Low BG number? Need help - Newbie

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Lilys Mom

Member Since 2014
My 4 year old was diagnosed 2 days ago with a BG of 284. I was prescribed Lantus insulin - 1 unit. I gave that to her yesterday - about 26 hours ago but didn't give again after reading posts and people helping me last night. They suggested that I start home testing her first because she gets stressed at the vet. I just did a home test. Got a reading of 43 with Reli-on Confirm and then thought I did it wrong and now got a reading of 37. She ate Royal Canin - Diabetes about 4 hours ago. She's acting normal but standing at her food bowl hungry.

Isn't that number too low? Need to know what to feed her...high carbs or low carb option, which I just bought.
 
That's too low, you can feed her a carb or do you have any karo syrup or honey? I had to do this when I brought mine home & he also dipped to the 40's. You just rub a lil on their gums & test every 20-30mins to make sure it's rising. Need to get it up now.
 
Just called the animal hospital....saying to not give any insulin. Give her food and doesn't matter what kind right now (wet or dry because she does prefer the dry)....just trying to increase glucose level. Told me to check again in 2 hours and watch for any strange behavior. Said to keep checking to make sure that it goes up. They said that the human glucose could give inaccurate readings but not by that much where should have been a 284 and now a 37. They said that with only one dose of insulin 26 hours ago, it really isn't even in her system with the Lantus...takes a while. any advice right now would be great! Thanks!
 
So she hasn't had insulin in over 24 hours? She shouldn't be hypoing if she is not on insulin. But 17 is a low number, even off insulin. Can you try another test? I also would see if she will eat.
 
IttyBit,
Yes, I bought Karo today and already have honey. She just ate some dry food...wouldn't touch the wet and gave her both the Royal Canin Adult (which is what she was eating before her diagnosis along with Simply Nourish Chicken and Oatmeal) but wouldn't touch that or the Royal Canin Diabetic wet.

I put down the dry though (Simply Nourish, which she loves and she did eat) The animal hospital said to give her whatever but she needs to eat immediately. Should I still do the karo even though she just ate the high carb dry food?
 
Sue and Oliver,
Her 2nd test 5 minutes later was 37. She just ate some dry food. I tried to give her 3 options of wet...her normal Royal Canin Adult (before diagnosis) her Royal Canin Diabetic which she has been eating for 48 hours now and then a low carb option I bought today. Fancy Feast Classic. I knew she wouldn't do the fancy feast because it's not slices and in gravy, which his what Royal Canin is. I'll have to start switching her slowly. She did a little of the dry food...about 1/8 of a cup and then walked away and now is laying down. I keep checking on her and she seems fine...just laying down.
 
I forgot to answer your question...correct no insulin for 27 hours and only one dose total in her entire life. She was just diagnosed the night before last so only one dose total of 1 unit.
 
RE test her & see what it is, if not over 60 I'd use the karo. It's very fast acting. Please don't wait 2hrs to test that's crazy!! It's very dangerous that low so I'd test every 20-30 mins. Once you see 3 rising numbers you can relax & wait 2-3hrs before testing again. One thing I learned is they always have to have access to food to avoid this. I have 4 cats but only 1 diabetic. They get fed twice a day at shot time for the diabetic but sometimes they run out of food before. I'll give an extra can so there's always something there. But this is only ok with low carb foods. I also mix about a tbsp of water with each can to keep it moist enough to last (not dry out or they won't eat it) & it ups their water intake a lil as well. Don't leave out dry tho since it's high carb, only can.

Also mine started out a dry only cat to while the others ate the gravy canned. Switching was a transition for sure as they all had to switch! I mixed the can & dry together for awhile (in small portions obviously) & then left out just can once that was gone. Just keep putting less & less dry in it until it's gone down to no dry. That may help, GL!!
 
It's 42 right now so it did go up. I'll give her the karo and retest in 20 minutes. She's starting to become annoyed by me.
 
Test
Feed 1 to 2 teaspoons high carb/gravy, or drops of Karo on low carb
Wait 30 min
Repeat as needed.
Note: High carb gravy of Karo wears off fast.

She may not be diabetic !
 
Yea she will get annoyed but it's important for her safety :)

I'm assuming by your earlier post she hadn't eaten in 4hrs prior to the testing is that correct? That may explain the big drop.
 
Lilys Mom said:
Just called the animal hospital....saying to not give any insulin. Give her food and doesn't matter what kind right now (wet or dry because she does prefer the dry)....just trying to increase glucose level. Told me to check again in 2 hours and watch for any strange behavior. Said to keep checking to make sure that it goes up. They said that the human glucose could give inaccurate readings but not by that much where should have been a 284 and now a 37. They said that with only one dose of insulin 26 hours ago, it really isn't even in her system with the Lantus...takes a while. any advice right now would be great! Thanks!
Click to expand...

