Maggie (I've cried a lot)

[Diane Roehm]

My Maggie is a golden Lab who just turned 9. She has arthritis in her back left knee and was taking Rimadyl She stopped walking and collapsed so I took her to the vet who doubled her Rimadyl. Three days later she was throwing up all night and would not eat anything. I took her in thinking it was the Rimadyl but it ended up being diabetes and pancreatitis She was hooked to an IV for 4 days could not give her much insulin as she could not eat or drink.

She is recovering from the Pancreatitis but still lip licks and seems a little nauseous to me. I have been cooking her food. 2 cups rice, 2 cups boiled chicken, 2 hard boiled eggs. 3/4 cup all bran. and 4 tums.

I started (once she started eating with 8 units of humilin N her first curve was
6:30 A.M 472 2 cups food and 8 units
8:30 388
10:30 376
12:30 430 1 cup snack
2:30 466
4:30 502
6:30 526. 2 cups and 8 units
The Vet changed it to 10 units and we did another curve last Friday
6:30 372 2 cups food and 10 units
9:30 232
12:30 291 1 cup snack
3:30 390
6:30 432 2 cups and 10 units
The vet changed it to 12 units and said we may be getting close. I will do it for a week and try a curve next Friday.

She has had the runs occasionally and overall just doesn't feel good, she lip licks and licks her legs a lot. The vet says hopefully once she is regulated that will stop. I wonder sometimes if it is the food. She really doesn't like the w/d hills and the vet says because of the pancreatitis things are more complicated. Well that is where I am at. It has been scary at times, Sometimes I wonder watching her suffer if I should go on but we have made it this far. Once we are regulated I have to figure out what to give her for her arthritis. I have been trying Zeel it is a homeopathic route, We shall see.

I have been using the truetrack meter and Maggie weighs 70 lbs now (down from 84) but 70 is a good weight.

Has anyone else had to deal with nausea? I have been giving her pepsid ac but not sure its doing any good.

[CraigM]

Re: Maggie (I've cried a lot)

Welcome to the forum. I can't write much because I'm not home and I'm not all that good typing on my iPhone. Just wondering why you are giving the mid day snack? As you can see it seems to be causing a jump in readings afterwards. Are you giving it due to the other health problems?

I'm sure others will check in with you soon, and I'll be home in a few hours to use my computer.

[jesse girl]

Re: Maggie (I've cried a lot)

jesse and me have been down the same road as you she had severe pancreatitis, ketoacidosis and became diabetic she also had uterus infection which they operated on during all this if i could use a word for the experience was brutal oh i forgot to say she is also epileptic.

today jesse is happy and healthy chasing rabbits and just enjoying life that gives you a perspective on how far things can change it can take some time and it did .

i decided to go with a partial raw homemade diet instead of prescription i dont know if it was the best approach and we will never know because we did not do a comparison and of coarse that would be impossible but today with all her challenges she is doing well. it took 6 months to get to a point that i considered she could make it.

so food is a personal choice the prescription has a track record because its widely used some good commercial foods has had some success probably the homemade is the most difficult to judge success because of so many different variations which is what we decided to do . what may work for one dog may not work for another so you have to make that choice.

i have used the true track and it was very acurate below 200 getting above 250 it could be widely off she could read 350 on the true track and in reality she was in the low 200s so actually while i used it her blood sugar would appear much worse than it really was so my next meter i picked up was a one touch ultra which had better results at a higher range i also used the walmart relion which read close to the one touch and the prodigy auto code which we use now which has no track record as far as comparison but has worked well for jesse .

snacks has worked well for jesse for flattening out her numbers by slowing down her drops when insulin is at its strongest they say insulin needs to be fed the snack you are giving maybe a little late to the party giving it when insulin is weaker which can lead to higher numbers at fasting remember its not when food is fed it when its digested and turned into sugar . the snack maybe better timed between 8:00 or 9:00 it may need to be fairly carby we use a milkbone which can get into the system at the same point as when the major part of the drop is beginning and slowing it down dogs can be very sensitive to drops and can respond back up from the bodies internal reserves of glucose. timing type and amount can make a world of difference so it take experimentation and sometimes the most healthiest does not work the best

its great your home testing compare your meter especially at higher ranges with your vet and maybe get another one for backup and be able to compare

a big welcome to both of you and ask anything

[Diane Roehm]

Re: Maggie (I've cried a lot)

No other health problems. The Vet told me she likes them to have afternoon feedings so I do. I did not notice that. I am really new to all this. Thanks for pointing that out, That is why I posted it so someone who knows more than me can comment.

I will ask the vet about that on Monday.

[Diane Roehm]

Re: Maggie (I've cried a lot)

Thank you Jesse, good idea about the time of the snack. I have been a little concerned about the meter I have been using from posts on here so I will try another as well. You guys are great!

[Patty]

Re: Maggie (I've cried a lot)

Hi Diane and welcome to the forum! I copied your thread into the Discussion forum where more people will see it and respond.

The K9 Stories section here is a great place to start but is often used more to post about your dog's "story" for others to read, whereas the discussion section is more active and is a better place to get responses during the regulation process.

You can find Maggie's thread here: http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3382

Patty