really need help now

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underdawg

underdawg

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Bo's last shot of 2 units was last Friday when his BG was 324. Since then his daily BG tests have shown 119, 177, 98, 87, 77, and then 66 last night. I took him in at 7 this morning for his scheduled curve so that i could see the levels throughout the day. I did not take his insulin because I did not feel he would need it and I did not want to give him a shot unless his readings were really high. The readings at the vet today were 9:30 - 229, 3:30 - 204 and 5:30 226. Not only that, the vet said that he got a shot of 2 units at 9:30! Now i have to worry about another seixure tonight. Please tell me what I can do. He has eaten his supper. then I also gave him a half envelope of food with gravy so he can have some high carbs. Tell me what i need to do throughout the night. Thanks.
 
So his last insulin was this morning? If so, you will probably be okay. What are his numbers now?

Breathe. There will be people to help if you need it.
 
So if I understand you right he got the 2u at 9:30 this morning at the vet's, correct? If so that dose should be well past it's peak by now,

So fwiw if he was mine I would just watch for any changes in behavior but other than that just do what you have been doing, keep checking his BG at home. If he is back up then give him his shot tonight, if not then no shot. The numbers at the vet's today could have jumped up that high just from vet stress, and he maybe back to normal again now that he is home. Which is why I love being able to test and do my own curves, because I know I am getting the true numbers without stress being factored in.

Mel
 
You are home testing, right? How many hours ago did Bo get the 2 units, 9:30 am or pm? If it was am, the insulin should be out his system by now and he should be fine. If it is pm, you need to keep an eye on his BG through the night, and treat for a hypo if it happens. And to help us help you, please post his numbers with +hour (since his shot) rather than time, since we are from all over the world. So it would look like this:

AMPS (am preshot number) - 229, 2 units (what insulin?)
+6 - 204
+8 - 226
PMPS (+12 hour number) - ???
 
Thanks! That makes me feel a little better! His shot of 2 u of Lantus was at 9:30 am. The numbers from the vet are:

AMPS - 229 - 2u Lantus
+6 - 204
+8 - 226

I will try to get a test in an hour and a half which will be +12.

I typed the original post 3 times before I could submit because I keep losing it on this laptop.
 
Hi Bo's mom (dad?),

I took a look at Bo's ss and it looks like he was diagnosed in Sept 2010, you were using Lantus, you test occasionally using a Relion meter, and you are feeding canned MD, and you have had a week or so of 1x/day normal non-diabetic numbers, and no insulin given this past week, until this AM by the vet. Am I close?

It looks like Bo is trying to go OTJ! (off the Juice). Lucky you !

A lot of us have seen that the "curve" that the vet does is not a good representation of real life for our kitties. They are just so scared and nervous that their blood glucose numbers are higher than they are at home.

I also was surprised that they only took 3 readings (?). My vet did something similar and charged me $90. At home I could have seen a much more complete picture by testing every hour or two, and seen a much more complete curve (for about $2)

A "curve" occurs as a result of giving insulin, and then testing every 2 hours or so, watching how the BG readings graph out. Usually they are looking for a U -shaped curve, high near the shot, dropping mid day, and then rising again before the next shot, so they can see what the insulin is doing to their blood glucose level.

I'm sorry I cant help you with the normal duration of Lantus because I haven't used it, but many here can. I know it is usually shot on a 12hr schedule, so you "should be" past the peak action of the insulin. You always have the power to test him anytime and know whether he is too low- thats the beauty of home testing!

If you continue to get a 2-3 weeks of non diabetic numbers, you could satisfy your vet by having her run a fructosamine blood test, which gives them an approximate average of the blood glucose over the previous 2 weeks.

As for tonight, what's his readings now?
 
Just to add to this...moving forward, next time, you do not need to take him to the vet to get his bgs tested, and if you do, please instruct them that they are not to give insulin unless in consultation with you. Given the numbers you had at home, 2 units was not supported.
 
NO HYPO last night!!! We are now at +23. Thanks for your support! Bo slept with us all night so he was easy to monitor. He leans up against my leg so if he has a problem, I will know it. That is what happened last time. I felt him having the seizure last week because he was touching my leg. I am grateful that he sleeps with us so I can check on him during the night without having to hunt him.

Nancy, you are right on the money. That is exactly what has happened with Bo with Bo the last few weeks. I didn't get a BG test last night after all. I can't do it by myself and my husband had gone to bed with Bo. Both were exhausted as I was. I gave Bo a couple of his old treats when I went to bed and then gave him the rest of his packet of high carb food around 11 pm which would be around +14 in an effort to not have a seizure. This morning he is back on his m/d and we will be testing in just a little while. He is sleeping so soundly, I hate to wake him up since he had such a bad day yesterday having to be at the vet all day. The vet wanted me to bring him in this morning for one more test but everyone was so stressed yesterday that I am not packing him up again and stress him and the others out. Stress leads to brother Andy's urinary problems and the sisters were scared they were next to go.