I agree with the advice you got from the animal hospital. The possibility that any of the Lantus insulin is still in your cat's system is infinitesimal.

If she were my cat, I wouldn't be giving any Karo or any simple sugars.

Two of my nondiabetic cats tested 53 last week.
 
Yes, that is correct. I was gone and my daughter was afraid to feed her. She ate about 2 ounces at about 8 a.m. this morning before I left the house, then again about 4:30 p.m. she ate a full 3 oz. can when I got home. Then went out again and got the home testing stuff. By the time I figured everything out and watched a million videos, I tested her so it was 8:30 p.m. when she had that first reading of 37. Fed her dry since the animal hospital said give her anything just to get her sugar up...WHATEVER she'll eat. Just took 10 minutes ago and it went up to 42. Think I just need to leave food out now. We always have in the past but since this whole thing, vet said only 2 to 3 times per day so we were following that. Maybe I'm not feeding her enough??? She's eating about 8 oz per day. I'm not used to the wet so I don't know how much to feed her. Before her diagnosis, she ate 2 oz of wet in the morning and then a little more than 1/4 cup of dry throughout the day, which was gone when I'd get home from work and then I'd give her another 1/4 cup then and she'd polish it off. At about 4 a.m. she wakes me up and give her a teeny bit of dry. so it's a little more than a 1/2 cup a day but not more than 3/4 of a cup ever.
 
BJM,
That's what the vet said at the 24 hour emergency animal hospital...said somehow I don't think she's diabetic. She might have just had high sugar that day or maybe some kind of infection and then the stress from being at the vet caused it to spike even more. She didn't eat though before that teeth cleaning since midnight the night before and they took the blood at 9 am. the next day.
 
Well dry food yea I wouldn't leave that out all day but low carb wet is ok to do that. Most cats when they're 1st dx'd their body is adjusting to the highs/lows so they do tend to eat a bit more. Like I said I have 4 cats, I feed 2-5.5oz (11oz total) 2x a day, 6am & 6pm at shot time. Occasionally if they're out super early like 4-5hrs before next feeding I'll give 1 additional can but they pretty much always have access to eat. They usually don't eat if they aren't hungry but if he gets low & needs it it's at least there. That's breaks down to about 5.5oz per cat/per day. 5-6oz is normal.

Exactly why ppl should home test ;) you'd never know otherwise if it's too low, too high, diabetic or not. Good for you for doing it!!
 
I'll check again soon and post. She's running around like a lunatic right now playing with the laser light and my daughter. She seems perfectly normally.
 
AWWW...poor guy.
We're at 52 right now. Are we safe or should I keep taking? I think I read that it could be off by about 20%.
 
I just tested Lily again and she's at 39. She ate about 5 hours and has been nibbling on the low carb Fancy Feast but hasn't eat all that much today. She doesn't like the food. She will take 2 or 3 bites and walk away, come back an hour later, sniff it and leave again.
 
You might try to go ahead and feed her whatever she likes to eat normally, whether that be gravied food or whatever. Does not sound like she is diabetic. I think your right she was misdiagnosed by the vet.
I am not sure where the vet got that reading of 284 from? Sounds a bit crazy to me.

Terri
 
I have no idea either. All she told me is that a normal cat is 74 - 159 and diabetic cats would be normally between 100 - 250. Is that correct?
 
I just fed her the Royal Canin Adult which is shown on Dr. Lisa's chart as having 14 carbs but the diabetic version is between 14 - 38 so I figured it was the lesser of two evils. She ate about 2 ounces of it right away. I guess I should get a grain free product and mix what she's used to in with it until she's weened totally.
 
Just an update for all of the great people out there helping me. I've been testing Lily once every other day and she's still in the low 40's. She hasn't taken to the lower carb food...still on the Royal Canin Adult Instinctive. She was fighting me the first couple of days because she wanted the dry food but now she's not being stubborn anymore. She's eating between 2 and 2 1/2 cans of Royal Canin (6 to 7.5 oz per day) The Royal Canin is 14 carbs per can so at least that is better than the 38 or so she was getting on the dry food. I plan to switch her but want to go back to the vet first. Our appointment is on Monday and I need to bring my glucose monitor with me so that they can test mind against theirs while I'm there. I need to bring a urine sample too. Again, nothing seems different with her. She's still acting the same. I'll come back and post after our vet's appointment. Thanks to everyone again!
 
Do gradual transitioning with the food
- remove 20-25% of the old food
- add 20-25% of the new food
- mix well
 
Okay, I'll do that. The vet also suggested mixing a couple of teaspoons of low salt chicken broth.

