Well that was scary..

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CassWTribby

CassWTribby

Member Since 2017
I got home just before 6pm. Tribby was running around and waiting for her dinner. So I BGT. 12.8. Her IBS had been acting up the past few days and it always seems to affect her levels. I gave her caninsulin 1.5 u, after she ate as usual.

Then just after 8 pm went to grab her for her pumkin dose and she seemed a bit wobbly. BGL test was 1.6!
I fed her right away and thank goodness she ate with some encouragement. I gave her some pieces of cooked hot dog because she loves it and I thought it would get her BGL back up quickly. Not great for her IBS I know.
Did we just dodge a hypo? That was seriously scary. Off to the vets again for the IBS tomorrow.
I feel like I'm worrying all the time about her and what could go wrong. She is resting on a warm bean bag all cozy now thank goodness. I just worry that she is suffering and want the best for her. It's hard.
 
CassWTribby said:
I got home just before 6pm. Tribby was running around and waiting for her dinner. So I BGT. 12.8. Her IBS had been acting up the past few days and it always seems to affect her levels. I gave her caninsulin 1.5 u, after she ate as usual.

Then just after 8 pm went to grab her for her pumkin dose and she seemed a bit wobbly. BGL test was 1.6!
I fed her right away and thank goodness she ate with some encouragement. I gave her some pieces of cooked hot dog because she loves it and I thought it would get her BGL back up quickly. Not great for her IBS I know.
Did we just dodge a hypo? That was seriously scary. Off to the vets again for the IBS tomorrow.
I feel like I'm worrying all the time about her and what could go wrong. She is resting on a warm bean bag all cozy now thank goodness. I just worry that she is suffering and want the best for her. It's hard.
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That was most definitely a hypo. You are very lucky to have caught it in time. It also means you need to reduce the dose. Don't be surprised to see a higher bounce tomorrow.
 
Are you using a human meter or a pet meter? It is not mentioned in your signature. Whichever meter you are using that 1.6 was most definitely a hypo number and most certainly could have become dangerous very quickly if you had not caught it. With numbers like that it would have been best to give some syrup ( I use maple syrup but any sugary syrup would do). With low numbers like that it would have been prudent to test every 20-30 minutes until the numbers rose up to a safe zone and stayed there without having to sugar or feed.

Caninsulin is a faster acting insulin...usually has an onset between 1-2 hours after the shot and has a peak effect between 4-6 hours after the shot. It would be most useful, both for your vet or for people on here who might be advising, to have a spreadsheet set up so that you can record your test results. This makes it much clearer to visually see patterns and make dose adjustments. Since you are in Canada (like myself) you would want to use the World spreadsheet which would automatically give the listings in US numbers on a separate tab so people in the US could give opinions/advice as well. If you need help with getting it set up just ask and there are some great people on here that can help you with that,
 
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Hi everyone! Thanks for all the replies. It took 45 mins but she went back to normal. Thank goodness! 2.8 then 3.6 at 45 mins. She came to bed with me and was fine thank goodness!
Im going to continue to feed her 20 mins before then give her a treat after just to be sure.
I'm using a human meter. Contour Next that was given to me by my pharmacist with some sample test strips and lancets.
This morning she ate very well and I gave her a treat after as well. We are heading to the vet after work today to deal with the IBS I think is causing her glucose fluctuations. I reduced her dose by .5u this am. I'm hoping to stop by during the day to test her again. My husband is home so he will keep an eye on her. Caninsulin seems to only work for 10 hours for her so I'm thinking about switching to a depot human insulin.
Thanks everyone!
 
Hopefully you will not have to deal with that scary of an experience again. However just to be prepared should it ever happen again, here is a link to information on dealing with hypo numbers.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-treat-hypos-they-can-kill-print-this-out.15887/

If your kitty ever has a hypo number and is stumbling, falling over, seizing or unresponsive then you should go immediately to the ER and not try to deal with it at home. This is covered in the document on hypos but I did want to mention it again:

"AGAIN! ANYTIME YOU CAT IS SEIZING OR LIMP, RUB KARO, GLUCOSE OR HONEY ONLY ON GUMS OR ADMINISTER RECTALLY AND GET TO EMERGENCY OR YOUR NEAREST CLINIC IMMEDIATELY!!!"

This link covers things you should always have at home in a hypo kit:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/jojo-and-bunnys-hypo-tool-box.2354/
 
So another hypo today. I gave her 1/2 her insulin at 7. BGL 9.9. I left for work. My hubby noticed her weak and a bit wobbly at 11:30. Gave her food with syrup and more food and is watching her carefully. He doesn't BGT but says she seems normal now and eating well. I'm going to talk to the vet tonight and will skip her pm insulin, just test.

We have an appointment already after work to discuss her IBS. What is the next recommended insulin to try after caninsulin? She's been on it since Feb 4 this year and her average BGL is in the mid teens. Lowest avg is 8. I charted her results by hand to bring with me and it does not look like she was consistently "normal" ever. Low to mid teens only. It also seems to last about 10 hrs. Her IBS has been bothering her on and off as well. No computer so cannot use a worksheet to share.

Trying not to have a panic attack-quit my job and run home to be with her.

Help!!
 
Good insulins for cats are Lantus+Levemir (depot insulins), and ProZinc (in-and-out insulin like Caninsulin, but with a longer duration). The Lantus community on this site is particularly large and many people have had good success with it (including lots of remissions), so if you can get a prescription for that it'd be my recommendation. It is expensive in the US-- many here buy from Canada, or else try to buy single pens from US pharmacies (the vials are too large-- lots of $$$, and you'll never use it all on a cat before it loses effectiveness).

You can set up the spreadsheet to use on a phone with an app like Google Sheets, I believe (I don't do it myself so I'm a bit hazy on the details). The general instructions for spreadsheet set up are here (edit: forgot the link, but here it is! http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/), but just holler for help if you need it. It really is a critical tool for keeping Tribby safe-- especially if you have to work full-time while dealing with FD, seeing the patterns of insulin response over time will give you more confidence in her safety when you have to leave her for hours.

Finally: breathe! Two hypos in a couple days is terrifying, but luckily someone has been there to keep her safe, and you are going to be able to figure out a plan to keep her safe going forward. :bighug:
 
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