Melissa and Rascal
Member Since 2015
Hi! Rascal (17) and I are new here. She was diagnosed last fall after steroid use for IBD. We got her well regulated and switched to a steroid less likely to cause diabetes and got her into remission for a few months. Several weeks ago her BG numbers were up again, maybe due to a UTI she was treated for, but who knows. She is now back on Lantus, but everything is different this time. She seems a lot more sensitive to insulin. When off, her numbers are typically low 200s to mid-300s (mg/dL) with a human glucometer. Very small doses like 0.25 or 0.50 units have not been bringing the numbers down much. Maybe 150/160 at the lowest.
I've been gradually increasing the dose. She got 0.75 a couple times, and even at 1.0 unit last Thursday she went gradually from 290 to 170 in seven hours then back up to 218 five hours after that (bedtime). She got a smaller dose (0.50 units) that night and the next day (Friday) when she was at 230. She got down to 187 and went back up to 239 at night. She then got about 0.75 units at most. Yesterday (Saturday) morning at 264 we tried 1 unit again and suddenly her BGs tumbled incredibly quickly: Down to 130 in less than two hours. Before hour 3 she was at 60 mg/dL! I knew the Lantus would keep on working for hours and was terrified so I fed her and then started with the Karo syrup. I probably gave her too much in the end as she vomited and had diarrhea pretty soon after, but I was monitoring her BGs constantly and got her back up to around 100 in 30 minutes. She didn't eat much the rest of the day but remained around 170 until bedtime. SO SCARY. She showed signs of hypoglycemia we had seen once before when she was dosed way too high by the vet and we were not home testing yet - pacing and stumbling, confusion, etc. I gave her no more insulin last night.
This morning she was at 255 and this afternoon at 296, but I am still holding off on the insulin. I know I need to get her back on insulin, but when and how much? Is this a rebound or a normal high? Is she at higher risk for another hypo event in the next few days? Sorry I don't have a spreadsheet to post yet. We keep her numbers in a daily log for now. The situation is also complicated by the fact that with her IBD and age and periodic low appetite she is not on a strict feeding schedule but is allowed to free feed. Any advice on how to proceed with the insulin would be much appreciated. Thank you!
I've been gradually increasing the dose. She got 0.75 a couple times, and even at 1.0 unit last Thursday she went gradually from 290 to 170 in seven hours then back up to 218 five hours after that (bedtime). She got a smaller dose (0.50 units) that night and the next day (Friday) when she was at 230. She got down to 187 and went back up to 239 at night. She then got about 0.75 units at most. Yesterday (Saturday) morning at 264 we tried 1 unit again and suddenly her BGs tumbled incredibly quickly: Down to 130 in less than two hours. Before hour 3 she was at 60 mg/dL! I knew the Lantus would keep on working for hours and was terrified so I fed her and then started with the Karo syrup. I probably gave her too much in the end as she vomited and had diarrhea pretty soon after, but I was monitoring her BGs constantly and got her back up to around 100 in 30 minutes. She didn't eat much the rest of the day but remained around 170 until bedtime. SO SCARY. She showed signs of hypoglycemia we had seen once before when she was dosed way too high by the vet and we were not home testing yet - pacing and stumbling, confusion, etc. I gave her no more insulin last night.
This morning she was at 255 and this afternoon at 296, but I am still holding off on the insulin. I know I need to get her back on insulin, but when and how much? Is this a rebound or a normal high? Is she at higher risk for another hypo event in the next few days? Sorry I don't have a spreadsheet to post yet. We keep her numbers in a daily log for now. The situation is also complicated by the fact that with her IBD and age and periodic low appetite she is not on a strict feeding schedule but is allowed to free feed. Any advice on how to proceed with the insulin would be much appreciated. Thank you!
