Low Numbers, possibility for first Hypo

[JL & Cooper]

Hi! First time posting, but wanted eyes on my cat/spreadsheet please, since this is the lowest he’s ever been.
He went from 242 at AMPS to 95 +3.5, 85 +4. I have higher carb food, honey and plenty of test strips ready to go if he continues dropping. I feel comfortable right now (and with monitoring a hypo event), but didn’t want to do it alone.

 

[CORKY]

Hi! First time posting, but wanted eyes on my cat/spreadsheet please, since this is the lowest he’s ever been.
He went from 242 at AMPS to 95 +3.5, 85 +4. I have higher carb food, honey and plenty of test strips ready to go if he continues dropping. I feel comfortable right now (and with monitoring a hypo event), but didn’t want to do it alone.

I am not one of the experts in this Forum by all means, but I know exactly how you feel you can just see Corky's Spreadsheet, what I have learned here is that Coopers 85BG is good it means that his pancreas are taking a rest, , also I have learned not to use your Hypo kit unless is really necessary, you can go back to my Corky's prior post that may say anything about low BG's Suzanne and Darcy expert a long time member have gone thru the whole thing on 'how to' you might want to give him a tbsp of LOW CARBS he has a long way to go before PMPS, check him every hour, until you start seeing his BG go at least in the 100's until PMPS, I would and still panic every time I see those dark green numbers, but I've learned how to do the right thing for Corky and that is not to panic and that those green numbers are great! It took me forever to drill that in my mind, especially that always seeing all yellows, always, I thought that was where he needed to be, is the dark greens that count for his pancreas to heal, you might want to PM Suzanne to read your post, type in the Title of the post and she might also tag other members she handles ProZinc with me, there are other are she might have reach out to you in regards to Lantus, or she herself will guide you like she's done and does with me, and I'll tell you what Suzanne always tells me, Take a deep breath, it will be all right, just do check every hour though no high Carbs, try with low carbs only, until you see a rise in BG, because I was told that by the time PMPS comes in the insulin would have started to wear off. Breath in! Breath Out!, I was doing just that yesterday and at +4 after dosing, and not all cats are the same, this is just to let you know I've been there and what I have been taught

 

[JL & Cooper]

Thank you! I appreciate it I’m familiar with your posts, and Corky (although it’s been a couple days since I’ve read posts). I’ve read a lot of info and daily posts on here since diagnosis, and feel very comfortable with his numbers going this low. It’s just that on active days he tends to do a 200 point drop, so wanted to be prepared in case that takes him into the hypo zone today. Especially since this is his first day in blue/green. I’ve been testing at each half hour and will continue til I see him rising, but it looks like he’s slowing down now. He’s getting a small spoon of his LC food when I test, just to slow it down a bit.

 

[CORKY]

Thank you! I appreciate it I’m familiar with your posts, and Corky (although it’s been a couple days since I’ve read posts). I’ve read a lot of info and daily posts on here since diagnosis, and feel very comfortable with his numbers going this low. It’s just that on active days he tends to do a 200 point drop, so wanted to be prepared in case that takes him into the hypo zone today. Especially since this is his first day in blue/green. I’ve been testing at each half hour and will continue til I see him rising, but it looks like he’s slowing down now. He’s getting a small spoon of his LC food when I test, just to slow it down a bit.

Look at You!!! you got this! I wish I would've been as confident as you are, my Corky also does the same takes major jumps from high yellows to low greens, it's scary I start running around the house like a chicken without a head sometimes, and writing to Suzanne, until he is stable, because when he does exactly what your baby does he's great in one test then next test he blows me away. I thought I was the only member obsessing on testing every two hours, and I will never stop. I myself, when I see that dark green, I immediately take out my kit as well, but I think that checking every hour will be easier on you and him as well, You're awesome, yesterday Corky had an awesome day, today not so much, hopefully he'll hit green after 10PM when his insulin kicks in and stays that way, I settle for blues at this point, gladly he doesn't have anything else ailing him but the diabetes, Corky is my life, along with my half Maine Coon Coco, my family, so my time belongs to them Any encouragement, I'm here for you at any time any day.

