Reading LO

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Simba the ging

Simba the ging

Member Since 2018
I woke up to check BG before feeding, Simba was sleeping with me - when I checked he's just reading at LO on his freestyle libre, I gave him a high protein/low carb "snack" and also applied maybe half a finger scoop of corn syrup to his gums cause I panicked...poked him in the ear(had to do it 3 times to get enough blood for the strip) on the bayor contour and he was reading at 1.7mmol, just checked again about 10 minutes after he's snack and his libre is now saying he's at 2.7mmol. he's not acting hypoglycemic at all... but I've never dealt with him reading at LO... what do I do now??
 
Syrup raises the blood glucose fast, but also wears off relatively quickly. But in this case that 'may' last long enough to get your kitty through this. Can't guarantee that though.
Are you able to test again in another 5 - 10 minutes and check that the blood glucose is coming up..?
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
'Chances are' that he will continue to rise now. But you will just need to be vigilant for a while and make sure that is definitely the case.
How are you feeling? Are you doing OK? I know how scary these situations can be... (((Hugs)))
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Thank you! I'm wide awake now, had a panick but I'm glad it was me that woke up this morning and not my partner. I'll keep a close eye on him and test again until he's at a better level. I really appreciate your help ((hugs))
 
The 'general principle' with low numbers is to give syrup to get the kitty out of the danger zone. Syrup works really fast, but also wears off relatively fast.
Then, once the kitty has that sugar on board you can give a little high carb food if you have it (gravy from high carb food is best), and that food helps to hold the blood glucose levels up. But in this situation you 'may' not need to do that. If the hypo happened earlier in the cycle then that is what you'd do though. And then continue with syrup and food as necessary. If you don't have high carb food around then it's possible to add some syrup to lower carb food.

I bet you are 'wide awake' now! Situations like this really get the adrenalin going.... :bighug:

Of course, you will need to reduce the insulin dose immediately from this point...
 

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Aha, it looks like he's dropped pretty steeply/low on the 30th and 31st Oct too...? And then it looks like you've maybe got some bouncing (rebound) after that, as a response to those drops into low numbers.

...Time for another test soon...?
 

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Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Aha, it looks like he's dropped pretty steeply/low on the 30th and 31st Oct too...? And then it looks like you've maybe got some bouncing (rebound) after that, as a response to those drops into low numbers.

...Time for another test soon...?
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Yeah, he's been like a rollercoaster with his levels the last couple of days, the vet said it was safe for me to try the 1U x2 and see how he does on that dose, if he continues to be lower on his readings.
Just did another check now and he's at 3.8mmol
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
OK, so not much of a rise there... Pretty much the same as last time... So, definitely another test needed a wee bit later to check it's coming up and not going down again...

BTW, have posted the link to your thread in the Lantus forum and asked if anyone can help with dosing advice later.
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Thank you so much! I've added it to my watch thread :D
 
tiffmaxee said:
Good morning. How do you keep track of the bg? I don’t see a spreadsheet and I use the US numbers. What dose have you been giving and for how long?
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I have a log within my phone and on his libre monitor. I'm unfamiliar with the US numbers. He's been on 2 units twice daily, was started in that Oct 26th. I've only been able to do twice daily for the last 3 days, as he was too low either in the AM or PM to give.
 
Good. When he came out of remission was he DKA? It’s important to find a dose you can shoot every 12 hours and even more so if DKA or ketones. Just one reading with a lo means a reduction is earned. Otherwise three drops under 50 in US numbers. Sorry but I’m not good with world numbers. Post his +11 and PMPS numbers and we will decide his dose but I think I would start with 1.0.
Can I convince you to start one of our spreadsheets? It will convert the numbers from world to US and we all can understand better. It will be easier for us to help you.
 
Hi there and welcome! waving from Alberta, I use the mmol/L Canadian values too, all you need to do is multiply by 18 to get to the US mg/dl.

Here's what I think I gathered in terms of info, based on what data was posted today above:

Libre meter - Simba was LO very close to 12 hours (around +11?) from last insulin dose of 2 units. Corn syrup given, retested with contour 1.7 = 31.
+ 10 minutes, Libre reads 2.7 = 49
+ 20 minutes, Libre reads 3.5 = 63

- No symptoms.

