or so.


And he may be more sensitive to insulin now that he's had a hypo, so once its shot time again AND he's at 200 or higher when this is over, take it down to 0.5 units for safety until testing shows a different requirement.
 
I agree with BJ on the dry. It's not really good for dealing with low numbers quickly. Stick with the gravy and the karo if needed.

Let's not worry about the next dose till the dust settles.

He might not like the repeated tests every 15-20 minutes, but you'll need to convince him it's for his own good...

Carl
 
I'm testing in 6 minutes. He'll be at +6 then. He seems ok. He's rubbing all over me enjoying the attention I think. He's usually noisy and he's being quiet but that's the only change I see.
 
Glad its about to be +6 as you should start seeing the insulin wearing off. That plus the food and he may skyrocket, but that's temporary (sometimes called a bounce) and will settle in a couple of days.
 
Good Jen. Standing by for the next number.
Carl
 
Still trying. His ears don't want to bleed. He clawed me and retreated under the bed. Will pull him out when I stop bleeding.
 
If you have to, aim for the vein. Then staunch the blood by pressing firmly with a cottonball for thirty seconds.
Carl
 
He's flipping out, which I've never seen him do. He's typically docile (but I don't typically prick his ears 10 times in an hour). What happens if I can't get a test? He seems ok. I don't anticipate leaving him any time soon.
 
Give him another spoon of gravy food to be safe. And try again if you can mellow him out.
Carl
 
You beat me to it, Carl!

Definitely, if you're having trouble getting blood, go for the vein - it may bleed profusely, but will stop with direct pressure. A light bit of Vaseline or even plain salad oil on the ear will help the blood beed up so you can catch it on a fingernail for testing.

If he's fighting you, you might burrito wrap him in a towel for restraint, or kneel around him and use you legs to squeeze him some (jeans recommended to prootect against scratches)
 
As difficult as it is, be as calm and matter of fact with him as you can. He may be picking up on your anxiety, making him more agitated.

Exhale completely, then take a slow comfortable breath in. Repeat, but s l o w ly.

Maybe do that while washing the wounds under cool water.
 
Thank you so much for your help, everyone. I am going to stay up to monitor George, but I think I'm going to leave him alone for a while.
 
Ok, the 99 is a good sign. But he could dip again. How much has he eaten since the 20?
You can feed him some more if you haven't already.
Carl
 
He ate about 1/3 of a can of Friskies Tasty Treasures (with gravy and cheese) and probably 1/8 (or less, it was a handful) of a cup of Purina One. He's now glaring at me from the corner of the room.
 
Jen,
After that low of a number, he's likely to be sky high in the morning. You'll need to reduce the dose though, even if you see a high number. You can reduce to .5 like BJ suggested, or go with the 1.0 I suggested in your other thread. But, in my opinion, no more than 1.0u.

Carl
 
When did he eat the dry?

And if his next test is higher than the 99 by 20 or more, maybe start mixing in some low carb with the gravy. It may offset the dry food spike some.
 
Thanks Carl. I think I'd feel better at .5 because I won't be home to monitor him during the day. I'll wait to see how high it is though.
 
jenwales said:
He ate about 1/3 of a can of Friskies Tasty Treasures (with gravy and cheese) and probably 1/8 (or less, it was a handful) of a cup of Purina One. He's now glaring at me from the corner of the room.
Click to expand...

:lol:
Yeah, he'll make you pay for all the poking! But honestly, this is a whole new world to him. Wondering why Mom all of a sudden is chasing him around the house with sharp pokey things. He will associate the testing ritual with treats and feeling better eventually though.
Carl
 
And oh by the way... you handled this episode really well, Jen. At least from here, you seemed pretty calm :-)
Carl
 
Carl & Bob said:
And oh by the way... you handled this episode really well, Jen. At least from here, you seemed pretty calm :-)
Carl
Click to expand...

I'm just a calm typer. My heart rate is just now starting to return to normal. I'm just glad I had all of the hypo supplies on hand.
 
jenwales said:
BJM said:
When did he eat the dry?
Click to expand...

It was about 1.25 hours ago I think. He had the canned first then a little bit of dry.
Click to expand...

OK, so it may be another couple of hours for the dry food effect. The glucose increases so far are probably the gravy & Karo.

Keep feeding tsp as he'll eat it.
 
Another point to mention.... after going quite low on insulin, you may find your cat is more sensitive to the next shot, despite the reduction in dose, so keep an eye on his numbers during the next cycle.

Any numbers that give you a rise in BG from gravy and karo will likely be wearing off in an hour or so, so be sure you get a test before bed to be sure he's still rising. If he has any numbers that are dropping below the 99, you may want to give some food again.
 
Good work, Jennifer. Well done!

And you had some very experienced folks there giving support. FDMB is a brilliant community! :-D

Will be interested to hear how George's BG's are after the food/syrup effect wears off.
 
Good morning, and thanks again for all of the help. I'm going on 3 hours sleep and I have to leave for work shortly. Ugh.

AMPS was 187. I'm skipping the AM injection because I can't be here to watch him today.
 
Good call on skipping this am. I'm glad he's OK. Been there, did that with Spitzer my first week home with him. (I was out of town when he was diagnosed)

Give him a couple days to settle at the new, lower dose, even if he's high. It can take a few days for the aftermath to work its way out.
 
I posted in your other thread but good job on skipping and dealing with the hypo last night

As regards dose when you do put him back on, 0.5 or 1 sounds like a good idea.
 
PMPS was 212. I've lowered the dose to .75 and will keep it there for at least a week unless we have hypo issues again, in which case I will come begging for advice. Thank you all.
 
Hi Jen,
good call on the dose.
If you can check at +3 or +4, you might get an early warning on whether he might go low by nadir.
Carl
 
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