 

[JL & Cooper]

Look at You!!! you got this! I wish I would've been as confident as you are, my Corky also does the same takes major jumps from high yellows to low greens, it's scary I start running around the house like a chicken without a head sometimes, and writing to Suzanne, until he is stable, because when he does exactly what your baby does he's great in one test then next test he blows me away. I thought I was the only member obsessing on testing every two hours, and I will never stop. I myself, when I see that dark green, I immediately take out my kit as well, but I think that checking every hour will be easier on you and him as well, You're awesome, yesterday Corky had an awesome day, today not so much, hopefully he'll hit green after 10PM when his insulin kicks in and stays that way, I settle for blues at this point, gladly he doesn't have anything else ailing him but the diabetes, Corky is my life, along with my half Maine Coon Coco, my family, so my time belongs to them Any encouragement, I'm here for you at any time any day.

Haha! Well I appreciate the encouragement. And you’re right, now that he’s slowing down I’ll just check back in an hour. Luckily he lives for freeze dried chicken, so testing a couple extra times wasn't bothering him (yet ).
I’m loving seeing some different colors on my spreadsheet, finally!

 

[CORKY]

Haha! Well I appreciate the encouragement. And you’re right, now that he’s slowing down I’ll just check back in an hour. Luckily he lives for freeze dried chicken, so testing a couple extra times wasn't bothering him (yet ).
I’m loving seeing some different colors on my spreadsheet, finally!

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Hi there. Your kitty earned a reduction yesterday down to 2.25 units. Congratulations. He went below 90 and since your spreadsheet doesn’t say you are following TR then a reduction has been earned. If you feed all wet LC with no dry (which I believe you do) then you can also consider following TR where reductions are made when the BG drops below 50.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Are you giving snacks at +2 and +4? Low carb food. Definitely do not skip the +2 snack, as it is very helpful in preventing steep drops early in the cycle as the insulin onsets, which helps to reduce bouncing. The green numbers you had yesterday were all manageable with low carb, which I believe is what you did. We don’t use high carb until they drop below 50, although we can use different carb percentages that are below ten percent (still considered low carb) to finesse things a bit. It’s helpful if you indicate what you feed and at what hour on the spreadsheet. It will help you to determine exactly how carb sensitive your kitty is.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

It’s just that on active days he tends to do a 200 point drop, so wanted to be prepared i

You did great yesterday. It can be nerve wracking when they first hit green. If he is doing anything more than a 100 point drop in a single hour, we need to slow this down with food as it can definitely contribute to a bounce that is high and long lasting. You need to give the +2 snack and experiment with different carb percentages 8/9 percent would be a good start. I’m not seeing that sort of diving on his spreadsheet though.

 

[JL & Cooper]

Hi there. Your kitty earned a reduction yesterday down to 2.25 units. Congratulations. He went below 90 and since your spreadsheet doesn’t say you are following TR then a reduction has been earned. If you feed all wet LC with no dry (which I believe you do) then you can also consider following TR where reductions are made when the BG drops below 50.

Thank you. I do feed all LC, and would prefer to do TR but it’s been slow going with my vet. Knocking down one hurdle at a time (LC vs diabetic food, home testing vs fructosamine, evaluating weekly vs every 2 weeks, etc). I’d like to leave him at this dose, unless he goes lower than yesterday, since I’m monitoring him well.

 

[JL & Cooper]

Are you giving snacks at +2 and +4? Low carb food. Definitely do not skip the +2 snack, as it is very helpful in preventing steep drops early in the cycle as the insulin onsets, which helps to reduce bouncing. The green numbers you had yesterday were all manageable with low carb, which I believe is what you did. We don’t use high carb until they drop below 50, although we can use different carb percentages that are below ten percent (still considered low carb) to finesse things a bit. It’s helpful if you indicate what you feed and at what hour on the spreadsheet. It will help you to determine exactly how carb sensitive your kitty is.

