Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

[anotherk9lover]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

It would be great to be able to have the time and ability to regulate diabetes as closely as you guys do, you're really all champs! I wish I could, but unfortunately Daisy doesn't live with me. She lives with my family in another town. Since I'm the only one with medical training I end up trying to regulate this and taking her to the vet and deciding when the curve is done etc. However, we can't do weekly curves, it's just not possible. Also per our vet a bit too soon to even do a curve a week after adjusting a dose because body hasn't yet adjusted to it. Not to mention how expensive the strips are for the glucose monitor. They're a dollar a piece. We use alphatrak.

Honestly even having someone constantly there to feed her exactly 12 hr apart and give her shots, is already a lot to ask. I'm happy that my family is willing to do it, but it's definitely high maintenance for anyone. My vet said that most owners don't even check their own curves at home and only do it at the vets periodically. That's obviously not ideal at all, I realize that, and I'm glad we're able to check it ourselves, but it's just something to put into perspective.

Anyway, I have a baby on the way, due any day now, and I really wanted to somewhat get daisy on a maintenance schedule and dose so that my family won't have to worry about it as much, because I definitely won't be able to pay as close attention to it anymore. Hence why I took her to a specialist, but unfortunately she wasn't as helpful as I hoped she would be. Even though the adrenal scan did help quite a bit.

May I ask you guys, which brand of kibble do you feed your dogs, or are you making homemade food? I hear you about the diet, and we will have to transition her to another brand then, because currently what we've been feeding her is Ketona, and Orijen, both high protein low carb diet. And we also will add some things like boiled chicken, egg, some green veg, yoghurt etc. to mix with her kibble so it's not just dry food. That's what we've been having her on. I really don't have much idea on what else to feed her then.

Cooking recipes daily for Daisy would be too high maintenance and difficult to achieve stability in nutrition, so the best we can do is supplement dry food. what have been your experiences with the diet? What do you use?

[k9diabetes]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

My goodness... pretty much the last thing you needed in your life was a difficult to regulate diabetic who doesn't live with you!

There's ideal, which most of us can't do, and then there's what you can do. And generally, what you can do is enough.

The best news about diabetes in dogs is that it does not have the kinds of terrible side effects it has for humans.

Dogs can live long healthy happy lives with blood sugar that never goes below 200 so long as it doesn't spend an extended period of time above about 350, like all day. Cataracts is the main side effect. You don't have to worry about cardio-vascular and circulatory problems and organ failure so long as the blood sugar is decently regulated.

We benefitted from my working from home with a very flexible schedule and no children to care for - what we did simply would not have been possible otherwise. It was a gift I was glad to be able to give our dog, who had a very rough start in life, but it's not necessary for your dog to be healthy and happy and live a normal lifespan.

But remember, what seems like a crazy ridiculous amount of work now actually becomes so routine that it's... nonexistent. It's just part of the caretaker's day like brushing their teeth and taking a shower.

And you can pick times of day for meals and injections that best fit their lifestyle.

Our dog actually got four shots and meals a day, one every six hours. We set them at 10am, 4pm, 10pm, and 4am. That way, I could go to meetings and our for dinner, etc., and still generally be able to stay on schedule. So if there are better times for your two injections and meals a day, go ahead and use those.

The only rules are it's good if it works for your dog!

Natalie

[k9diabetes]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

We used various diets over the years. In my experience in these forums, the prescription diet often works extremely well and our dog was on dry Science Diet WD for a long time.

We later switched to canned brands like Wellness, Avoderm and supplemented with some lowfat cottage cheese because he digested the canned food pretty quickly and we wanted to slow his digestion down a bit.

Any good quality food can potentially work. Just depends on how your dog processes the insulin and digests the food.

And you can always replace some of the dog food with things like lowfat cottage cheese, grated parmesan, white meat chicken or turkey, or even some dog gravies and flavorings. Just use sparingly and subtract some food for the calories they provide.

