Hypoglycemic when sugar is still up

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Beaner

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My 7 year old cat has a hypoglycemic episode when her reading is 298. Anyone have any suggestions or ever run into this?
 
By definition alone your cat is not hypoglycemic. Please, tell us a lot more, like what dose your cat is on and what insulin, what the symptoms are, other medical conditions, etc. Also whether you've had your cat to the vet for this (STRONGLY recommended)

Jen
 
Some symptoms are common among numerous problems, so:

What happened?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
How long did it last?
Did anything make it better? Worse?
Is there evidence of ketones in the urine?
 
She was diagnosed by a vet with diabetes and a kidney infection, we were told to give her 1 unit if insulin twice a day and also she was given antibiotics. About 3 days after she stopped the antibiotics she crashed (hypoglycemic). We took her back to the vet for an all day testing and the only thing they came up with was to give her a different insulin of which we started her on a bovine insulin and another week of antibiotics. At that time we started home testing her everyday and her sugar was coming down slowly, it originally started at 410 and she crashed again 3-4 days after the antibiotics were done and her sugar was at 298 when this happened. She is not over weight as she is a 7 year old Himalayan and weighs 6 pounds, she eats like a horse except when she is crashing and then she wont eat. Earlier today we talked to the vet and she says the home testing with a human diabetic meter will not work but everything I read tells me otherwise and the last time they checked her sugar we brought her home and got the same reading. When she crashes we give her Karo syrup and about 45 minutes later she comes out of it. When she crashes she walks like shes drunk, drools which has a bad odor to it, she wont eat or drink and has like lock jaw and if you try to open her mouth she will bite.
 
Does her breath smell like Nail Polish Remover (acetone)? If so,
that would be BG TOO HIGH, not BG to low.

HYPOglycemic---LOW blood sugar.

HYPERglycemic---HIGH blood sugar.

When you say she 'crashed' what was her BG reading.

Did the vet test for keytones ?

A BG of 298 is not a 'crash'....it is HIGH blood sugar ( not low). And giving
sugar in that case would not be the correct thing to do.
 
A 7 yrs old Himalayan that only weighs 6 lbs is either a very small built himmie or there is something else going on. My Muse was a 15yr old Himalayan and at the time of her passing she still weighed 10 lbs and was a walking rack of bones. Are you sure she doesn't have some underlying health issues?...Most Himalayans are big cats not just fluffy.

Mel
 
Have you tested the meter either with the control or, if you r not diabetic. on ourself to check if the meter/strip are working OK?
 
I wouldnt say it smells like acetone but it definetly stinks and any other time it doesnt stink and we know 298 is high but when her BG is above that shes okay. Seems like when she stays about 320 shes acting okay and even plays and yes when she was originally tested her ketones were high but I dont know what they were and that was about a month and a half ago. Shes always been small and has never weighed over that. We have checked the meter with what the vet got for a reading and also on ourselves and it works okay
 
Just rechecked the breed standards for Himalayans small end is 8lbs to the large end at 16lbs...now of course that is the breed standards for a purebred Himalayan. If your girl is a mix then that could make the difference in size and weight. My girl was a CFA Himlayan so that is why I was a little shocked to see your girl's weight, Muse was easily 15lbs before she got sick, but not fat or overweight just a good sized Himmie. I'm use to seeing large himalayans I guess.

Mel
 
High ketones can be very serious, I'm assuming she was treated for them when she was first tested? Her eating like a horse is most likely because she isn't regulated yet, therefore her body can't use the food right and she is starving. 298 is still very high for a feline. I test all 10 of mine from time to time ( 9 civies + 1 diabetic) they all run anywhere from the mid 40s to the mid to high 60s. My diabetic is in remission and diet controlled.

Mel
 
It sounds more like HYPERglycemia to me. Are you testing her urine for ketones with Ketostix or KetoDiastix? If not, you should.
 
breath smelling like acetone sounds like ketones. like others have said, karo syrup is not something you want to do with a kitty who's bg is high. it does sound like something else is going on.

ketones require immediate attention.. like an er vet visit.

i am also wondering if you kitty is not having some type of seizure, or stroke, or something neurological. i don't think it's the syrup that is bringing her out of these spell... but time.

i'm so sorry...this is something other than hypoglycemia.
 
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