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Hi all,
I came across this forum through a google search on dog diabetes. My dog, Keira, is an 8yr old rottweiler who 2 days ago was diagnosed with diabetes.
She had been a little 'off' recently, nothing massively noticeable just not her usual bubbly self. Despite being 8, she is very puppified in nature and very excitable etc. My Nan had been living with us and moved out around the same time, so we put it down to her being grumpy that she didn't have Nan pampering her all day every day (We all work, so sometimes she's alone for a few hours). However, on Thursday evening she started vomiting quite badly. This continued through to Friday, so we took her to the vets. The vet took her temperature, listened to her heart, and did a physical examination. She said all seemed fine, and gave her an injection and some anti-sickness tablets to be administered at home, thinking she had just picked up a nasty bug or something.
However Saturday she was much worse, not even being able to keep water down. She hadn't eaten a meal since Thursday, and the constant vomiting including water had us very worried. She became very lethargic, to the point she couldn't really walk or stand. We rushed her to the emergency vets, who suspected kidney failure when we spoke about how she had been drinking more than usual before the vomiting started. We had to wait while she got blood results as if it had been the kidneys she said there was little use continuing treatment as there's nothing that could be done. Thankfully, although her kidney levels came back high, they were not as high as we feared and it wasn't this. However her glucose levels came back much much higher than expected, hence the diabetes thought came. She admitted her for the night and hooked her up to a drip due to the dehydration. Later that evening, the vet called to confirm she had diabetes, as well as pancreatitis. She began using insulin at the vets to help with the symptoms. We visited yesterday and she was so weak, she couldn't even lift her own head up. It was a horrific sight, and the vet suspected DIC as well due to a slightly bloody nose, which meant a very bleak outlook. It all depended on how last night went. Thankfully, no more bleeding has meant we no longer think she has the DIC, and she finally started to show signs of becoming more active today when visiting. She lifted her head the whole time and was bright eyed, she also pawed me and nudged my hand with her nose when I stopped stroking her which she usually does at home. When it came time for us to leave, she even stood up and tried to walk out with us (Considering she couldn't lift her head yesterday this was a HUGE deal!!). She's still in the vets now and her (I assume glucose? Brain didn't cope very well with what the vet was saying when I saw her!!) levels started at 38 when she was admitted, the ideal being between 5-8, she was 11 at midday today so a huge improvement.
It's been touch and go for the past few days which has been terrifying, we really thought we were going to loose her however positive thinking is getting us through this, and hoping she continues to improve. She's not quite out of the woods yet but seems to be taking steps in the right direction!
We're all a bit shocked at the news really, we didn't suspect a thing and for her to be so poorly was not what we had expected. We understand that when she comes home she'll need injections of insulin twice daily, which of course we will have to adapt to. We also have to adapt her diet which the vet is advising us on.
I'm so excited to come across this forum as we don't know anyone else who has a dog with this condition, and reading your stories has really helped me think positively about the rest of Keira's life!
Here's hoping she continues to improve and comes home to us happier, and healthier, in the next couple of days!
I came across this forum through a google search on dog diabetes. My dog, Keira, is an 8yr old rottweiler who 2 days ago was diagnosed with diabetes.
She had been a little 'off' recently, nothing massively noticeable just not her usual bubbly self. Despite being 8, she is very puppified in nature and very excitable etc. My Nan had been living with us and moved out around the same time, so we put it down to her being grumpy that she didn't have Nan pampering her all day every day (We all work, so sometimes she's alone for a few hours). However, on Thursday evening she started vomiting quite badly. This continued through to Friday, so we took her to the vets. The vet took her temperature, listened to her heart, and did a physical examination. She said all seemed fine, and gave her an injection and some anti-sickness tablets to be administered at home, thinking she had just picked up a nasty bug or something.
However Saturday she was much worse, not even being able to keep water down. She hadn't eaten a meal since Thursday, and the constant vomiting including water had us very worried. She became very lethargic, to the point she couldn't really walk or stand. We rushed her to the emergency vets, who suspected kidney failure when we spoke about how she had been drinking more than usual before the vomiting started. We had to wait while she got blood results as if it had been the kidneys she said there was little use continuing treatment as there's nothing that could be done. Thankfully, although her kidney levels came back high, they were not as high as we feared and it wasn't this. However her glucose levels came back much much higher than expected, hence the diabetes thought came. She admitted her for the night and hooked her up to a drip due to the dehydration. Later that evening, the vet called to confirm she had diabetes, as well as pancreatitis. She began using insulin at the vets to help with the symptoms. We visited yesterday and she was so weak, she couldn't even lift her own head up. It was a horrific sight, and the vet suspected DIC as well due to a slightly bloody nose, which meant a very bleak outlook. It all depended on how last night went. Thankfully, no more bleeding has meant we no longer think she has the DIC, and she finally started to show signs of becoming more active today when visiting. She lifted her head the whole time and was bright eyed, she also pawed me and nudged my hand with her nose when I stopped stroking her which she usually does at home. When it came time for us to leave, she even stood up and tried to walk out with us (Considering she couldn't lift her head yesterday this was a HUGE deal!!). She's still in the vets now and her (I assume glucose? Brain didn't cope very well with what the vet was saying when I saw her!!) levels started at 38 when she was admitted, the ideal being between 5-8, she was 11 at midday today so a huge improvement.
It's been touch and go for the past few days which has been terrifying, we really thought we were going to loose her however positive thinking is getting us through this, and hoping she continues to improve. She's not quite out of the woods yet but seems to be taking steps in the right direction!
We're all a bit shocked at the news really, we didn't suspect a thing and for her to be so poorly was not what we had expected. We understand that when she comes home she'll need injections of insulin twice daily, which of course we will have to adapt to. We also have to adapt her diet which the vet is advising us on.
I'm so excited to come across this forum as we don't know anyone else who has a dog with this condition, and reading your stories has really helped me think positively about the rest of Keira's life!
Here's hoping she continues to improve and comes home to us happier, and healthier, in the next couple of days!
just thought I'd give an quick update!
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