He gets a +2, +4 snack, plus usually a small bite at +6 and +9 (because he rummages for plastic when hungry ). He was on mostly dry food until diagnosis, so still getting used to less snacking. I have the specific times, amounts and types of food in my personal notes, they just aren’t on the spreadsheet. He’s eating primarily Merrick LID turkey, mixed with a couple different flavors of higher protein foods (Weruva, Tiki Cat), so he stays interested and to balance the Merrick being higher fat. I was mostly stating that I have HC, strips etc because I know from reading that tends to be the first question when numbers are dropping.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Thank you. I do feed all LC, and would prefer to do TR but it’s been slow going with my vet. Knocking down one hurdle at a time (LC vs diabetic food, home testing vs fructosamine, evaluating weekly vs every 2 weeks, etc). I’d like to leave him at this dose, unless he goes lower than yesterday, since I’m monitoring him well.

Excellent. I am all for that! Please add TR to your spreadsheet and your signature. Then nobody will bug you about reductions for BG under 90. You definitely do a great job of testing. With TR you can increase as soon as every 6 cycles if the numbers warrant. Reductions will be taken for numbers under 50. I agree with holding this dose. I LOVE yesterday’s green numbers. It’s real progress.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

What if you just do a curve at home and send the numbers to your vet? Would the vet accept it? Such as waste of money going for repeated fructosamine tests or vet curves. Your ReliOn meter can show you a BG average for 7 days, 14 days and 30 days. It’s great that you’ve been advocating for doing all the right things for Cooper!

 

[JL & Cooper]

Excellent. I am all for that! Please add TR to your spreadsheet and your signature. Then nobody will bug you about reductions for BG under 90. You definitely do a great job of testing. With TR you can increase as soon as every 6 cycles if the numbers warrant. Reductions will be taken for numbers under 50. I agree with holding this dose. I LOVE yesterday’s green numbers. It’s real progress.

Will do! As far as increasing, my vet wants to do every 7-10 days max, that’s the biggest hurdle. So I’ve been trying to follow the general rules of TR, while pushing for increases a little ahead of her schedule and also not causing an issue with her. I don’t expect her to want him to stay in these green numbers, and would like to save the fight for that issue.

 

[JL & Cooper]

What if you just do a curve at home and send the numbers to your vet? Would the vet accept it? Such as waste of money going for repeated fructosamine tests or vet curves. Your ReliOn meter can show you a BG average for 7 days, 14 days and 30 days. It’s great that you’ve been advocating for doing all the right things for Cooper!

Oh yes, after the first fructosamine test (and seeing my data) we’ve switched to curves. She has access to my spreadsheet and checks it weekly.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

Oh yes, after the first fructosamine test (and seeing my data) we’ve switched to curves. She has access to my spreadsheet and checks it weekly.

That’s a double edged sword giving your vet access to your cat’s spreadsheet. But anyway that should mean you can do your own “curves” at home where the BG will not be influenced by stress. And your wallet will not be influenced by stress I am sure you are right about your vet not wanting to see Cooper in greens. Normal BG for a cat is about 50-120 and, as I am sure you have read on the Board, the greens we call “healing greens” where the pancreas has a chance to heal.

 

[JL & Cooper]

That’s a double edged sword giving your vet access to your cat’s spreadsheet. But anyway that should mean you can do your own “curves” at home where the BG will not be influenced by stress. And your wallet will not be influenced by stress I am sure you are right about your vet not wanting to see Cooper in greens. Normal BG for a cat is about 50-120 and, as I am sure you have read on the Board, the greens we call “healing greens” where the pancreas has a chance to heal.

haha, yes I agree. It is what it is for now… it’s the only way we could compromise.

 

[Suzanne & Darcy]

haha, yes I agree. It is what it is for now… it’s the only way we could compromise.

It sounds like you have been winning some of the battles.