BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

That it does! Does anyone know if there’s a normal pattern for non-diabetic dogs in their BG values (a “non-diabetic curve” if you will)? I keep finding a “range of 70-140” but nothing else...

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

Last few days have been testing at the low end of normal before breakfast. The ultrasound looks just like the first one done, which is odd in itself given that the tumor(s) were larger than expected at surgery two weeks after the first ultrasound several months ago. So either the ultrasounds just aren’t as good at showing these things as expected, or she had the cancer grow and then regress. We still have no idea why she doesn’t have the expected amount of insulin showing up, but at least the cancer has not advanced! The verdict is “still weird, test every other day or if symptomatic” so I guess for now she’s not a diabetic dog, and we march off down the trail, gripping our AlphaTrak...

[jesse girl]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

I think its a good idea to monitor . Cancer can stall and not migrate almost like its been encapsulated maybe the body found a way to stop it or the cancer has grown and just stopped . either way its good news and hope you have some good time left

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

We have been using several anti-cancer “supplements” (not from the vet, and no chemo). I’m just not sure how exactly a cancer affecting something as diffuse within the pancreas as Beta cells would be effectively neutralized such that the insulin would have ever disappeared since it apparently goes straight into the blood, as opposed to being shunted through any kind of ducts (unlike enzymes, which also went... getting those tested and will have results next week). It’s one of those times I wish I had deeply gotten into being a science geek, because this is totally intriguing (in addition to being important because she’s my “kid”).

ETA: unless there’s something that mimics an insulinoma most of the way (the doc was surprised that the initial prednisone got her BG to normal range, instead of being in the 50’s)

[jesse girl]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

My jesse over the last few years has seen a reduction in her epilepsy till it appears to be completely gone. her anxiety of loud booms putting her in panic for hours on end and grand mall seizures are gone ( knock on wood ) . Never heard of anything about a dog getting older they could go into a type of remission but most are on anti seizure medication which jesse was never on so that maybe a reason you dont hear about it

for whatever reason we appreciate the reprieve of symptoms and jesse living a happier life even if its late in the game

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

Moral of the story: nothing is as far fetched as we think, sometimes the dice roll in our favor, and hug your kid(s) because you never know

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

Looks like we’re going back to hypoglycemia again. So disappointing. No symptoms yet, but this morning was 44, so I guess we’ll dust off the prednisone bottle.

[jesse girl]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

I think what you are dealing with maybe more difficult than typical diabetes

I know jesses breed is subject to having low blood sugar being on a hunt i forget the term for it

You may want to research that and see what there approach was and if steroids is the only option

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

There are a handful of options, but the other common drug has side effects that make me prefer the prednisone (loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and drooling). I think the rest are all chemotherapy drugs, or maybe one other drug that has to be administered at the vet with fluids to avoid really bad side effects. I’m really missing high BG at this point!
The hunting/bird dogs are prone to Exertional Hypoglycemia.

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

....and we’ve gone from 45 back to the 400’s again. Weaning off prednisone and taking our prescription to Walmart today.

[jesse girl]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

As you know removing the steroid from the equation will likely see a change in the dose and most likely it would need to go lower . That was surprising to see low blood sugar on the steroid . The higher numbers could be rebound . Removing the steroid will throw the body out of whack for awhile until the body gets use to not having it

[RowansRys]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

Oh, no, given her diagnosis she shouldn't have ever been at diabetic BG levels at all, much less twice! Her tumor (insulinoma) is it's own out of control tiny insulin factory. She should be producing enough insulin for all the dogs on this board. The only thing we can guess now, since the tumor is still growing, is that possibly parts of it are going inactive on insulin production, and I assume that the good non-cancerous pancreatic beta cells were worked to exhaustion a while ago. The steroids in her case were supposed to keep the tiny amount of BG she had from being shunted into her muscles, so it could circulate to her brain and avoid seizures. Even with the steroids, dogs with insulinoma rarely bring their BG levels much above the 40's and 50's. Now we'll wean off the steroids and go back on insulin (thank you Walmart!), and go from 4 meals back to 2. I'm getting good at this...

[jesse girl]

Re: BC Bean the Medical Weirdo

I see . Jesse has been given insulin injections for over 8 years and me and her dont mind .

good luck on regulation if you need any advice just holler