Testing saved my kitty this morning

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LoveMySmokey

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This morning when we tested Smokey his blood sugar was 48! :shock: I just keep thinking if we hadn't of tested I could've killed my kitty by giving him the shot. Quickly gave him some high carb food but didn't have time to test again before he went to the vet. I think that alone will show the vet that her prescribed dose is way too high! Hoping he can be controlled just on diet alone.
 
a 48 without insulin on board is one thing, a 48 with insulin already on board is an entirely different thing. If Smokey hadn't had any insulin then you really didn't need to give him the higher carb food since that is a non-diabetic number. Maxwell is diet controlled and he will often throw me a high 40s to low 50s, especially if I test very early in the morning.

Now a 48 say +2 AFTER insulin...that is heading for Hypo and then yes, give HC food or corn syrup. But those first low numbers can be scary but as long as the shot hasn't been given no need to panic.

Just remember as long as the cat isn't on insulin they cannot Hypo, and normal BGs for a cat are between 40 -120

I test all 10 of my civies once a month and they run anywhere between 45 to 75, with Maxwell my diabetic staying in the 50s and 60s normally but he is still a cat and will occassionally throw me a curve ball with either a 40 or a 90...lol

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
That is odd because on his lab sheet they list the normal range for blood sugars as being 71-159? I wonder where they are even getting these numbers? Now I feel a little bit :oops: ohmygod_smile
 
Dear Sara, and, of course, you too, maybe not so sweet Smokey,

When I started dancing with Giz, the normal non-diabetic range was 70-120, much like for a human. Now I'm dancing with Nikki and I don't have a clue where these new numbers are coming from, so I stick with what worked for Giz.



But, I do know you were Smokey's champion today because you tested before shooting. YAY!!!

Much love and countless BIG hugs for you and Smokey,
Deb and Nikki -- and, Giz, forever dancing in my heart...
 
well, that's 'usual' but trust me...the range is broader on the low side.
and yes, thank god you are testing.
FWIW a 48 at +12 if that is what it was, is really no need to run for the HC.
altho' I would feed and test again in 1/2 hour.
good luck!
 
you could do as Lori said, feed and test but then you are getting a food spike number to shoot. if waiting to give insulin, I would test every 15- min til numbers come up into shootable range. If longer than 2 hours, and numbers not up, I would skip dose entirely or depending on numbers, give a token dose. this is where data collecting comes in handy. when in doubt, post for help
 
yes, testing for sure saved your kitty this morning because without it you would have given your shot to a low number and yes, there is a darn good chance he would have hypo'd. so good job you! :-)

and fwiw, the first time anyone sees those numbers they always run for the high carbs so that's the normal response you had. no harm no foul there with your response in my opinion. now everyone is or will explain when numbers that low are ok and what action to take depending on where in the cycle and all that jazz. :smile:
 
Called a few hours ago to see if they could give me his number and they said they hadn't tested it yet because his numbers were low earlier. What? That doesn't make any sense to me. Why wait to test. Wouldn't they want to make sure it wasn't going any lower. My mom told them not to put any dry food in his cage but who knows if they will actually listen. The vet was in surgery and the receptionist "doesn't know if the vet will get around to calling or waiting until my mom goes to pick him up". That kind of irritates me that she would know I was wondering but doesn't find a few minutes to call. Will be glad when he is home and we can do the curves at home instead of torturing him by taking him to the vet. I feel like I know more then they do.
 
grr_red They apparently tested him this morning and he was 66, then they tested him again and he was over 400 yet again. So now she wants to see him again in a month. Can't they see that being there is the reason he is getting the higher readings. I'm just so frustrated! She only wants to drop him down to 3 units even with getting a 48 this morning. They can't be serious!
 
you're going to have to do some of this on your own apparently. they clearly do not know that the high number now is due to things like, no insulin for how many hours now? or about rebound and his body protecting itself from those low numbers?

they are reacting to the one number, the high one, which in all honesty, is what leads to hypoglycemic episodes.

if i were you, since you know how to test, do what feels comfortable to you, i.e. lower the dose, test, log the data, and see where it leads you in the coming weeks. there's plenty of experienced people here who can help you figure it all out.
 
