Re: newbie Kitty Boo went 911 today!!
Hi Emma!
I usually help on the Lantus Tight Reg forum, but someone sent me a message asking if i could come and give you a hand.
One thing that you'll want to be extra careful of - after a cat has had a symptomatic hypo (and blindness is definitely a severe symptom, it means their brain was low on sugar), they can be more sensitive to insulin than they were before.
When you give Boo's shot tonight, i'd monitor more than you usually do to make sure he isn't diving from the insulin. As long as you can monitor, I would shoot lower than Mel is suggesting, mainly because shooting lower holds the numbers lower and flatter. There just isn't as far to fall. Lantus is known for its flat, long cycles - they can become almost a line instead of a curve when you begin to shoot low. The monitoring is key, of course. He's already up to 170 at +5 so he'll likely be high by tonight.
I'd also encourage you to vary the times you do the mid-cycle tests. Instead of always getting a +7, I'd get tests throughout the cycle. You don't need to get them all on the same cycle - i don't mean that, i just mean sometimes get a +2, sometimes a +3, etc. I think of the spreadsheet like a jigsaw puzzle. Right now, you have the edge pieces and one stripe down the middle. You don't have to have every piece in the puzzle for the picture to emerge, but with only the edges and one stripe, it's hard to see what the picture is. What we do know is that Boo is responding to the insulin - which is typically what happens after a cat has been on insulin for a while. The dose that was the right amount before becomes too much now. That's where the mid-cycle tests come in - they give us advance warning so that the dose can be reduced when the cat gets to 49, and hopefully, you don't have another 30 happen.
The other thing about getting a +7 is that most cats are past their low point by then - some cats are at their lowest at +3. With Lantus dosing based upon the low point, you really want to know how low a dose is getting him. I'd get more tests between +2 and +6 instead of +7. That'll give you more helpful information.
Great job handling things today! I'm so glad you got his blood sugar when you did! For the future, you can give straight pancake syrup, maple syrup, honey or karo syrup. You don't have to dilute it. If he'll eat, you can put it on a teaspoon of food. if he won't eat, you can squirt it on his gums or rub it on his gums. the mucous membranes will absorb it quickly.
I saw in your earlier post that his ears are tender. Neosporin ointment with pain relief is fantastic for healing ears. It takes the numb right out of the spot. I tried it on myself and it works great. You can slather it on Boo's ears at night and they will heal overnight and look like new in the morning. It's a blessing on those days when you have to do a lot of testing. Also, as you test, his ears will grow more capillaries and then they will bleed all the time for you.
Hope some of this helps. Good luck tonight. If you have questions, just ask.