Some dogs really love vegetables (ours definitely did NOT) and will do just above anything for a green bean or some broccoli or cauliflower. Those are great treats if your dogs likes them.

Natalie

[Raysaint]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

"My vet said that most owners don't even check their own curves at home and only do it at the vets periodically. "

I kinda disagree with this. Many people do their own curves. Vets like for you to come to them to charge you. Most vets will always suggest coming to them to do curves. But then we realize it's pretty simple, if you're testing at home.

For diet, just beware of add-ins to their food that are higher in fat or that add more protein.. If you change foods to a kibble that's lower protein and more carb, you may not need to add any carbs, maybe consider adding fiber, in the form of pumpkin, or green beans, pinto beans, etc.

[jesse girl]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

i have not done a curve in over 8 years since she acquired her type of regulation . i just test her before her shot of insulin but lately i have had to skip some of that do to an injury i have . i am not so concerned because her routine is stable . i dont worry about her going to low .

so what your looking at is not a big deal . most healthy dogs get 2 meals a day so your adding a shot of insulin to those 2 meals . you can do a curve every 2 weeks if you like and adjust the dose as needed

its really not that big a deal and you have family that needs to step up . i had no medical knowledge and i am the foremost expert on jesses diabetes . i would say no vet could do better just because i know her tendencies

there was another forum member who was trying to help there family with a diabetic dog but like you if the family doesnt step up you are limited in what you can do .

i have used a human meter for almost 10 years at 10 cents a strip so if the pet meter is not affordable then this is an option and lots of people use a human meter

i go homemade for jesse but that probably wont work for your situation . just get a good quality dog food with some grains . you maybe able to keep the food you have and add rice maybe sweet potato or oatmeal but you could probably find a food with these foods in it

just calm yourself down it doesnt have to be perfect . get your family involved because they are the ones going to be taking care of the pup

[jesse girl]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

https://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.co...waAhoGEALw_wcB

i have not tried this food for jesse and cant recommend it but i like the ingredients . especially the ancient grains . i also like the berries . i understand people think sugar is the enemy but the problem is injected insulin has strong action in dogs and needs to be fed fairly soon and protein doesnt do that

you can get a very good dog food that is not grain and carb free . the only thing missing that i would like to see is some veggies but usually you are not going to get everything you want in a food .

[anotherk9lover]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

This is what Daisy was on before we found out she's diabetic. We took her off of it because of the simple carb content, potatoes etc. You think she can eat this? Even though there's things like rice and fruit in it?

[anotherk9lover]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

I agree with you that vets want the pets to be brought in for money. But things like checking dogs sugar can be invasive, and not something that many people are comfortable with. Also a lot depends on how the dog responds to it. The first time we tried to get it from Daisy's ear, like it was recommended. My Lord that was such torture for her and for us! We couldn't do it, we had to take her in. Her ear was red and bleeding but not enough to collect into a drop. Until we figured out a way to take it from her non weight bearing paw pad which she doesn't feel at all, so it's become pretty easy now. Thank God she allows it, otherwise we probably wouldn't be able to do it. I could see how many people wouldn't be able to. I would say collecting the sugar is much more difficult than giving insulin.

[anotherk9lover]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

My goodness... pretty much the last thing you needed in your life was a difficult to regulate diabetic who doesn't live with you!

There's ideal, which most of us can't do, and then there's what you can do. And generally, what you can do is enough.

Natalie

Yea the timing isn't ideal that's for sure, I cried a lot during daisy's hospitalization and after when I thought we would lose her. All those stress hormones definitely weren't great, but what can you do, such is life!