Yes, only 3 tests were done by the vet yesterday. Seems like a waste of Bo's time to be at the vet all day for that few tests not to mention the stress involved. He is not as cooperative at home any more with my tests so I don't think I can do a full blown curve here - hence the trip to the vet as we had scheduled. I hope he gets to the point of not noticing but if I don't get a blood sample sooner without all the attempts, i don't know. He gets a lot of attention and a lot of high protein chicken treats as we try to get some blood. IF I take him back for another curve, there will be explicit instructions about whether or not to give the insulin. I did not take the insulin yesterday to the vet on purpose and told the girl when I dropped him off that if the numbers were high and they wanted to give him insulin to call me and I would bring his vial. No call - so I assumed that he did not get insulin. But the vet said yesterday afternoon that he did receive insulin around 9:30 but when I looked at the bill, there was no insulin listed. I assume that it would not be free so now I am not sure if he really did receive insulin or not. Let me go see if Bo is available for a test. ;-) Thanks so much!
 
Now that is a pretty number to wake up to! Looks like those high numbers were all vet stress and your boy is still on his Honeymoon. :-D Way to Go Bo!

Mel
 
the gang here has helped thousands of beans learn to test blood glucose with more success and less stress- say the word and you will get lots of tips to make it easier.

--Have you tried the warm rice sock trick?
--Do you use the clear lancet cap that probably came with your pen? try holding it firmly on the spot a few seconds before and after you pop it. I wait until I see a rosy pink circle form, and then pop.
--what size (guage) lancets are you using? the higher numbers like 31 make a tiny hole and don't bleed as well as using a lower number like 26 or 28. Pick the cheap ones, most lancets fit most pens.
--frequently I just grab a test wherever he happens to be sleeping- he barely notices anymore... the ears do seem to bleed easier the more you do it.
--hold finger pressure on the bleed after you are done for 4-5 sec to decrease the chance of bruising.
--I test anywhere on his ear that i can find a rosy pink circle, and I move the spot around a lot, because I test a lot.
--It seems daunting, but it DOES get easier, be confident (Bo can tell!)

Be careful of the high carb foods. I have heard folks say any little loosening up of the diet, a dry hairball treat, etc, is enough to put their cat back on insulin.

I repeat, but I would watch at home, and after 3 weeks, if his numbers are good, and she pushes you, let her do a fructosamine test only. That would confirm whether he is truly OTJ.
 
Thanks for the tips. I need all I can get. Hopefully with practice and plenty of chicken treats, it will get better for Bo.

Not sure how to list these since he did not have a shot this morning but here are the numbers for today:

+23 bg 89 (At 8:30 am - 2.5 hours AFTER eating at 6:00 am)
+27 bg 60 (at 12:30 pm - had snack immediately after at 12;35 pm)
+31 bg 80 (at 4:30 pm)

Do you use the exact number that you get on your meters or do you adjust the numbers to make allowances for the human meter being used? These are the numbers that i get on my meter. Thanks
 
Fantastic! So now i have really good numbers since I gave him his last shot on 10/15 (not counting the numbers the vet got yesterday when HE gave a shot). I hope that I can just omit yesterday's fiasco when I look at the days and numbers in a few days to see if maybe Bo really is on a honeymoon. Thanks for responding.
 
We use the exact numbers from the meter. Blood is basically just blood. And those numbers are non-diabetic numbers.

One thing though, is your meter one that needs to be coded? If it does, did you code it? (If you read the information that came with the meter, it should tell you if it needs to be coded.) You need to do this with each new vial of strips. When I questioned my meter, I tested myself to check it :-D .
 
Thanks. The meter automatically sets the code to the code on the test strips. Is that what you are talking about? I don't see anything else in the manual about coding.
 
I am new to this so I have no idea. I just tried to do what the set up guide said but I may have missed something. I posted another question about the Reli-On meter so maybe someone will tell me if I have done it right or not. Thanks
 
I use the new relion confirm and it does not need to be coded, so you are fine.

If you have trouble getting blood, you do need to go get some 26-28 gauge lancets, he will bleed much easier.

You count the hours from the last shot, so technically this is like +35 I think
 
and I know you are anxious to ignore yesterday, but what it tells me, is that he is "on the fence", so you need to give him the best food possible, 100% of the time. 2 years from now, he still needs to be on a strict low carb diet. You don't have to feed prescription diet, but it must be low carb. And avoid all steroid use in the future, if at all possible.

You might enjoy this food link, I really like it. Its written by a vet who is passionate about kitty nutrition:
http://www.catinfo.org
 
Thanks! I appreciate it! I really hope he is on the fence. I have certainly learned more about food here so he will not have anything else that is not good for him. Thanks again
 
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