Newly diagnosed in hypo now

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Vegetable (GA)

Vegetable (GA)

Member Since 2015
I'm helping out a newly diagnosed cat & his mom. The cat is 9 pounds & had 2 units of vestulin about 4.5 hours ago now. First home test was about 30 miniutes ago at pm +4 & the tesfingbwas low. Had her retest & he was at 24. Fed some high carb food & a little honey. Next test was at pm +4.5 & she got low on the meter again. Told her skip the re-test & put LOTS is syrup on his gums. He's sleepy & weak.

I'm waiting for another update but I could use some extra support right now.

The cat tested positive at the vet for trace ketones this afternoon. DCIN is helping her with the testing supplies & lantus but it's going to be a couple of days before we get the lantus out to her.



@Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey
@Gill & George
 
No she's texting with me so nothing to share on here.

She just said he got up to use the litter box & now he has diarrhea. Waiting for the next test result.
 
Did she test before giving the shot?

I don't know anything about Vetsulin.

The honey could cause the diarrhea, although that seems kind of fast for it to be hitting.
 
No test before shot. We had her go out to Walmart to get testing supplies. She shot insulin before she got the testing kit even though I tried to tell her not to.

+5 35 and more gravy & syrup. Good news is he is eating on his own now.
 
42 @ +5.25 more honey & gravy

I have limited experience with vestulin. Vegetable was only on it for a few months before we switched to lantus.

If I remember right vestulin is fast acting & short lasting. Most cats it lasts about 8 hours so if that's the case hopefully this cat will start to come up some more soon. Oh & vestulin is one of the In & out insulins.
 
Well, that's more experience than I have. Wendy has some, but she's in bed, I'm sure. Rowing season has started.

It's good kitty is coming up some. Hopefully CG can cut down on amount of gravy and honey soon. I'm worried kitty will vomit with too much.
 
I think he's going to be ok now. Hopefully he won't need anymore honey after this.

Thanks for the support. I was starting to panic for a moment.
 
The worst part is waiting for updates. It seems to take forever. I'll be around a little longer, so I'll keep checking to see if you hear any more. She needs to start posting ASAP.
 
Getting her to post is my next step. We've been busy getting her to get supplies.

I think I'm going to get her to feed a little bit of dry cause she has to get up early tomorrow & both her & the cat need some rest. It's not ideal but it will keep him safe for tonight as long as he's coming up.

I could use some sleep as well, I have to get up for work in the morning to.

She's working on another test now. 52 @ +5.5

No more food & re test in 15 minutes.
 
I don't know when her cat's nadir is or how much duration he's getting from the insulin. so this may not be an issue, but Vetsulin frequently brings on a second, gentler drop later in the cycle. To be safe it would be good if she can get him into slightly higher numbers so he's got a buffer if he gets hit with that second drop.
 
Vegetable (GA) said:
53 @ +5.75 one more test then bed.
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Remember to warn her that when the gravy/hc wears off they can drop again, so the last test she gets ideally would be 2 hours from the last time he had hc to be sure he is holding his own.

Sorry I didn't reply sooner, was having my breffs and getting the fifties their breffs.
 
Squalliesmom said:
I don't know when her cat's nadir is or how much duration he's getting from the insulin. so this may not be an issue, but Vetsulin frequently brings on a second, gentler drop later in the cycle. To be safe it would be good if she can get him into slightly higher numbers so he's got a buffer if he gets hit with that second drop.
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This was the cats first ever dose of insulin so no data is available other then what we've collected tonight.
 
Vegetable (GA) said:
This was the cats first ever dose of insulin so no data is available other then what we've collected tonight.
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Omg poor thing, baptism of fire.
Glad you got her to buy the kit and get testing.

Is 2u a bit of a large starting dose for vetsulin and a 9lb cat??? Or is the dosing done on a sliding scale, never used vetsulin myself so just curious.
 
Squalliesmom said:
I don't know when her cat's nadir is or how much duration he's getting from the insulin. so this may not be an issue, but Vetsulin frequently brings on a second, gentler drop later in the cycle. To be safe it would be good if she can get him into slightly higher numbers so he's got a buffer if he gets hit with that second drop.
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Thanks, Lucy. It's great to get input from someone with Vetsulin experience!
 
@Gill & George hes up to 66 now at +6

We have to get some sleep it's already 2am here & we both have to work in the morning. So the plan for now is leave out some wet low carb & some dry until morning & then get an amps reading so we can decide on a dose if any since the cats mom can't be home to monitor until his +10 or +11
 
Wow how scary!!! She was so lucky to have you for advice. Please warn her not to shoot 2 u any more. Large starting dose for a newly diagnosed cat.... Esp one so small. Ugh. I'll be around a lot today if she needs help.

Wow she did great with all that testing being so new to it.
 
Gill & George said:
Omg poor thing, baptism of fire.
Glad you got her to buy the kit and get testing.

Is 2u a bit of a large starting dose for vetsulin and a 9lb cat??? Or is the dosing done on a sliding scale, never used vetsulin myself so just curious.
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Yes, I think it's a high starting dose. I think 1U would have been a better suggestion.
 
Vegetable (GA) said:
42 @ +5.25 more honey & gravy

I have limited experience with vestulin. Vegetable was only on it for a few months before we switched to lantus.

If I remember right vestulin is fast acting & short lasting. Most cats it lasts about 8 hours so if that's the case hopefully this cat will start to come up some more soon. Oh & vestulin is one of the In & out insulins.
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Yes, Vetsulin hits hard and fast. Nadir can be at +4 or a bit later. Duration is 8 - 10 hours in most cats. Yes, it's in and out. I think the starting dose was too high and we all know how important PS testing is. I hope this kitty is OK.
 
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Today's update is the cat is doing ok. He was at 230 for amps & got .25 units this morning. The cat is spending the day at the vets for IV fluids since he had a trace of ketones yesterday & is still a little dehydrated.

Tonight's project is to get her signed up here on the board.

I don't know what it is but these vets seem to be prescribing a high dose for newly diagnosed kitties lately. :banghead: And what makes it worse is they don't tell you about home testing or how to even watch for signs of hypo!

I'm so happy she was able to get the test supplies & actually get some tests in last night. I can't imagine how things would have been this morning if she just went to bed & didn't listen to us.
 
Phew! I only read about this after it happened, thanks for the update. And I totally agree about the high initial doses people are being sent home with-- terrifying.
 
Vegetable (GA) said:
I don't know what it is but these vets seem to be prescribing a high dose for newly diagnosed kitties lately. :banghead: And what makes it worse is they don't tell you about home testing or how to even watch for signs of hypo!
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I couldn't agree more! It amazes me that so many vets don't seem to appreciate how fast things can go south with these little creatures! Thank goodness you were there to help her out and for everyone else who came to the rescue!:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
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