I'm not even sure all the stuff they said because she decided to call my mom at her work and talk to her instead of calling here and talking to me even though he is my cat. :roll: I guess maybe it is a good thing she didn't call here because I would've gone off on her. I think my own blood sugar rose just hearing what she told my mom. Also when my mom told her we switched to wet food she immediately suggested the W/D wet which has over 25% carbs :roll: I'm guessing they put that food in his cage along with the dry version which made his blood sugar even higher. I told my mom I refused to give him 3 units of insulin and everything I read said you should start at 1 unit. Can't wait to get him home, give him his Friskies and test later on once he is calmed down from being at that place.
 
I agree with Cindy! Test as much as you can over the next month so you have a lot of data for your next visit, and start out with a low dose, 1U or even 0.5U. Stay with that dose for several days, see how it works, then adjust as you need to. Then, if it were me, I would take this mountain of data to the vet next month without Smokey and have a conversation about the numbers and the effects of office stress on your poor boy. Hopefully she will listen to you at that point, I did the same thing with my vet, just bringing in the numbers. In fact, I brought in my laptop and showed her the program I use to keep track of everything, and I did this all while leaving my kitty at home. After seeing how well his numbers were at home, and how diligent I have been at testing and managing everything with his FD she didn't even ask me to bring him back for any office testing. If your vet reacts harshly after preparing for the visit for a month and showing her that you do indeed know what you are talking about, then I would suggest that it may be time to look at other vet options.

Heres to wishing you a wonderful next month of testing and re-testing!

And, if you need any help getting ready for your vet visit next month, I am more then happy to help any way I can :-D
 
Sigh. Yes, it sounds like you will need to be doing this mostly on your own, with a lot of research and testing.

That 400 was probably a combination of stress, rebound and food (including the hiugh carb stuff you gave earlier). They don't seem to realize that if he was 48 at shot time, there is a good chance that he was even lower at +6 or +8, so rebounding up high is to be expected. And W/D? Seriously? Ugh.

I hope they didn't shoot insulin, especially the full dose! You'll need to find that out, so you will know when the +12 is.

The new numbers have come from quite a few sources, including a big survey we did here where we all tested our non-diabetic kitties and found that BGs as low as mid 30s were pretty common.

As long as there is no history of DKA, and you check religiously for ketones, and BG test, it would be a good idea to reduce that shot to 1 or 1.5u (max) and go from there.

Good catch. Without hometesting, you'd be on hypo watch all day -- or worse. Well done.
 
Better safe than sorry on grabbing the high carb food.

When I took my cat in for his last curve because they wanted to see what his numbers were. BUT THIS WAS WHILE HE WAS JUST GETTING OTJ. I told the girl that he was not getting insulin at the time and to call me if they thought he needed any. Never received a call but when i picked him up, i was told that they gave him the insulin. I was livid! Better not to leave the cat unless there is some major agreement on what to do and what not to do.
 
You absolutely DID save Smokey's life. If you hadn't tested you would not have known how low he was and you would have given him his insulin and the outcome would probably have been very sad.

Give yourself a pat on the back. You are Smokey's hero.
 
Hi,

Most of us here who've been treating our diabetic cats for years no longer even consult our vet about diabetes. It's not because we are arrogant about what we know, we just understand how insulin works in our cat and we are able to make dosing decisions for ourselves. If I were a human diabetic, I would be the same way.

With help from other members on the board using your insulin, you should be able to dose Smokey just fine. You already know that with a resulting BG of 48, 3U is way too much! That is a great start to understanding and it sounds to me like you are more than capable.

You can also have the vet change his chart so that YOU are notified if he is in their care, unless you are under 18. Then they probably have to call your mom.

You're doing a great job - many of us have been there with vet frustration and sometimes it's not the vet, it's other staff who wrongly assume or make mistakes so keep that in mind if you discuss this event with the vet.
 
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