possibly going otj? or just a random blip

[Michaelc26]

So last week I did a BGC because my poor Carol was laying around all day not doing anything and her numbers were very low, at her highest she was 150 and lowest at around 47.. Spoke to my vet and he had me reduce her from 3u of Lantus to 2u (twice daily)... this of course after he gave me the third degree about doing it at home and not buying a specialized feline glucose meter through him , seriously considering switching to a different vet (We use the OneTouch Ultra MIni that got good reviews on here and online)

So we watched her for a few days and she was still very lethargic , just laying around, yesterday she never left her chair so I got out my test kit and checked her a few random times throughout the day and she was trending around 47-67 all day, I had the syringe of maple syrup ready just in case, she is never this lethargic so I decided to skip her shot last night.

About 3am I woke up to the sounds of items falling off my dresser, she had jumped on it and sprawled out making her own bed area like she used to before she was diagnosed.. I woke up and looked at her "Carol what are you doing" she just meowed at me , clawed and played with a piece of paper and I went back to bed. This morning woke up and she was waiting at the end of the bed, gave her her food, she was meowing and running around my legs I checked her blood and she was at 101 we didn't do her shot, she was at 115 1hr after she ate right now she is outside playing (which she hasn't done in along time)

Her diabetes was brought on because she went up from 14lbs, to 21lbs ... now she is at 15lbs and has been staying there which is a normal weight for her (she's a big cat by default and the vet is cool with that) Is it possible that since she lost the weight and we switched her to low carb food that her body is bouncing back on its own or a random blip? I'm gonna be checking her blood randomly over the next few days but if she doesn't get over 150 I don't feel like she needs a shot, its nice having my Carol back, the happy, playing, pain in my backside clearing off my dresser carol lol

I'm very conflicted, as cats can handle high blood sugar but low can kill her, I was going to reduce her to 1u twice a day but her numbers were so low yesterday that I'm nervous about giving her any unless she goes above 150, with Lantus I read you should reduce gradually... any thoughts? I'm am VERY lucky, she is a very docile cat who can care less if I stick her ear as long as she gets a treat afterward

 

[Michaelc26]

UPDATE:

Its now 3hrs after her breakfast and just tested, she is currently at 112

 

[BJM]

If she is between 40 to 130, she is in normal numbers. You may have lucked out with remission.

And I wouldn't give her insulin unless she climbed up over 200. She may have used up her compensatory reserve stored glucose and not be able to handle extra insulin for a while (ie, you were very, very lucky she didn't hypo)

I would suggest testing before meals, then 2 and 4 hours afterwards a few times. At +2 hours post shot, you are likely to see a food spike. If her pancreas is working again, at +4, the food spike should have resolved.

 

[Deb & Wink]

Losing excess weight in a diabetic cat is always helpful. That's because cats that are overweight tend to be insulin resistant so if your cat is diabetic, their body may not be able to produce enough insulin on it's own.

Low carb food is also a great step to getting those BG levels down.

We do try to reduce the dose gradually, as we find it leads to a stronger remission. Of course, not every cat reads the rules and some have their own mind as to when they are done with insulin. My Wink was one of the 'doing his own thing kitties' , and he's been OTJ, diet controlled remission for 15 months now.

Keep a careful eye on the BG levels. Once the insulin depot drains, those BG readings may go back high again.

It is possible to shoot those low numbers if you have the data to know how your cat will react. Over in the Lantus Tight Regulation forum, the shoot/no shoot threshold is 150. You can gradually lower your threshold as you gather more test data to see how low a particular dose is taking your cat.