Yuki has crossed the bridge Dec 2020

[Raysaint]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

In the future, I'd suggest not mixing an old vial with a new. As the old one gets older and less effective, it'll dilute the effectiveness of the insulin overall.

Being high 2 hours after food/insulin, what was his pre-supper fasting number?
If he started a bit high before supper, his post-prandial spike will be higher naturally.

[YukiesMom]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

I won't use the two vials anymore together. Because I give him 12 units twice a day his vials only last a little over three weeks.

It just seems like when I get to about half of a bottle of the Vetsulin it loses its potency for some reason. I make sure I mix it really good every single time and keep it in the refrigerator so I'm not sure why after half a bottle it just seems to not do as well.

Yesterday he was in the 200s when I took his blood glucose and he was in a great mood. This morning we got up and gave him his food and insulin and I noticed he wasn't looking well so I took his blood glucose and it was 740 about 45 minutes after his food and injection.

I took it again at 3:30 pm. this afternoon and it's 250. It just doesn't make any sense I'm doing everything the same so I'm not sure why these high spikes and then low for a couple days all the time.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

Thats a large swing in blood sugar . My jesse would go through that early in her diagnosis . I speculated it was rebound in jesses case . she would go from 500 down to 70 and back up to 500

Jesse can get close to 3 months with NPH . Now i dont recommend anyone to go that long but for jesse i dont see any difference .

I think some dogs are just very sensitive to injected insulin I believe my jesse is and why she is on such a low dose . She also can be a bit unpredictable with her regulation

Another factor some of the really high numbers maybe incorrect on the meter as i have seen this with jesse showing a much higher number than it really was . It was still high but not crazy high

[YukiesMom]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

I have mentioned a couple times to my Vet about switching Yukon to a human insulin and she said it's very hard because we would just be starting from the beginning again.

I kind of feel like we never even got to a good point with Vetsulin and it's been six months so why would it make a difference switching him?

What do you guys think? I'm really at a loss. He has not been consistent on the Vetsulin for six months.

[Susan M]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

I was just recently made aware of the fact that you are never suppose to shake up the insulin. You gently roll it to mix it up before you use it. If its shook up it can break down and not be as effective. I'm sure most everyone already knows this but I just thought I would mention it...

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

Well thats a decision you have to make . originally jesse was on vetsulin but was being taken off the market and i demanded my vet to make the change to NPH . Jesse was the first at their clinic of 20 dogs . They explained to me there was plenty of vetsulin but I told them it just wasnt a long term solution so they agreed . Now jesse wasnt on vetsulin very long a few weeks so i cant say how it would of worked and at the time that did not matter

Now she struggled 6 months on NPH . She was very sensitive to injected insulin . So with nothing to loose i decided to go to one meal a day to eliminate the food equation for half the day and it worked and also improved regulation for the one meal period also

The moral of the story if you feel you are as good as your going to get and you are not satisfied and it feels your dog maybe suffering a change maybe helpful

I dont look at as a change but a reset . I dont look at it as completely starting over . Now IT took jesse a year to be regulated and settled on a routine just to give you some perspective . Sometimes a change works great and other times it may not make any difference . I think the chance are low that it would be worse but its a possibility

[Raysaint]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

I agree with jessegirl. My dog is still inconsistent after 2 years. I just spent a week of high fasting with no natural correction, now he’s back to good numbers, but for how long.

If your vials only last 3 weeks, I would highly doubt it loses potency. Switching to human insulin may seem like a start over, but it is done in many cases. And it’s worth considering if other possible issues are ruled out. Your dog’s life is worth it.
vets usually have a bias toward vetsulin, but that shouldn’t be involved in the decision.

[amydunn19]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

Switching at this point shouldn’t hurt. If things were going good, I would say don’t change but it seems there is much room to improve. Plus, you can always go back. Also, NPH is more affordable and every little bit helps.

[YukiesMom]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

Yukon has gained 1 1/2 pounds the last three weeks. He is now 30.5 pounds up from 29 pounds. I haven't changed anything in his food and actually walk him more. We just increased his insulin to 13 units 2x daily because his BG has been really high.

We had blood work done recently and it looked much better than the last year. What is the sudden weight gain? the cushings test came back better too. Lower sex hormones.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

Good news and hope things continue to improve

[Raysaint]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

The weight gain is probably a result of better blood sugar. High sugar causes weight loss, but once sugars get better, a bit of weight comes back.
My dog lost and regained almost 5 lbs. in his early days.

[Judi]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

I think this is a good sign too. When the cushings is raging they lose muscle mass.

[YukiesMom]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

His BG is high the last four days. Average in the 300's. I just took it at 7:30 p.m. and it is 481. He ate at 6:00. I hope maybe I am taking them at a peak point, but it seems as though it's getting higher. Could be because of the weight gain too so I need to increase the insulin to compensate.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

What you probably want to do is a complete curve . You can post it if you like

[Raysaint]

Re: Diabetes, Cushings and Pancreatitis in my Dog

Being high after eating is normal. But a curve will tell you the pattern and nadir now that he has gained weight.
I’d bet money that the higher sugar is from the weight gain.
Weight gain usually requires a dose increase. Same as in humans.