Low #'s with new meter

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ttsaraht9

ttsaraht9

Member Since 2015
Today I switched metets from AT2 to Relion Prime due to strip costs. I tested Lucky tonight around 9:30 using the new meter for the first time. I also used my last AT2 strip to have at least 1 comparison of the numbers. I updated my SS. He was at 282 before his pm shot. 2 hours later, down to 33. I just fed him and he seemed hungry and ate a lot. I tested again about 30min later and still low. He was playful and purring earlier and seems very mellow right now. I just would like some advice on what to do right now.
 
Have you got some high carb food in the house (the in gravy type). Or some syrup or honey...Lucky needs carbs to get his numbers back above 50 - 33 and 32 are very low and as he's still dropping, you really don't want him going any lower.
 
You really need to test every 20-30 minutes at the moment. I'd go with 20 minutes after you gave him the syrup this time and then, depending on his number at that point, we'll take it from there.
 
OK, more syrup please...and another test in 30 minutes. He's not dropping anymore which is good news, but we still need him to come up a bit further yet. :)

Oh, and he earns a reduction from his next dose onwards for going into low numbers too...it was probably a little more dramatic than you'd have liked, but congratulations on the reduction! :D
 
No problem. :) We just need to get him back into safe numbers and make sure he's staying there...but he's going to be fine. And you're doing really well with him. :)
 
If you have some "gravy lovers" food, pop the top and drain the gravy off (I just put the lid back down and squeeze...messy but it works)..I think you should go ahead and start giving him some of the gravy instead of just the simple sugars that wear off so fast. The carbs are all in the gravy, so they may help him get up and stay up a little better
 
OK - I'd really like him to come up a bit faster...he's been under 50 for quite a while now and we don't really like letting them stay there for any length of time. Can you give him some more carbs and test again in 30 minutes? He's the 3rd kitty I'm aware of just in the last few weeks who has crashed hard like this on Novolin and not wanted to come back up so you might have a way to go with him yet tonight.

ETA - as this is the first time he's been low and he's been under 50 for a good while now, if we can't get him stabilized above 50 and rising, you might need to take him to the Emergency Vet. Running low like this hour after hour really isn't good for him and doesn't leave any room at all for him to dip even slightly lower.
 
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Shara I know your scared and overwhelmed I have been there, I walked into a situation my cat looked fin and if I had not tested he would be DEAD. You have to get those numbers up, I have looked over your SS and I see what is going on and I do understand trust me. I found the best and fastest way to get Magellan's sugars up was to literally pour honey down his throat. I had to force feed him the first 2 times trust me I understand scary PLEASE respond so we know your getting these.
 
Hi Sarah,

Gosh that was a steep drop!!!:eek:

April @manxcat419 is giving you very sound advice.
Please do keep testing and don't leave it longer than 30 minutes between tests at this point. In fact if this were my kitty I'd not leave it longer than 20 minutes until you see a significant and consistent rise in numbers.
Numbers can suddenly drop, and there is not a lot of margin for error with the numbers you have there.

Your kitty has been in hypoglycemic numbers.
It's good that he seems fine, but don't assume this will remain the case if his numbers drop again.
Some cats show hypo symptoms early on; some when a hypo is moderately advanced; and some do not show symptoms until the hypo is severe. A cat really can look fine one minute and be having a seizure the next. It has happened on this forum.

Your kitty has earned his dose reduction. So the priority at this point is keeping him safe. ;)

How is he doing now?

Eliz
 
ttsaraht9 said:
I just checked him and he's 157. I feel much better now. Thank you for your help everyone :)
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Phew! What a relief, Sarah! Lucky has a very appropriate name. :D

His SS shows that his numbers definitely seem to be improving.
May I ask: Did he have any steroid treatment before becoming diabetic?
Did he have an infection at the time of his diagnosis?
Have you recently reduced the carb content of his diet?
(Sorry for all the questions. Just wondering if any of these have contributed to the reduction in numbers... :rolleyes: )

Eliz
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Phew! What a relief, Sarah! Lucky has a very appropriate name. :D

His SS shows that his numbers definitely seem to be improving.
May I ask: Did he have any steroid treatment before becoming diabetic?
Did he have an infection at the time of his diagnosis?
Have you recently reduced the carb content of his diet?
(Sorry for all the questions. Just wondering if any of these have contributed to the reduction in numbers... :rolleyes: )

Eliz
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He did have a UTI. He has on ammoxicillin twice a day for 2 weeks. He had his last pill last night. No changes other than that.
 
