Not necessarily.
Rather, I mean that, in my view, you should aim to
not let her drop below 5 if possible.
But the action you take if you see a '5' would depend on where you see that during the insulin cycle.
The action you take will also depend
a lot on your cat's individual situation. No two situations are the same.
For example, if you see that number at the expected peak (lowest number) of the cycle, that
may be fine (and possibly even a nice number to see).
As a precaution though it might be wise do another test, maybe half an hour later to make sure that she isn't dropping any lower (as the 'peak' of the cycle can move around a bit...
) You may even want to keep testing until you're sure the blood glucose is rising.
If you see a 5 early in the insulin cycle, and there is still some time to go until the expected peak (lowest number), then it would be advisable to take action to stop it dropping much lower.
The action you take may depend on how fast the blood glucose is dropping:
If the preshot blood glucose was
20, and 3 hours later the blood glucose was 5, then, if it were my cat, I would give a small amount of glucose and then retest 10 -15 minutes later (and decide on what further action to take at that point).
If the preshot blood glucose was
11, and 3 hours later the blood glucose was 5, then, if it were my cat, I might just give a small amount of low carb food and then retest in 15 minutes (and decide on what further action to take at that point).
The above are just possible examples and are not intended to be prescriptive.
Be aware that there is a difference between 'low' numbers and 'hypo' numbers.
With 'low' (not hypoglycemic) numbers we may take action to ensure they don't drop any
lower (into hypoglycemic numbers).
With 'hypo' numbers we are taking definite action to
raise the blood glucose out of potentially dangerous levels.
The FDMB Hypo document gives general information on how to deal with numbers that are
3.3 mmol or below. But, personally,
for a cat on Caninsulin/Vetsulin, I would also take action to raise blood glucose if it dropped
below 5 mmol.
How to treat HYPOS - THEY CAN KILL! Print this Out!!
Please also see the Caninsulin user guide here:
Vetsulin/Caninsulin user guide
And in fact the FDMB FAQ's suggest that the general aim should be to not let the blood glucose drop below
5.6 (100 mg/dL) rather than the '5' I have suggested above. (Users of Lantus/Levemir/Prozinc/PZI may have different goals):
"In most cases, the target "peak" value should not be below 100 mg/dl (5.6 mmol/L), and for some cats it might be higher. Keep in mind that these are general guidelines, and they should be personalized to your own cat's reactions to insulin. If your experience is that your cat does not became hypoglycemic with a dose which is close to her usual, then your experience should be your guide."
Eliz
