Preshot 200BG drop overnight! Broken Glucometer?

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runscottie

Member Since 2013
Hello all,

I just did my cat Rice Krispies' preshot BG test and got some really strange numbers. You can see by his SS that his preshots have been hanging around 300+ BG but then this morning my first preshot reading was 120! I thought this was strange so I did another on the same little droplet of blood and got 180... I gave him a few bonito flakes to keep him steady, then poked and got a reading on another droplet of blood and got 142!

120...180...142 all in a row? I read that if its under 200 I should wait a half hour before feeding/insulin shot so that is what I'm doing now. I'm wondering if my glucometer is acting up or if this is indication that his low carb diet is kicking in? Or maybe that insulin is finally having affect?
 
Waited half and hour, tested and got: 117. I fed him and didn't give him any insulin. Not sure what any of this means!
 
It may be that the insulin and diet change was enough to kick the pancreas into action. Skip the shot and test again when the next shot is due.
 
The three numbers are within the 20% varaince every meter has so your meter could be fine. You could use it on yourself to be sure it is working.

And then celebrate! Great numbers and possibly a kitty headed down into a great range. Tonight the number will likely be high,as he will have been 24 hours since his last shot, but still reduce the dose.

Imagine what could have happened if you weren't testing and shooting blind!
 
Thank you all!

Okay, its good to know about that glucometer variation. And I'm definitely feeling like celebrating with these numbers!

So as you can see from his SS i skipped Krispies AM PS yesterday, then he had a pretty high PS PM BG and i gave him a 1 unit insulin shot. This morning he was AM PS 244, which seems to be a good thing.

Should I be trying to lower him to 1/2 a unit? How do I know when to adjust insulin? Also, whats the BG range that I am shooting for? Now that numbers appear to be creeping downward, what is the ideal range? Also, I will either be doing a BG curve overnight tonight or throughout Saturday day, depending on a few other scheduling things I need to work out.

On a side note: wow this new diet and insulin are kicking in fast! Krispies has been energetic and playful. Now that I think about it, he hasn't been like this in months. Also, he seems to be packing on weight. It is incredible to me that this is happening in only a week's time. I'm only giving him 3 oz wet food in the AM and 3 oz wet food in the PM. Do cats that are not overweight typically gain weight after going on insulin?
 
244 is a lovely number 24 hours since the last shot. If you haven't already shot, I'd probably reduce the dose to .5. If you've shot, I hope you can test midcycle to catch a low if he had one unit.. (since he was too low toshoot last night, the dose should probably be reduced a smidge. Since he stayed in safe ranges for 24 hours without more insulin, we'd think the dose was high.)

The general guidelines are these:

A regulated cat is in the low to mid 200s at preshot and 100 or lower at nadir, but not under 40. (we consider 40 hypo territory and you would need to intervene with food - or if he'd continue to drop, honey.). The renal threshold is a subject of some debate but I think we are considering numbers in the 180 - 250 range to be below the renal threshold. That's the range where the pancreas can heal and hopefully start functioning again.

For some kitties, the wet low carb food makes all the difference in bg levels. It looks like Krispie may be one of the those cats. :-D Cats are literally starving when they're unregulated and first diagnosed as their bodies are not utilizing the food effectively. He may be gaining weight now because he is able to absorb the food better.

What we are missing is the midcycle numbers. If he is at 244 for am preshot, but he goes down to 40 for midcycle, we need to reduce the dose. If he was in okay all through the cycle - not dipping below 100 by much, you'd probably stay at one unit. If he's flat the whole cycle (it does not look like that is likely) you might raise the dose. There are no hard and fast rules with ProZinc. His history of doses and numbers guide you. That's why we need more midcycle data.
 
Well actually yesterday PS AM he was 117, so not shot but then PS PM he was at 376. I gave him one unit and now he was at 244. I have him a 1 unit shot this morning. So, 244 wasn't from 24 hrs without insulin.I only skipped the morning not the PM. Just wanted to clarify.

Since I work its hard for me to do daytime mid cycle. Tomorrow I will try to get some good mid cycle data as its Saturday. I'm hoping I can reduce the dose.

Do you adjust dosage sage daily? Meaning, if BP is high one day do you up dosage? Or do you maintain a steady dose regardless of BP flux for at least some length of time?
 
Thanks. I misread the ss. Much more relaxed about the dose this am.

There are two kinds of cats on ProZinc. One likes to have the dose held a few cycles and then they really start to respond. The other does well on a sliding scale, changing the dose more often. We don't have enough data on Krispie to know that yet.

If you get a preshot too low to shoot (under 200 for a new diabetic) you wait 20 minutes without feeding and retest, to be sure the number is rising and to get closer to 200. Then you shoot a smidge less than the previous dose, hoping less will give you a shootable preshot the next cycle. If he doesn't rise or is quite a bit below 200, you skip.

You can increase a dose if the overall cycle is flat with a higher nadir and preshots are high - in the 300 range. If the preshot number is high but midcycle is lower than 50, reduce the dose because it is taking him too low mid cycle and he is bouncing back up from the low. So the midcycle numbers are the ones that tell you how low the insulin is really taking him. That's why we are reluctant to increase a dose without them.

I'll be glad when you can get some midcycle numbers. Then we'll have a much clearer picture.
 
So today I got the chance to go a BG curve. Since he had been significantly below 200 at Pre Shot time, I decided to drop his insulin from 1 unit to .5. The results weren't so encouraging, as today he was ranging between mid 200s to mid 300s. I just fed him and am now trying .75 units of U40 PZI. It's definitely looking like 1 unit is too much... but at the same time U40 syringes aren't much to work with.

I know that I can do a conversion to a different kind of syringe or something, but the thing is I have a box of 100 U40 syringes... and not a lot of spare cash at the moment to waste them...

Any thoughts? I'm trying to figure out the best dosage for him at the moment...
 
I agree the one looked like too much and the .5 not quite enough. How far are you into any food change? I ask because that can take a while to kick in and both together can make quite a difference downward.

The U 100s are cheaper than the the U40s as they are used by humans and you can buy a smaller quantity. Be sure to ask about the conversion chart if you decide to use them. Many people eyeball amounts like .25.
 
I just started him on an all wet food diet starting last weekend. So its been about a week.
Yesterday night I gave him .75 units and today his AMPS is well below 200. I'm beginning to think that yesterday morning I must have made some kind of mistake when injecting the insulin. I must have not pierced through his skin even though I thought I did. Because I can't see why .75 would have such an effect and .5 hardly anything at all...

I will try .5 units tonight and try to do a mini curve.

Thanks for all the feedback!
 
Sounds like a good plan. It's very encouraging that he is doing so well and you are reducing the amount of insulin. It may be that the food is taking a while to have full effect. Glad you are testing before each pre shot! nailbite_smile
 
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