Newly Diagnosed and Confused

[farrwf]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

Great news on Isabelle, ... keep up the good work.

[Isabelle]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

We are 6 months since Izzy's diabetes diagnosis. She is still not regulated, with levels in the 300's/400's, but it is an improvement from the 500/600 levels when she was initially diagnosed. We have battled 2 UTI's, one when she was first diagnosed and another 5 months later. Her weight loss has stopped and she is holding her own at 24.5 pounds, down from 28 (she need to lose weight before the diabetes). Her thirst seems normal and her activity level is good. Insulin is now at 15 units of humulin N 2x/day. We thought she may have had Cushings, but tests were negative. I am thankful for a wonderful vet - and pet insurance which we started when we adopted her as a chunky (35 pounds!) 3 year old five years ago. This forum is great - I have learned so much and I told my vet who was not aware of it. Thank you all

[jesse girl]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

glad izzy is doing well

regulation can be quite different for each individual dog most dont get to what looks to be normal sugar and some struggle to get into the 100s . some dont fully get regulated for a year and settle into a routine my jesse was one of them and i would say she has never been fully stable and she has been diabetic going on 7 years

I believe as long as your not seeing symptoms of urinating and drinking excessively the body appears to be ok with the levels in blood sugar

[Isabelle]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

The vet did a curve last Friday and we are perplexed. 350 at 8:00 (breakfast and 15cc of humulin N were given at 6:00am). Her levels steadily rose until 2:30 when the level was 465 and rose to 480 by 4:00. The vet is going to ask some of her colleagues and thinks she may need to switch insulin type. Izzy will be boarded at the vet for 4 days and this will give plenty of opportunity for the vet to check her levels. Her past curves have been in the 400 to 500 ranges but the shape has been better - higher in the morning and afternoon and lower mid day. She was diagnosed in June with levels in the 600's. She has stopped losing weight and her drinking and energy levels seem normal. Any ideas?

[jesse girl]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

Its really hard to say. the numbers must have been lower the previous cycle starting with a fasting at 350 for the curve

may just be an oddball curve . i dont know if you have seen any numbers in the 200s or 100s but if not there maybe an opportunity for a higher dose

levemir is an option being 4 times as potent as nph. some dogs have done well on it who needed a higher dose

[Isabelle]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

We have never seen numbers in the 100's or 200's since she was diagnosed. The vet thinks either a higher dose or a new type of insulin. Thanks for your insight

[MomofGus]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

What does your dog weigh and what is her food? It may be very possible that she is one that is going to require much more insulin than average. As an example, my Gus, weighs 20.3 lbs and requires 19 units a day. We did not achieve his good numbers until his 10 month post diagnosis mark. We increased his insulin about every 6 weeks and were to the point of discussion options of a more expensive insulin (levimir) or his just being resistant. When we increased to his current level, everything kicked in. I'm so thankful because the levimir option was going to be very expensive on a monthly basis (around $250 a month vs. the $25/month for Novolin. As a note, your dog can take insulin up to the amount that they weigh - example 20 units for 20 lb dog, but no more. So, if you are at 15, you may be able and want to increase a little further.

Also, I'm curious why you are not doing the curves yourself instead of vetting your dog and paying them to do it? Do you not home test?

[Isabelle]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

Izzy is 25 pounds and is at 15 units; she was diagnosed 7 months ago. I was fortunate to have started pet insurance when we adopted her almost 6 years ago so I am reimbursed for 90% for all of the diabetes testing, medicine, vet visits which is why I have the curves done at the vets office. Izzy hides when it is time for testing and a day of testing her every few hours is stressful for the entire household. She strides into the vets wagging her tail now - so maybe her favorite vet tech has the magic tough which I wish I had. She eats Royal Canin prescription gastrointestinal kibble mixed with a bit of salmon oil which she has eaten for the past 2 years due to high triglycerides, which are now normal. Her snack is a weight management green right after dinner in the evenings. I am glad to hear that in time her levels may kick in to normal, but for now I am gratified that they are lower and that she has her energy back.

[MomofGus]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

At least you have seen improvement in her energy and how she is feeling. For the longest time, I was so worried about the higher numbers all the time. I was happy to be in the 300's & 400's on a regular basis. Even at those numbers, my Gus had such an improvement in his actions as well. My vet reminded me that many times they do okay with the higher numbers even though it's not ideal. I am happy I was patient and kept trying the higher insulin amounts until we found what worked. I just pray that we stay at this level of regulation. When we have an off number (high or lower), I just adjust his dry kibble amount that he gets in his meal instead of trying to adjust insulin. I've been able to control things in that manner.

Sorry you feel you can't test at home. It's really not that hard once they get used to the routine. I am lucky, I guess, in that respect that my boy just lays back on my lap and lets me test him, and give me nose kisses as I do so. We test on the paw elbow and have never really had a problem.

I added a tblsp of canned pure pumpkin to his w/d food for added fiber. When we did that, it seemed to help his sugar levels too, as well as provide extra fiber. Perhaps adding that might help? I don't know. If her triglycerides are normal now, maybe switching to a prescription high fiber food, which seems to control sugar levels much better, will help. Have you discussed that with your vet? Just throwing out possibilities here.

[Isabelle]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

I will talk to the vet about the pumpkin. Thanks for the advice

[Isabelle]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

After 10 months of slowly increasing units of insulin, too many bladder infections - Isabelle finally had a great curve with levels ranging from a low of 80 to a high of 180 with a good shape. I know not to become complacent, but it is so good to see these numbers and to see her with so much energy.

[jesse girl]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

thats very good news

yes complacency can be one of our biggest problems

hope things continue on an uneventful course

[MomofGus]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

Such good news! Now, keep up the good work. I'm curious, did you just increase the insulin that you were using or did you switch insulins like you were thinking.

[farrwf]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

Love to hear good reports like this. Betting Isabelle is feeling much better too.

Congrats on the great numbers!

[Isabelle]

Re: Newly Diagnosed and Confused

We just kept slowly increasing her insulin dose - the shape of her curves were always good, but the numbers were always high. They slowly decreased and it took 10 months to achieve the great numbers!