Daisy's Story

[jesse girl]

Re: Daisy's Story

if you decide to give r as a correction to higher sugar your probably not in a regulation mode and the cause in daisy's case is a possible infection .

i have done this with jesse as she could be higher for to long of time so i would give her novolog or r . i really did not want to change NPH insulin and always wanted to keep that constant

now i haven't used this short and fast acting insulin for awhile and haven't needed to . if she is above 300 i might consider it and if i do i might
give a half unit i have given as little as a quarter unit

now some people use it as part of a normal routine and jesse did also but for me her blood sugar could change abruptly from day to day so that was just to risky

its very potent and works quickly

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Daisy's Story

Yup its potent misuse can cause problems.

Something to discuss with your vet Tuesday.

Just keep check on the antibiotics and BG for now. Daisy's ok

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

its very potent and works quickly

That's what scares me so I've been very very hesitant on the R. She's does pretty well until a UTI starts. Then she skyrockets.

[Raysaint]

Re: Daisy's Story

Fast insulin is unpredictable, especially when a body isn't used to it. And it's not likely it will maintain regulation for the nph, because it's kind of an artificial metabolism the dog isn't used to.
We all know trying to correct can cause more problems.
I've had lots of personal experience with fast insulin and it surprises me many times, and I've been using it for 15 years.
I'd ride out the uti or whatever it is. If she has crystals or something that's causing the urinary issue, some food ingredients can be the culprit. Even cranberry can make urine more acidic and unbalance urinary normalicy.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Daisy's fever is down and BG was 197 this morning. She's not hot to the touch anymore.

Her peeing is almost back to normal and she's not licking herself as much. Probiotics should be in by tomorrow, so we'll add that to her regime slowly. I ordered the Animal Essentials Plant Enzyme & Probiotics. There were several veterinary articles stating it helps with recurrent UTI's so we'll give it a try.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the cranberry/d mannose, apple cider vinegar and probiotics will help stave off these infections. Maybe it just takes a few months to get in to their systems and build their immunity?

We all know trying to correct can cause more problems.

And that I have done and caused more problems. I've learned Daisy can't be on a sliding scale like a human.

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Daisy's Story

so glad shes doing better.

i too used 1/2 to. 1. unit of the novolin or humulin R. fast acting insulin on my 20 lb Riles when he was 300 bg. it started working in 30. minutes and lasted. 4. to. 5. hours. brought him down to 120.

something to discuss with your vet.

[MomofGus]

Re: Daisy's Story

With Daisey being a schnauzer, when she gets a UTI, are there any crystals in her urine? Does her vet check for those (crystals or stones)? With my Gus, his body started creating calcium oxalyte crystals, which would cause UTI. This was a year ago. We had to change food to dissolve which was a disaster to controlling his BG as the food was way too fatty. His numbers skyrocketed up over 500/600 on that food. We compromised and I put him on 50% of that particular food with 50% of his w/d food. I did some online research and found out about potassium citrate granules made by GoldVet and purchased online from 1800PetMeds. I switched his food back to his regular w/d diet,and add these granules to each meal. Within a month, those crystals dissolved. He continues to get them sprinkled on his food. And, so far, so good this past year.

Just a thought for you to specifically ask your vet if your dog is showing any indication of crystals in her urine

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Thanks MomofGus, I'll ask her when we go in. So far she hasn't mentioned anything about crystals, but then again I didn't know to ask. Right now I'll try anything to get rid of these UTI's.

[Raysaint]

Re: Daisy's Story

If the vet is doing an ultrasound when she takes the urine, she will know if there are crystals. Start there. There are 2 types of crystals, so find out for sure and then address it appropriately.

[MomofGus]

Re: Daisy's Story

If the vet is doing an ultrasound when she takes the urine, she will know if there are crystals. Start there. There are 2 types of crystals, so find out for sure and then address it appropriately.

Crystals will show up in a urinalysis. Ultrasound is generally used to determine if actual stones are there. Stones can also be felt by palpitation of bladder by the vet. Schnauzers are highly prone to crystals & stone formation. Most are struvite, but sometimes calcium oxalate, both which dissolve differently, and sometimes only resolved by surgery. If crystals are there, they will cause irritation and UTI's. I've been down that road too many times with my schnauzers.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

I was looking at her UA from May and it was moderate bacteria, no crystals and PH 6.5 so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I get copies of all her labs and didn't think to look for that.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

I got my hair done today and my hairdresser told me the lady coming in after me had a diabetic poodle.

Well, she came in, a lady around 70 or so and proceeded to tell me about her poodle, the issues she's having, her vet, etc.

When I asked her what she was using for lancets and insulin she says "Oh, my husband is diabetic, I just use his stuff, it's his dog!"

I laughed and immediately thought of Craig and his wife not wanting him to use her meters on Annie.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

I need some help.

Daisy was regulated on 4.8 units. Her fasting blood sugar was between 90-200 and we were doing really well.

Then she got a UTI and has been on Clavamox and Monday will be her last dose.

Now I can't get her blood sugar below 250 on fasting. Most of the time it's in the 300's. Today it was 432. The vet said to up her dose so I gave her 5.2 units and she skyrocketed to 587, so I remembered what Jessegirl said about rebound. I went back down to 4.8 and she was at 247 fasting the next day. If I go any lower than 4.7, she's back up in the 400's. It's like she has this tiny window of 4.7-4.9 units but now she's going back up again on that dose.

Is it the Clavamox?

She's so unstable it scares me because for no reason, she'll drop below 80. Not often, but it's happened enough.

I bought some Novolin R to keep on hand but to be honest, I'm afraid to use it unless it's an emergency because I just don't know how she's going to react. If I do give her the R, would I use maybe 1/4 -1/2 unit and keep the total at 4.8 then monitor her? Or do I start looking at upping her regular dose and see what happens if we go to maybe 5.5? I don't know what to do.

What is going on?

[MomofGus]

Re: Daisy's Story

Personally, I wouldn't change her dose while she is adjusting to the meds and coming off the meds. Medication can affect the BG in either direction. A high fasting here and there doesn't really warrant a dosage adjustment, in my opinion. Remember, the fasting is just one number throughout the day. She may have been lower during the 12 hour period. If I adjusted my Gus for an odd reading, I'd be forever changing his dose. For me, it's a trend, and a high number here and there is just part of my dog's trend. Fasting numbers generally are higher anyway because their insulin should have run out, thus causing higher BG. Now,if her levels were very high for period of time,then I would be concerned. Do you track her BG readings so that you can see how she does on a daily basis?

However, this is just my opinion. I'd be more concerned about going too low. That is the danger point - not so much a high here and there.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Now,if her levels were very high for period of time,then I would be concerned. Do you track her BG readings so that you can see how she does on a daily basis?

Her levels have been high since the UTI and Clavamox. I keep a log of her levels and different things that happen (open new bottle, if she threw up, got her hair done, etc.)

This has been the past week:
7/28
7a 652
430p 268
7p 321

7/29 New bottle Novolin N (old bottle 43 days old)
7a 270
7p 138

7/30
7a 261
7p 681 rechecked with AT2, 631

7/31
7a 197
7p 274 Got stung by bee or wasp on 7:30p walk on side of r paw area, limping, carried back home, applied ice pack. Licking paw

8/1
7a 316 Licking paw
7p 404 Licking paw

8/2
7a 408
7p 342

8/3
7a 348 Gave 5.2 units
7p 571 Dropped back to 4.9 units

8/4
7a 268
7p 347

8/5
7a 301
7p 513 Ate part of a squished frog, pulled out of mouth

Was it the wasp sting????