Taylor - Road to Regulation

[Taylor]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Carol, you have made me feel much better! I will look on it as a rite of passage. For some reason everything has gone poorly today, even the testing has been difficult. Maybe I was getting over confident. I think a good night’s sleep and a fresh start in the morning is in order. Thanks for all the great information. Pat

[ozzi]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Pat,

Thank you so much for the tips on what you would have done had you known. I am in the middle of experiencing a lot of things you wrote about, and I found it very reassuring and enlightening. Thank you!

As far as Carol is concerned...don't you just love her? I think she has become my new bff!! LOL

Kevin

[CarolW]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

I've been doing BG-testing for over three years now. And in my last series of tests - it was either Kumbi's most recent full-curve (21 February 2010) or in a series of spot-checks (five of them) I did on 1 March when Kumbi was drinking a lot of water, for one of the tests, I pricked Kumbi SEVEN TIMES!

I can't remember which it was, because I don't consider the problem significant! It's common enough!

Seven pricks were too many! When finally I decided it wasn't working, I quit! Five minutes later, I tried again, after considering what COULD have gone wrong. That time, we succeeded - together.

Kumbi doesn't bleed all that easily, even on the Lip-Stick, which is usually the easiest source for blood samples. Really, I need to warm the prick-site before pricking. If Kumbi's been resting a lot, or if he's just come in from outside, he bleeds less easily than ever.

So, I now warm the prick-site by dunking a paper towel in hot tap-water, wringing it out a bit, and then folding Kumbi's lip down over the wet paper towel. I hold it there for some 15 seconds. Then I remove the wet towel, and blot-blot-blot (pat-pat-pat) with a dry paper towel, and I dry my fingers and thumb on that towel, too.

Then I can hold Kumbi's lip up without its sliding out of my gentle grip.

THEN, usually, if I prick, I get a blood drop. Not always! I prick by hand. I'm thinking of going to a thicker lancet, if my pharmacy has them - I'm using 25-gauge lancets, but could go to 24, 23, whatever my pharmacy has. Maybe even 21.

Some days, and in some situations, Kumbi bleeds more easily than other days and other situations. If he's been lying down, we do best if I prick on the side that's been downward. Makes sense, doesn't it!

I am REALLY experienced. Lots of pricks, lots of ERRORS - but not too many READINGS that say ERROR, because now, I generally don't apply the test strip if I don't see the blood welling up just about right.

One thing I make sure ALWAYS to do is to let Kumbi go, if he really starts to struggle at all. One BG reading isn't worth making him miserable, so that he REALLY hates the procedure. He hates Procedures on principle, but in fact, is quite cooperative. I refuse to make him hate the procedure in PRACTICE!

And eventually, we succeed; I might miss a reading! Waaaaaaah!

Most dogs are quite cooperative by nature.

When I've messed up a reading, I make sure to give Kumbi a tiny treat anyway - usually, a pea-sized dollop of his canned food, which won't raise his BG levels by much, if at all.

And when I succeed, I sometimes forget to give him a treat! He really doesn't seem to miss it that much, when I forget, but he appreciates it when I remember!

Perfection isn't something I achieve very often, to put it mildly!

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 20:42:49 (PST)

[CarolW]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

I agree that Pat's post was just fabulous. One for the books! Natalie commented on it, too.

Kevin, you're making me blush! One thing I love about this forum is the very individual, special qualities each member brings and shares.

It's the ideal team-work situation! - my favorite activity!

What is a bff?

I keep sending people here to read, because two features of the forum make it unusually excellent.

The organization - one dog, one thread - makes just fabulous educational value!

And Natalie's quiet, gentle leadership helps see to it everyone can both contribute and learn. Of course, with her long experience, she does a great job with thinking out loud, and looking at all kinds of possibilities and situations.

It's that creative mind that is part of the skill she contributes - and teaches!

There are so many other good helpers too that we can be pretty well assured everybody who comes here can find some kind of useful assistance.

