Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer - Earned his wings

[LuvMyMunchie]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Thanks for your input everybody.

Used the new bottle of insulin last night and it remained nice and cloudy after storing it in the refrigerator and did not separate in the vial or syringe. I'll be watching it closely over the next couple of weeks. However, the 2 week old insulin separated while in the refrigerator and after letting it come to room temperature as recommended by clinic pharmacist and rolling it separated again - so bye-bye to that bottle.

The one thing I've learned out of all this about insulin besides the fact that nobody is saying exactly the same thing is:
*WalMart Pharmicist instructions of 28 days unrefrigerated is for humans.
*NovoNordisk rep instructions of 42 days unrefrigerated is for humans.
*Veternarians recommendations for dog/cat patients are different than for humans.
*Dr. Mark Peterson: Refrigerated - 6 mos. but contamination can be issue and many vets recommend switching every 3 mos. or so.
*Munchie's IMS: Refrigerated - 4 to 6 months.
*Clinic Pharmacist: Refrigerated - 6 mos.- but let vial reach room temp. Dr. Peterson says that exposure to light can be an issue which has an effect on insulin so letting it sit out to reach room temp doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

So in the future I'll keep a close eye on the vial every time I need to fill the syringe, hopefully be able to use it for at least a couple of months as opposed to 2 weeks but if it doesn't look right, toss it.

Louise

[BogiesMom]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Glad you were able to get a new bottle of insulin and I hope Munchie is doing well today.

[Judi]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

keep us posted. I still have Jenny's in the fridge. We replace it every month and have so much left over

[BestBuddy]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

I always stored Buddy's insulin in the fridge. I never warmed the bottle each time but after filling the syringe I would warm it by placing it in my mouth (sideways) for a few minutes to remove the ouch when injecting.

Jenny

[LuvMyMunchie]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Jenny-
Fancy meeting you here. The same old MunchMan - different forum. Could have done without the diabetes!

Judi-
Will definitely keep you posted. I know what you mean - throwing more away than will be used. Hope insulin lasts a little longer this time and soooooo glad WalMart has a reasonable price.

Dawn -
Thanks. Munchie is doing much better today. It took discontinuing the Enalapril....but that's another whole story.

Louise

[BoJanie]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Good luck with Munchie's new bottle - so many variables, trial and error. I know, I bought a new one after a month because I just knew it had to be what was keeping Bo's sugar high. No difference at all , but it led us to a new type insulin that is working really well. Not perfect yet, but a relief to find somthing that helps.

[farrwf]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

I always stored Buddy's insulin in the fridge. I never warmed the bottle each time but after filling the syringe I would warm it by placing it in my mouth (sideways) for a few minutes to remove the ouch when injecting.

Jenny

This is what I do too. I keep my vial in the box, in the butter holder, in the fridge.

[LuvMyMunchie]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

This is what I do too. I keep my vial in the box, in the butter holder, in the fridge.

That is exactly what I'm doing too plus using Jenny's technique for warming now. Seems to be warm enough as he doesn't even flinch when I give him the shot.

Louise

[BestBuddy]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Hi Louise,

I can't say I am glad to see you (here) if you know what I mean but it is nice to catch up again.

Sorry to hear Munch has diabetes but to be honest out of all the things wrong with Buddy at the time it was Diabetes that actually made sense. I am not saying it was a breeze, sometimes it was a nightmare, but mostly it felt I had a bit of control over this disease.

If you can test at home and balance the insulin/food/exercise regime then you can make a big difference.

Jenny

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Hello Folks, Not sure if it would be relevant, but I thought I would throw it into the pot. When I was using Levemir they said not to refrigerate the pens. Being as it was so expensive and I wanted to make it last as long as possible and the clear ones can be stretched if refrigerated, I refrigerated mine. After doing a bit of reading i found they want the pens unrefridgerated as they are meant to travel with people and there may be a slight difference in volume if drawn up cold versus warm.

Tara

[Shellie]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

With the levemir...the packaging states that the pen in use should be kept at room temp but the ones you are not using should be in the fridge. Seems more confusing than ever! lol But this is what I've been doing....not even thru the first pen yet tho.

[Patty]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Interesting on the Levemir storage...
Patty

[BogiesMom]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Hi Louise,
I haven't seen a post in a few days and am hoping Munchie is doing ok

[LuvMyMunchie]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Hi Dawn,

Thanks for asking about Munchie. Unfortunately he recently has had a couple of recurring non-diabetes health related problems that never seem to get resolved in addition to his as yet unregulated bg.

Munchie's doctor had me split the home cooked fish/rice diet into two servings and it is a huge amount of food to put into his poor little gut at one time. After being given a diagnosis of chronic, mild pancreatitis I'm really concerned about what this is going to do to him. He's doing a lot of belching and last night he had a bout of loose stool so I started him on Metronidazole, which I've been told to do whenever he has loose stool. In 2010 he was tested and diagnosed with SIBO but don't know that's what this current episode is.

Today is curve day. His numbers are still all over the place. Last night before insulin he was at 257, which is an improvement over where he was in October. This morning after the meds and loose stool his fasting was at 391. Two hours after that bucket of rice diet and 7 units of insulin he's at 604 and is not feeling well. I know that 7 units insulin BID is still a low dose and I am reluctantly wearing my patience hat. There is such a difference in Munch when his numbers are at least under 300. All he has to do is eat that bucket of rice and he's down flat for the entire afternoon. It is very hard for me to see him this way.

I have asked his IMS about the possibility of trying a Rx diet but he wanted to keep him on home cooked. This home cooked diet has never lower his triglycerides and certainly isn't diabetes friendly. It's mostly all cooked white rice with a few nerds of fish thrown in. The Derm doc I took him to didn't actually do any allergy testing, just said chicken was probably the problem and his diet was changed. This was back in '08 prior to SIBO diagnosis. Now, in 2012, no chicken but same problem. At this point I'm just not sure what to do.

Louise

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer–Just Diagnosed

Louise,

I can see why you are so frustrated. I know that your IMS doesn't want to put him on a prescription diet, but I have had much success with Honest Kitchen Zeal. No rice, but it does have a fair amount of fish in it, along with other vegetables. I find that I add my complex carb to it, if needed.

It may be a compromise between home cooked and something that is not filled with rice.

Barb