Sorry in advance if this post is long...Our dog Foster is a 11.5 lb min pin mix, about 13-14 years old. (We rescued him 7 yrs ago.) He had the usual thirst & urinating last fall, was diagnosed with diabetes & pancreatitis, was put on Royal Canin Digestive Low Fat (L/F) dry food, & ended up on Vetsulin when humulin didn't work at all. The Vetsulin (6 units 2x/day) worked great & he was very well regulated. Now that we've had to switch to humulin (in early July), we're back to square one, & I'm hoping for some advice about his food. Right now, he's getting 5 units of Relion N 2x/day. Other than the diabetes, he's really quite healthy for an older dog. His appetite is always good, & even when he was diagnosed with pancreatitis, he never had stomach problems.
His two vet performed curves with the Relion (first at 3 units, then at 5 units, a couple weeks apart) have been:
8am 478 / 8am 446
Fed at 8:05.
9am 519 / 9am 465
10am 400 / 10am 336
11am 301 / 11am 275
12pm 425 / 1pm 488
3pm over 600 (too high to register)
So, about 3 hours after eating, his bg gets lowest. The vet said he may need more protein or fat to last longer in his system. I think I understand the basics of how diet and insulin interact, & I'm wondering what dietary additions/switches have worked for others. The vet recommended adding a little Hill's prescription diet i/d (which is supposed to be bland for his pancreas) to his meal, & we're trying that tonight. I've also read that cottage cheese might help, so we tried some of that, but it was low fat cottage cheese, & it didn't change his bg curve. Oh, we bought a Relion Micro bg meter, which reads slightly low, but gives us a general idea.
If I understand correctly, we need to flatten out his bg curve, then increase his insulin dose to get the curve closer to under 200 at all times.
Sadly, the vet has been kind of disappointing lately, overwhelming me with lots of "you could try this or that," including trying 3 shots of 5 units per day (which we can not logistically do), but no definitive direction. But I digress...
As the Vetsulin to humulin switch has taken place, his cataracts have gotten worse, he's gotten LIU (which we've treated pretty well with prednisone), and he's gone nearly blind, which is painful to watch happen. He's back to drinking and urinating like crazy.
Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.
His two vet performed curves with the Relion (first at 3 units, then at 5 units, a couple weeks apart) have been:
8am 478 / 8am 446
Fed at 8:05.
9am 519 / 9am 465
10am 400 / 10am 336
11am 301 / 11am 275
12pm 425 / 1pm 488
3pm over 600 (too high to register)
So, about 3 hours after eating, his bg gets lowest. The vet said he may need more protein or fat to last longer in his system. I think I understand the basics of how diet and insulin interact, & I'm wondering what dietary additions/switches have worked for others. The vet recommended adding a little Hill's prescription diet i/d (which is supposed to be bland for his pancreas) to his meal, & we're trying that tonight. I've also read that cottage cheese might help, so we tried some of that, but it was low fat cottage cheese, & it didn't change his bg curve. Oh, we bought a Relion Micro bg meter, which reads slightly low, but gives us a general idea.
If I understand correctly, we need to flatten out his bg curve, then increase his insulin dose to get the curve closer to under 200 at all times.
Sadly, the vet has been kind of disappointing lately, overwhelming me with lots of "you could try this or that," including trying 3 shots of 5 units per day (which we can not logistically do), but no definitive direction. But I digress...
As the Vetsulin to humulin switch has taken place, his cataracts have gotten worse, he's gotten LIU (which we've treated pretty well with prednisone), and he's gone nearly blind, which is painful to watch happen. He's back to drinking and urinating like crazy.
Any advice is appreciated! Thanks.
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