How about a DKA though? That's what I'm worried about the most since it happened to her once and we completely dropped the ball on that. I don't know how high and for how long the sugars have to be elevated before a DKA episode happens. I'm mostly paranoid about that. Cataracts would be really sad too of course, but at least they're not life threatening. Speaking of, did your dogs go blind? Have you used any supplements for the eyes, like Ocuglo? Daisy is so visual, she always stares everyone in the eyes with her black beautiful little eyes. Would be so heartbreaking to see her lose that

[anotherk9lover]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

i have not done a curve in over 8 years since she acquired her type of regulation . i just test her before her shot of insulin but lately i have had to skip some of that do to an injury i have . i am not so concerned because her routine is stable . i dont worry about her going to low .



there was another forum member who was trying to help there family with a diabetic dog but like you if the family doesnt step up you are limited in what you can do .

i have used a human meter for almost 10 years at 10 cents a strip so if the pet meter is not affordable then this is an option and lots of people use a human meter


just calm yourself down it doesnt have to be perfect . get your family involved because they are the ones going to be taking care of the pup

The reason why I feel like I have to regulate most of this is because Daisy was initially my dog. I got her as a puppy back in college, but she has since become a family dog and always lived in our family home for the past almost 9 years. So everyone loves and cares for her, but I feel like responsibility is still on me since I was the one who brought her into our lives. So I can't blame my family, they're doing a lot for her considering. I can't ask them to do these bi-weekly curves and keep taking her to the vets for lab work we had to do for cushing's etc. It was really a lot. It's a good thing everyone stepped in and we split the huge vet bills she had for hospitalization. You don't think about these things when you get a pet, how serious things can turn.

As for the human monitor, typically those strips aren't that cheap either, but also my vet said that the human monitor isn't very accurate for pets. So I just didn't want to risk trying to regulate her with inaccurate numbers. But I'm open to finding an alternative because alphatrak is a complete rip off. God I can't stand it when companies make money on desperate people. They know we don't have many other options!

[anotherk9lover]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

btw how did you guys add a picture on here of your pet, I want to add daisy's.

[anotherk9lover]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

Our dog actually got four shots and meals a day, one every six hours. We set them at 10am, 4pm, 10pm, and 4am. That way, I could go to meetings and our for dinner, etc., and still generally be able to stay on schedule. So if there are better times for your two injections and meals a day, go ahead and use those.

The only rules are it's good if it works for your dog!

Natalie

What was the reason your dog needed insulin every 6 hours? That is a lot of work, wow I applaud you really! I think not many people would be able to work around a schedule like that. We sometimes struggle with twice a day.

[jesse girl]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

This is what Daisy was on before we found out she's diabetic. We took her off of it because of the simple carb content, potatoes etc. You think she can eat this? Even though there's things like rice and fruit in it?

yes . i give jesse milk bones that has molasses in it to help with the strength of insulin . potatoes and rice are helpful for most diabetic dogs . that is why the prescription food has quite a bit of carbs and works well in dogs

hmmm you may have stopped using a food that might have worked well

surprised you vet didnt understand this as prescription foods are loaded with carbs and fast to digest . the reason why dogs utilize this food because dogs seem to use insulin fast so they need that quick sugar

[jesse girl]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

you have accomplished all the important things . shots are given and testing blood sugar is not to difficult . the nice thing about this you become less reliant on the vet and most end up this way on the forum . the last time i was at the vet there was no discussion of diabetes as for me he has nothing to offer that i already dont no . jesse has kept her sight for the 10 years . the more you put into it especially in the beginning the better the outcome

[Judi]

Re: Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

to be honest. Once I had Jenny fairly regulated and wasn't as worried about her going scary low, I didn't do too many curves. I would test her sugar before I fed her and gave her her shot. It got to the point where it just made me feel better.

I do know lots of people with diabetic dogs that don't test that often. The ones on this forum are usually the problem ones with multiple issues, like Daisy!

We all do the best we can. It's great you guys are all doing it together and like Natalie said, it does become routine. After my Jenny died it was weird not to have to be home every 12 hours.

When in doubt, give less insulin. Lows are the most dangerous thing.

hang in there!