I read the tips on urine. They want a urine sample. Is the aquarium gravel my best bet? I have to bring a sample...not do the sticks myself. They want it that same morning.
 
She said glucose. Lily had a BG of 284 at the vet's visit so they tested her urine and said that she had it in the urine which made them think she's a diabetic. She said that it wouldn't show up in the urine just having vet stress. She gets very stressed at the vet even for her normal vaccines. They always have to put her under when she's there. So, then they want to have my urine from home and take urine there and test them both to compare them. Also wants to me to bring my glucose monitor so we can take her reading there and compare to their monitor too. She wants me to test her here in the morning after she eats to get a reading then.
 
First: Comparing a human glucometer to a pet-specific glucometer is like reading temperature in Celsius vs Fahrenheit. Both are correct. You just need to know the reference ranges to interpret what the numbers mean.

Second: Here are some glucose reference ranges used for decision making using glucometers.

[Glucose reference ranges are unsubstantiated and have been removed by Moderator]

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *​

How to use the glucose reference values chart:

When you get a test, look for the number on the chart that either equals, or contains, the test value you have. Read the information. As needed, make a decision and act.

Ex. You are a new insulin user and you test your cat before giving insulin. The test is 300. It probably is safe to give insulin.

Ex. You are an established user of Lantus, following the Tight Regulation protocol. You've tested around +5 to +7 to spot the nadir. It is 200 mg/dL. You probably need to increase the dose, following the instructions for the protocol.

Ex. Your cat is acting funny. The eyes are a bit dilated. You are concerned and test the glucose. The number is 35 mg/dL. ACK! The cat may be in a hypoglycemic state. You quickly follow the HYPO protocol linked in the glucose reference values chart. (which we really, really, suggest you print out and post on your refrigerator.) Funny you should ask that.. let me find it.
 
Hello Everyone,
Lily and I just returned from the vet. She asked me to take a urine sample from home and also bring my glucose monitor. They did not find any glucose in the urine that I gave them the sample of. Also, they left me in the room with Lily and left me for 30 minutes while I calmed her down and pet her until she relaxed. Once she was purring and calm, I took a test from their hand held test and it was a 68 and took with mine and mine was a 58. So in short, Lily does not have diabetes according to these test results today. She does now have a UTI, which I was given antibiotics for. I did as the vet if there was any sign of infection two weeks ago when I was there and no, the urine didn't show a UTI and the blood work didn't show any other infection. They're contributing the 284 BG number to vet stress and she was so stressed out that it spilled into her urine. There is no sign of renal problems either. Lily is healthy. She has lost a few ounces since a couple of weeks ago as well now that she's on wet food only. I still plan to move her to low carb slowly.

Thank you to everyone who calmed my nerves and shared their expertise with me. I plan to continue to check the site and educate myself in case this ever happens again. I will pray for all of your animals who have this disease. I give you all so much credit for taking the time with your kitties. Your babies are so lucky to have you as their owners.

I will continue to randomly test my girl for BG just in case and I think with all of this, we've educated a young vet.
 
Thats great news! Here are some general tips fyi

Tips to stay OTJ

We say a cat is in remission if the cat can maintain BG levels for 14 days between 40-120 with most of that spent under 100. However, please keep in mind that once a diabetic always a diabetic.

1. Never feed dry - not even treats. If you change wet food types, be 100% sure the new food is also low carb and same low carb % as your current food. Some cats are very carb sensitive and an increase from 3-6% to 8-10% can spike the BG’s. Don’t feed if you aren’t sure!
2. Weigh every 2 weeks to 1 month to watch for weight changes. Too much of a weight gain can cause loss of remission.
3. Measure blood once a week, indefinitely. You want to catch a relapse quickly.
4. No steroids or oral meds with sugar - remind your vet whenever giving you any medication. Always double check.
5. Monitor food intake, peeing and drinking. If increasing, a sign of losing remission.
6. Regular vet checks for infection such as dental , ear or UTI. And get them treated quick!

If he does fall out of remission you need to be more aggressive and resolve issues/ back on insulin as soon as possible as the window for a second remission is tight if any.
 
Wow! you really lucked out that it was just vet stress and a brewing infection.

Take a look at my signature link Secondary Monitoring Tools for some assessments you might make regularly that canl tip you off that something isn't right. (Ex, dehydration, weight, appetite and thirst, urination and defecation.)
 
The change to a low carb wet food diet could have made a big difference in the BG (blood glucose) readings also.

Follow those tips that Wendy gave you. If the numbers start to creep up, there may be an infection or inflammation going on and you'll catch it quickly.

I continue to test my Wink, once a week or so. He hasn't needed any insulin for 10 months now.

Good luck!
 
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