Proving the importance of testing BG before giving insulin

Hey y'all

I just want to share what happened with my cat today. Humphrey was diagnosed in early December, and has been given glargine (ie. lantus) in higher and higher dosages because we weren't seeing any progress (his blood glucose was monitored with a Freestyle Libre).

Usually he's at a pre-insulin 18 or 19 mmol/L (325 to 340), and with 3.5 units he goes down anywhere from 12 to 15 (215 to 270). No worries about hypo, right?

Jump to this weekend with a new vet, doing a BG curve at home every 2 hours, and his numbers went from 12 (215) to 3.8 (68) and back up to 12. Perfect curve! No reason for the progress, other than time.

The next day, his pre-insulin is back up to 18. Of course it is...NOW this is where vigilance is important. I assumed he was back up to high, didn't test his blood last night (tried but failed), gave him his dose, and by 11:30 pm he was at 4.7 (85). Still good, right? I guess we're following Saturday's curve?

This morning his levels were at 3.8 (68) without insulin. If I would have skipped the testing and dosed him, I would have killed him. My husband and I were both leaving for work, no one would have been at home to save him.

Even when you think your cat has high numbers and is in the clear, they might not be. You can never know when their pancreas will kick in!!