I'm very glad to hear Lucky is OK this morning. Please be aware that Novolin is very harsh on a cat's system and not all cats are able to produce enough glycogen to counteract the effects of the insulin forcing their numbers low (and even the cats who are can only do it for a limited time before they run out of glycogen stores). For future use, here is the link to treating hypoglycemic numbers http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

Please understand that leaving a cat for the night with a reading in the 40s really is a very risky thing to do - a reading of 42 indicates that he is still in potentially hypoglycemic numbers and is not safe to be left alone at all. We do all understand that it's exhausting late at night when a cat runs in low numbers reading after reading like that - we've all been in that situation and had no choice but to stay awake no matter how tired we are (my latest with my own cat was 5:45 am and I've been up until 4 am on occasion when other people's cats have gone low and they needed help). The general rule we use here is to see 3 rising numbers above 50 and at least one of those after the last carbs that were given have worn off so that we can be certain that the cat is maintaining safe numbers without assistance from carbs. When we tell you to keep feeding and testing, we're trying to get Lucky to a safe place as quickly as we can so that you, and he, and the people on the board who are helping you can all get some sleep because the minimum time from catching the first hypo number to having a cat safe is 2 hours although it can go a lot longer when a cat doesn't come up over 50 from a single feeding of high carb food.

It's very possible that after going low last night, Lucky may be even more sensitive to insulin at this point so please don't continue to give the same dose that you have been giving him - it will most likely drop him low again. @Julia Rae saw this exact problem with her cat on 2 consecutive nights even though she halved the insulin dose after the first hypo incident.
 
manxcat419 said:
Please understand that leaving a cat for the night with a reading in the 40s really is a very risky thing to do - a reading of 42 indicates that he is still in potentially hypoglycemic numbers and is not safe to be left alone at all. ... The general rule we use here is to see 3 rising numbers above 50 and at least one of those after the last carbs that were given have worn off so that we can be certain that the cat is maintaining safe numbers without assistance from carbs.
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Sarah, I agree with what April has said.
And because you see what appears to be a slightly rising number, never assume that it will continue to rise.

I've had a few scary situations with my own cat. He's had several hypos over the years and had a situation just recently where his numbers kept dropping, and dropping, and dropping, despite my giving him glucose twice. His numbers rose initially and everything looked fine, but an hour later his blood glucose started to plummet fast and it was really hard to keep the level up. It was particularly horrible because it was during the night and I was unwell and absolutely exhausted. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I couldn't allow myself to do that. Fortunately all turned out OK...

ttsaraht9 said:
He did have a UTI. He has on ammoxicillin twice a day for 2 weeks. He had his last pill last night.
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It's quite possible that the blood glucose numbers were raised by the infection and are now coming down as a result of the infection having subsided. This is good news. But it is also another reason to be uber careful about the insulin dosage. It certainly needs to be reduced, but may need to reduced further if the blood glucose continues to drop (post infection). So this may really keep you 'on your toes' for a little while as the situation settles down.

When Lucky was diagnosed, did he have symptoms other than the high blood glucose? (Had he been drinking and peeing a lot for a long time? Poor coat condition?)

Eliz

PS. I do hope you don't think we have been too hard on you. We've only said what we have because we care about you and your kitty. I'm sure quite a few folks breathed a sigh of relief to see that Lucky was OK. :bighug:
.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Sarah, I agree with what April has said.
And because you see what appears to be a slightly rising number, never assume that it will continue to rise.

I've had a few scary situations with my own cat. He's had several hypos over the years and had a situation just recently where his numbers kept dropping, and dropping, and dropping, despite my giving him glucose twice. His numbers rose initially and everything looked fine, but an hour later his blood glucose started to plummet fast and it was really hard to keep the level up. It was particularly horrible because it was during the night and I was unwell and absolutely exhausted. All I wanted to do was sleep, but I couldn't allow myself to do that. Fortunately all turned out OK...



It's quite possible that the blood glucose numbers were raised by the infection and are now coming down as a result of the infection having subsided. This is good news. But it is also another reason to be uber careful about the insulin dosage. It certainly needs to be reduced, but may need to reduced further if the blood glucose continues to drop (post infection). So this may really keep you 'on your toes' for a little while as the situation settles down.

When Lucky was diagnosed, did he have symptoms other than the high blood glucose? (Had he been drinking and peeing a lot for a long time? Poor coat condition?)

Eliz

PS. I do hope you don't think we have been too hard on you. We've only said what we have because we care about you and your kitty. I'm sure quite a few folks breathed a sigh of relief to see that Lucky was OK. :bighug:
.
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Yes he was drinking and peeing a lot, not eating much, and wasn't himself at all. The reason I took him to the vet was because he had lost 4 pounds in a month, and no I really appropriate your help and concern. I was just so tired last night, but I will definitely stay up if/when this would happen again.
 
Hi Sarah

I think most of us have had at least 1 pajama party staying up most of the night, including me. Glad everything worked out OK.
 
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