+ 40 minutes, Libre reads 3.8 = 68
+ 50 minutes, Libre reads 4.1 = 74

14 hours from last shot, Libre reads 6.8 - 122.

Most definitely a reduction is earned, I think for your next shot, I might consider 1.75u, since nadirs (lowest point in the cycle) generally fell in the 6-11 (108-198) range from October 26 to October 29th. On October 30th and 31st it looked like Simba dipped to the low 3s (around 54). You'll want to be careful with how much of reduction to do, since you have history of DKA in the mix.

Another comment, I noted in your signature that you feed 1 hour before giving insulin? That is not usually recommended, it is suggested to withhold food 2 hours before preshot so as not to have a possible food influenced number when you do give insulin. That can artificially inflate the BG only to then end up having a very busy cycle thereafter.
 
Simba the ging said:
He's been on 2 units twice daily, was started in that Oct 26th. I've only been able to do twice daily for the last 3 days, as he was too low either in the AM or PM to give.
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What dose was he on before increasing to 2 units? Are you using syringes to inject the insulin? If not, can you get some with half unit markings? The pharmacy will have BD Ultrafine II (purple and yellow box) that work.

Waving hello from the west coast.
 
He was in remission from Dec 2018 until Oct. 24 2020, we found out he was in DKA on Oct 24th. When he was originally diagnosed in November 2018, he was put on 1U of lantus - 3 weeks later after doing a BGC and going down to 0.5U of lantus, he was in remission. Yes using U-100 syringes to inject insulin.

I check BG in the AM, around 550AM, give 1 can of DM, check BG after eating and give insulin at 7am if he is at ok to give insulin to as per Veterinarian recommendation. And from there, I check his BG throughout the day, and do the same thing starting around 550PM.
 
We can best help you with a spreadsheet now that the emergency is over. It’s a basic requirement for us so we can look at the action of the Lantus over time. As someone else mentioned, if you do the World SS, it auto converts BGs to the US numbers. We have had several Freestyle Libre members over the last few years use the SS successfully.

We recommend you test and then feed and shoot within 15 minutes. Generally, unless you know exactly how your cat responds to food and what his onset, nadir, and duration are, it’s best to not feed in the two hours preceding shot time. About 15 mins before shot time, you can test, and then feed while shooting. That also gives you time to post for help here if the preshot number is lower than you are comfortable shooting.
 
tiffmaxee said:
Good. When he came out of remission was he DKA? It’s important to find a dose you can shoot every 12 hours and even more so if DKA or ketones. Just one reading with a lo means a reduction is earned. Otherwise three drops under 50 in US numbers. Sorry but I’m not good with world numbers. Post his +11 and PMPS numbers and we will decide his dose but I think I would start with 1.0.
Can I convince you to start one of our spreadsheets? It will convert the numbers from world to US and we all can understand better. It will be easier for us to help you.
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Nov 1
6:11PM - 154.8
6:51PM - 199.8
7:36PM - 219.6
2U lantus given
Nov 2
2:32AM - 120.6
3AM - 165.6
FIRST THING BEFORE FOOD OR INSULIN
7:10AM - LO *acting normal*
1/8 can high protein, low carb food given with half a fingertip of corn syrup applied to gums
7:17AM - Poked ear and took strip reading 9n BAYOR CONTOUR monitor 30.6
7:21AM - LO *acting normal*
1/4 can DM & 1/4 can high protein, medium carb food given
7:32AM - 43.2
7:49AM - 63
7:58AM = 63
8:11AM - 68.4
8:24AM - 73.8
8:38AM - 73.8
8:50 AM - 61.2
Gave 1/8 can of high protein, medium carb food
9:13AM - 93.6
9:20AM - 88.2
9:32AM - 75.6
9:51AM - 106.2
9:56AM - 113.4
12:30PM - 205.2
1:39PM - 196.2
Libre readings unless nentioned otherwise
 
The speadsheet is very difficult for me to do as I only have my phone... I don't have access to a tablet or computer and I'm trying to figure out how to fill it out on my phone but it's not working.
 
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