Sat, 6 Mar 2010 20:53:52 (PST)

[ozzi]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

What is a bff?
Sat, 6 Mar 2010 20:53:52 (PST)

Hey Carol,
I don't know how to send a private message, so I guess I'll have to bore everyone here! A "bff" is what the kids say when referring to a "best friend forever."
Kevin

[ozzi]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Pat,
How was Taylor's blood sugar this morning?
Kevin

[Taylor]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

At 9:30pm last night Taylor was at 347. Normally he gets one cup of dry food about 10pm, but last night he did without and didn’t seem to mind. He threw up a little at 3am and was at 338. By 6am today he was at 343 and by 9:30am at 369. My contour meter reads about 80 pts low so I am guessing he’s running in the low 400’s. He is not very lively but I am hoping things will improve as the day progresses. I was much more careful with this mornings shot.

Kevin, I am very interested in your plans to deal with the hind leg weakness. I am having the same issues with Taylor, although it really does get much better once the numbers come down. I would like to investigate B-12 supplementation. I live in a rural area and any specialized vet care would be hundreds of miles away.

Peggy and Kevin, I am interested in the Blue Buffalo food, but all I can find at Tractor Supply is the regular food in the blue bag. Do you think that would be better than the science diet light? All the Blue Buffalo food seems to have glucosamine and Taylor has not done well with that in the past. He is taking Meloxicam, in the human formulation for arthritis (1/2 of a 7.5 mg tablet). I was paying over $100 per month for rimadyl and the Meloxicam is $12 for a 3 month supply and seems to work just as well. The vet said because of his size I could use the human pills which are much cheaper.

Pat

[Patty]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Sounds like you did great Pat. We've all done the fur shot at one time or another I think. I know I have. And it's frustrating but better to not give additional insulin and get back on track with the next shot.

If your Tractor Supply company carries the Blue Buffalo brand, I would guess they could get the weight management from their distributor with the next shipment. It might be worth asking about having them order for you.

Patty

[Taylor]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Taylor’s one year diabetes anniversary was yesterday. I can’t believe I have managed to get up at 6am every day. Just wanted to let everyone know that our life no longer revolves around diabetes and we have seen a slow and steady improvement in his health. Thanks in large part to this web site; Taylor’s care has become so routine that the diabetes does not seem to interfere with much of anything. Yes he has lost most of his eyesight, but he does not seem to care, and it has been so gradual that we have adapted easily. To refresh everyone’s memory—Taylor, age 11 ½, weighs 83 lbs, is on 34units of nph 2xday and is fed 1 cup science diet lite dry and ½ can W/D canned at 6am and 6pm. He also gets 1 cup of the dry at about 9am and 9pm. We spaced the food out this way to deal with an after meal spike. Last year at this time he was unable to stand up on his own. The hind end weakness has slowly improved to the point that he can again do stairs with a bit of assistance (no assistance needed during thunderstorms). He even went on a four mile hike last weekend and boy did he have fun. The extra food he got to deal with the exercise was a bonus! He will come and tell us when he is running low, in other words, he nags unmercifully for food. I generally test twice a day before insulin and may adjust ½ unit up or down if necessary. Thank you all for such a wonderful resource. We couldn’t have done it without your assistance. Pat

[k9diabetes]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Hi Pat!

Wow!!! What overwhelmingly wonderful news about Taylor! You made my day.

Natalie

[peggy0]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

That is sooooo wonderful! Congratulations to you and Taylor!

[Patty]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

That's fantastic news Pat!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO TAYLOR!

[k9diabetes]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Shoot... I got so excited about all the good news that I breezed past the anniversary!

Happy Happy Anniversary to you and Taylor!!

And wishes for many many more.

Natalie

[MaryLea]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

I am very interested in your plans to deal with the hind leg weakness. I am having the same issues

I've been attempting to read some of most of the posts because I find info I'd not thought to ask about. This is an example. Our pet has hind leg weakness which the vet said (several years ago) was arthritis. It became worse in the month before she was diagnosed. Could one of you give me more information about this? I think someone said the weakness became less (or better) as the BG numbers came down. True?

Thanks in advance for your response.

[peggy0]

Re: Taylor - Road to Regulation

Mary Lea,

The weakness that started a month before diagnosis could be neuropathy. Here's a link:
http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Neuropathy