Daisy's Story

[MomofGus]

Re: Daisy's Story

My guess is the bee sting very well could affect BG. She was in pain. Pain produces cortisol, which definitely affects BG levels. Do you check BG levels throughout the day - maybe every 3 or 4 hours? Just two fasting numbers makes it hard to tell what her body is doing throughout the day. I would do a full curve in a few days once she is off the meds. Again, just my opinion. It's more important to know the whole picture, than just a piece of it.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

I would do a full curve in a few days once she is off the meds.

I haven't been checking her midday but I did do a partial curve on 7/20 when I was off because her levels were going higher the week before and I had a feeling she was brewing with a UTI. She started to feel hot, like she was running a fever.

7/20
7a 379
830a 512
1030a 443
2p 174
6p 160

Monday morning will be her last dose so I won't be able to do a full curve until Saturday due to work.

When I took her in for her shots in April she was regulated and the vet said "For now, remember, she's a schnauzer." I guess they are hard to get regulated.

[Lee04]

Re: Daisy's Story

Hi,
I just saw that your little one is on Clavamox. We did a 14 day course of Clavamox earlier this year and Dasani's BG bounced around quite a bit and was higher than normal. As soon as we finished the Clavamox, his BG settled and we had stayed on the same insulin dose that he had been regulated on, the entire time.

I bet you'll find that once finished with the Clavamox, the BG will drop.

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Daisy's Story

from what I.he seen here in the forum over the years DX snauzers r hard to regulate

but you and your Daisy r soooo close to regulation. its the food and amount u lucked in.

Monday the antibiotics r finished u say give it till next Monday another week to do a curve u.ll c a big difference. takes a bit to get back on track after the infection so bees and frogs .

your doing great your Daisy is lucky to have u take care of her.
if she still licks wrap that paw for a week.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Thanks all. I get a little anxious when I see those numbers jump. I'll do a curve on her Saturday and hopefully she'll settle back in to some lower numbers.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

I'm taking Daisy to the vet. Last night her numbers read "Hi" on the meter. I gave her 1/4 unit of R and 4.6 N and checked her every hour for 5 hours. She came down to 204. This morning she read "Hi" again. She's eating fine, drinking lots of water again but something is not right.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

I sprung Daisy loose from the pet hospital. No ketones, no crystals, no urinary tract infection.

Negative for Cushing's, thyroid wnl.

The only thing the vet said was- it could be her homemade dog food as each batch is different and advised to put her on regular dog food and start from square one with re regulating her. So that's what I'll do. I did buy some RC Glycobalance. I wanted to get a small bag to see how it went, but they only had the big bag.

We'll see how this goes........

[MikeMurphy]

Re: Daisy's Story

Sounds like a good plan. Hope she likes the new diet. Are you going back to a starting dose of insulin?

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Yes, we're back to 3 units. I usually feed her and give her injection at 6:30, but because she's been so high I checked her and fed her at 6. She was 688 and ate all of her new food. I did put some water in it to make a nice gravy. The vet told me to only use the R when she's over 600, so I used .25R and 2.75N. I'll check her in an hour and see where we're at. She responded very nicely to the R last night and this morning. It didn't take much.

One thing she also said was that you don't have to wait 5 days, they should regulate with their new dose in 3 days. Don't know if that's a new endo thing or not.

She also told me to go up 1 full unit to regulate, but I missed her dose doing that last time so I'l go up a little more gradually.

[CraigM]

Re: Daisy's Story

She also told me to go up 1 full unit to regulate, but I missed her dose doing that last time so I'l go up a little more gradually.

i think you are smart raising her dosage more gradually. You might read on the forum that folks adjust their dosage by a full unit, but that is generally for a larger dog. As an example, going from 3 to 4 units is a pretty big 33% increase.

Craig

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Thanks Craig. Daisy's vet's specialty is endocrinology and she takes a very aggressive approach. I can understand why, especially with Daisy being a schnauzer, but Daisy was regulated on just under 5 units, so I'm very hesitant on going up more than .3 units at a time with her. She responds well, now it's finding the right dosage with the new food.

[amydunn19]

Re: Daisy's Story

Sometimes, you might see results when raising insulin at three days but a few days later, many dogs continue to adjust so initially you might see lower numbers but they start going back up again a couple of days later. Dogs typically do better when the dose is allowed to settle for at least five days, and some take up to two weeks. It varies from dog to dog. An exception is if numbers are so high but as Craig said, the increases should be small for little dogs.

The prescription foods sometimes will require more insulin than you previously used. It doesn't really matter as you are working for a balance of food and insulin. I think an aggressive approach is a bit risky - you don't want to pass the right dosage. High blood sugar doesn't have quite as many effects on dogs like it does with humans.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Well we've been up all night drinking and going outside. I don't think 3 units is working for us at all.....

The prescription foods sometimes will require more insulin than you previously used. It doesn't really matter as you are working for a balance of food and insulin.

Amy- that's what I was thinking.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

The vet called this morning to check up on her. She told me that since she had such a miserable night to put her back to her regular dose and regulate from there. I think that's a good idea because Daisy is drinking like a sailor, peeing like a racehorse and panting.

She was 600 this morning and is laying around looking really pathetic.

[Daisydog10]

Re: Daisy's Story

Daisy read "HI" on the meter again this evening.

When she was diagnosed in January she was difficult with her insulin and prescription diet, then with different food and insulin she was regulated by March. April and May she did well until she got the UTI, then she was doing better, but by the end of June her numbers started becoming a little erratic. Then in July it was like the perfect storm. A UTI, higher numbers, now she's uncontrolled.

She's not herself. She's laying around and not chasing lizards or squirrels but at least she's eating well and still enjoys going for her walks.

I just don't understand what's happening.