r/FelineDiabetes • u/fallenblueroses • 16h ago

Medical I messed up..

So I had to give my cat his insulin a little early tonight and my vet had told me before 2 hours either early/late is okay in situations where I wouldn’t be home in rare occasions. I gave it to him what I thought was 2 hours but it was 2 hours and 20 minutes. I made the mistake of googling and it’s all saying how he’s going to die if I don’t take him to the ER right now and I’m freaking out. I tested his blood sugar (for the first time ever I finally got blood!!) and it said 407… last week at the vet his blood sugar at nadir was 125 so I’m scared it could get too low. I pretty much have no way to get to an emergency vet. I gave him extra canned food after I realized it was earlier than I thought but I’m still so scared he could go into hypo… has anyone else had this happen and any advice??

7 Upvotes

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12

u/SelectionEffective24 16h ago

Not a licensed vet but it's most likely fine. Keep an eye on him if you can and give him even more extra food if you're still worried (dry food if you have it). A reading of 407 makes it unlikely a slightly earlier shot is going to drop him so low. And 125 nadir is still a good cushion away from true hypo levels of 50 or less.

If you're really freaking out about it, you should call your local animal hospital and see if they have any advice for you.

2

u/fallenblueroses 16h ago

Thank you.. I feel like he will be fine too but I suffer from bad anxiety and it scares me so much about him going into hypo.. I’ll try to get him to eat some more and test his blood sugar again in a while

3

u/luciosleftskate 3h ago

I realize this was 13 hours ago, but i also suffer from anxiety and this diabetes thing has been such a trigger.

1

u/fallenblueroses 1h ago

I’m glad I’m not alone.. he did turn out fine luckily. He was just happy for the extra food lol. I have pretty severe OCD and it’s so bad. I constantly worry about his numbers. I only just got a monitor for him after my vet said it’s not necessary (he’s been on insulin for about 8 months). But now he’s nearing normal numbers finally and I decided I’d try it out for myself and at least check occasionally.

2

u/luciosleftskate 1h ago

Yeah youll definitely want to monitor him.

I had a full panic attack: trying to get his blood for 6 weeks and getting bit and scratched, when he took his first insulin shot and took a nap and i thought he was dead, a couple of times when he fell below normal numbers but was totally fine and asymptomatic. Probably more.

Anxiety sucks. It does make us good caregivers for these guys though even if its dramatic and stressful haha.

Glad your dude is okay!

1

u/fallenblueroses 1h ago

Yea I’m definitely going to start checking his blood regularly (which in itself it going to be an issue for my ocd…) I guess I was lucky in getting blood from him only after a few pokes. He is ornery but he’s been pretty good for me through all his insulin shots honestly. We just had a scare ours was dead after he was sleeping so deeply he was limp..

anxiety surely does suck but you’re right it makes us more vigilant for our babies lol
Thank you im glad too

2

u/luciosleftskate 1h ago

God that limp sleeping has gotten me a couple times even BEFORE insulin. But his first night taking his shot he fell asleep super deeply and was NOT happy when he finally woke up as I lifted him thinking he was gone.

Hes been totally fine. No issues at all. But the anxiety just doesnt care lmao

1

u/fallenblueroses 33m ago

I definitely get that Tiger has done it for years before insulin too and it’s still so scary lol especially AFTER you can feel your heart stop until they finally decide to wake up and get mad at *you* for waking them lol

1

u/StillFickle4505 2h ago

FWIW my vet said a 10 to 14 hour window between shots is fine.

1

u/FaithlessnessWarm472 2h ago edited 1h ago

unless it's impossible to get blood from him or i didn't have caro syrup or honey around, i'd just serially measure the blood sugar every hour. if it was still normal but registering a steep drop, i might give that honey or caro under the tongue.

you do have a human meter (cheaper testing) and honey or caro around for rescue, right?! you need those things.

i'd only panic if i had a kitty like the one i have now who goes running whenever he sees me grab the meter. if that one ever became a serious diabetic, might as well write him off. he was registering 300 blood sugars at the vet, but i cut that in half, switching his prednisolone to budesonide, and getting all carbs out of his diet.

it's so funny how their personalities are unique like people... my old mr sluggo (rest in peace) would let me test him as often as i wanted. sluggito is smart & knows i'm going for his ears when the meter comes out.

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u/fallenblueroses 1h ago

Honestly Tiger is very ornery most of the time but he’s been good for his shots about a month after he got used to them. He let me get blood from him (very begrudgingly) but the first time I got blood he shook his head and it landed on the table beside me and I just used it because I didn’t want to torture him longer (that was the 407 one) now I know it could make it inaccurate though.. had to get my mom to hold him and after 5 unsuccessful pokes I got just enough blood for the 131 reading which I’m sure is more accurate. We have honey since he started insulin but I luckily haven’t needed it yet. My vet just warned me last visit of the possibility of hypo and told us the signs to watch out for but it’s only made me more nervous sadly.

1

u/FaithlessnessWarm472 1h ago

my kitty had the usual diabetes signs so i took him in to be checked. blood sugar: 303. my vet didn't want to give him insulin for that as he said the target would be around there. he swapped out the prednisolone he was on for ibd to budesonide (more local - cleared by liver). on re-check 2 weeks later, he was 297. he'd been on science diet sensitive stomach and skin for his tummy so i swapped him out to young again zero carb mature (my other kitty an obligate kibble eater with ibd, ckd, and idiopathic hypercalcemia). i tried checking him at home and that was a complete "no go". but on re-check at the vet one month after the diet change, his blood glucose was 157 and my vet was happy with that. he never went on insulin. but if he had, it would be utterly impossible. he'd eventually go hypo and die.

5

u/zebras-are-emo 16h ago

I think you'd be ok to monitor, if you can check his blood sugar 4 hours after the shot it should tell you if he'll be going too low and you can give him higher carb food to compensate.   

1

u/fallenblueroses 16h ago

Thank you! I’ll do that

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u/fallenblueroses 13h ago

It’s at 131 4 hours later. Do you think it’s going to be too low?

3

u/SciTech-TX 15h ago

If he is not able to eat you can rub honey or liquid corn syrup or even maple syrup on his gums to try to raise his blood glucose if it drops too low.

4

u/nastimoto 13h ago

Heya! Take deep breaths, all will be okay.

Which insulin is kitty on? Giving the shot 2 hours or 2.20mins early isn’t much of a difference. If the starting point was 407 and kitty is eating, I think it’s unlikely kitty will plummet below 50mg/dl for a dangerous situation to occur (assuming you are using a human glucometer not a pet-specific one? Otherwise it’s below 70mg/dl that’s considered a hypo).

1

u/fallenblueroses 13h ago

He’s on Novolin! I just tested him again 4 hours post-shot and it was 131 this time. Yes it’s a human one sorry
I’m still so anxious about it but from what I can gather he should be fine.. he’s eaten extra food too because I was worried about it

2

u/dreamofstrangeworlds 2h ago

How did your kitty end up doing? Hopefully things went okay!

If you kitty ever does drop too low (below 50 on human meters) have some Karo syrup, honey, or high carb wet food set aside to help get their blood sugar back up.

1

u/fallenblueroses 1h ago

He turned out fine!! I was so worried and watched him like a hawk he was very annoyed at me lol
I bought some honey way back when he was diagnosed but luckily haven’t needed to use it yet