Gretel is now our angel

[CraigM]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Getting a little off the subject, but....
I'm really looking forward to the time change. Might be able to get a few more minutes of sleep. If i'm still in bed around 7:30 Annie usually comes up on the bed and starts making her little noises: "Wake-up Dad. The sun is up and I NEED my breakfast" types of noise. With the sun not so bright, she might let me sleep? Naw, she's too smart for that!

Craig & Annie

[CoolGram]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Hello everyone,

Well, Gretel had another spot check today and her BG was 263. I know this is still elevated, but it is the best reading we've gotten so far (except for a 250 the day of bladder surgery and she hadn't eaten anything that day). I'm finally feeling like we're making progress. Her weight remained steady at 19 lbs. Her insulin has been increased from 10 to 11 units twice daily. Maybe this will be the last increase she'll need to get her BG in line (keeping my fingers crossed).

Also, the injections with the short needle are going extremely well. Most often I get no reaction whatsoever from her, maybe once in a while a little twitch when the needle goes in but that's it.

Something I noticed on CarolW's website the other day when I watched a schnauzer being given an injection. The vet pulled the skin up into a tent, but then after the needle went in and before pushing the plunger, he released the skin. Is that the way all of you do it? I had always continued to hold the skin up until after injecting the insulin. After watching that video, I tried it that way and it worked just fine. Just wondering if there's a particular benefit to doing it like on the video?

Another good thing (isn't it wonderful, all this good news for a change!), was that I found that I really don't have to have this huge amount of skin to create a tent, and I credit the shorter needles with that. I have been able to move the injection site further down below the scruff area even though there isn't as much loose skin there, but it's just enough to slide that needle in. Wonder if that's why the BG was lower today, better absorption at that site????

Carolyn

[ozzi]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Carolyn,

This is all GREAT news!! Woo hoo! I understand how exciting it is to be going in the right direction! Just like Gretel, Ozzi had some numbers recently in the low 200's and I was thrilled considering they had jumped to the high 500's! What I am learning about canine diabetes is that it's about baby steps. There really are no giant leaps that happen quickly, because those cause a host of other problems!

I'm happy to hear that the injections are going well for you! I have seen the tent method that you are doing, and have not done it myself. I learned to "bunch" the skin and inject at a 45 degree angle so I've just continued to do that. Either way works well and there is no benefit to either as far as I know. The important thing is that the insulin is injected subcutaneously (under the skin) rather than into the muscle. So, from what I understand, the method you use should be what's more comfortable for you and your pooch!

I was taught (by the vet) to inject in the neck area as well, but have read that the absorption there is not as good as other areas. From what I have read, injecting below the scruff area is more effective because the absorption is better, so maybe that is why the numbers are better, in addition to the extra unit she is getting!

I like reading your posts. Look how far you have come!!!!
Kevin

[Margaret Boyle]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Hi Carolyne,

You are doing really well with Gretel good numbers.

I wish Lucy's were as good, some days good and others not so good

Your question about the tenting of the skin, if I tent I always let the skin go once the needle is in. I read about this in an article cannot remember where, but it said to release the tent once the needle is under the skin.

Also Lucy had lost some weight and I did not tent for a while, I just took a tiny fold and went in parallel to the skin.

The scruff of the neck is not good for absorption, you have lots of areas all down each side and there is better absorption.


You are doing great.

Hugs Marg

[eyelostit]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

I do the tent, inject and release.
If this would hurt Niki as I put the needle in and she winces or give a little cry I change the spot.

Dolly

[CoolGram]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Thanks to all of you for your responses and your encouragement. Of course, I can't take all the credit for my successes when they happen, I must give a lot of credit to Gretel who is a very compliant dog. She's very tolerant of my fumblings and insecurities . She finally got her haircut on Thursday and not only does she now actually LOOK like the schnauzer she is, she has been incredibly energetic and super playful. I think between the new haircut (what woman doesn't feel great after she's gotten a new hairdo?) and the medicine doing it's job, she must be feeling better because she's just like the energizer bunny - go, go, go! It's so good to see.

You're certainly right, Kevin, about this being all about baby steps. When it's such a struggle until you finally see progress, it sure makes you want to celebrate each small forward step, no matter how tiny.

I'll keep you all posted on the next BG check on Wednesday. Have a great week!

Carolyn

[KramiesSister]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Your little girls issues sound a lot like my Kramers. Kramer had bladder stones shortly after his diabetes diagnosis. That triggered us to find an IMS who helped us work with all of the issues together. It was a very hard balancing act with the bladder stones and diabetes because the food our regular vet had him on for the stones was terrible for his triglycerides and in turn, terrible for the diabetes.

Our IMS who specializes in preventive medicine suggested buying Calcium citrate pills (without magnesium or vitamin D) and grinding them up to mix in his food. These were for the urine ph and that seemed to help without affecting his blood sugars too badly. Maybe you could look into those?

Don't panic about getting the numbers down, you're doing a great job so far, believe me. Kramer had diabetes for just under 4 years and we never did get him regulated, we did just about everything and used every bit of knowledge that we could. Your numbers may be high, but they're quite level. You're doing a great job!

Definitely check those triglycerides and I encourage you to home test, you'll feel more in control and your wallet will thank you. Buy a lancet clicker device and slowly get Gretel used to the sound and the feel of it without an actual lancet inside. She won't even notice it when you do end up using it for what its intended.

[CoolGram]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Breanne, thanks for your helpful tips. Actually, Gretel was taking the calcium citrate pills for quite a while, but the vet said they weren't getting the ph balance quite where she wanted it, so she started her on the Tricitrate solution.

You are absolutely right about the difficulty in treating a dog with diabetes who also has a problem with bladder stones. When she was first diagnosed with bladder stones, the vet (not the same vet I have now) put her on ud dogfood. Of course, that was the worst thing she could have been eating for the diabtes, but she didn't at that time have high blood sugar yet, but in less than a year she did. I'm sure the ud contributed to that because as I understand it, it's high in carbohydrates.

I am going to ask the vet on Wednesday about the Triglycerides. I have a wonderful vet now who has gone above and beyond to treat Gretel's many issues, and I really do trust her. She's more than happy to answer all my questions and is very patient with me if I'm "obsessing" about anything in particular. Even gave me her home phone number in case I needed her after hours.

As far as the home testing, that's one area where I know I should be doing it, but I'm so nervous about it. As a diabetic myself, I know all about self testing, but there's a difference between doing it on yourself and inflicting that pain on your poor liitle dog who doesn't understand why you're doing it. I guess my problem (as I said in an earlier post) is that I'm trying to get into Gretel's head and imagine what she must be feeling, when I should probably just stop all this over-thinking and do what needs to be done!

Although Gretel is overall very good about me giving her the insulin, I'm not sure how she'd be about me sticking her more than twice a day. And I'm not sure where would be the least painful place to do it. Neither the lip nor the ear seem like a place that she would allow me to do it. Where did you test Kramer? I'm pretty certain that at some point in time I will work up the courage to do it. As she's currently at the vet's once a week for testing, I have been thinking that once she seems to be fairly well regulated, then at that point I'll step up to the plate and try to home test. I do know it would save money, and heaven knows, that would be great if I could save money and still give her the best of care.

Thanks again for your help, and I'm sure when I'm ready to home test I'll have some questions for you!

Carolyn

[KramiesSister]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

We tested Kramer on his dew claw, here is a link to a video:
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=P2090002.flv

I am certain that for most dogs, the clicking noise is what turns them off. 9 times out of 10, Kramer didn't feel a thing, and I'm pretty sure he knew that we were doing it to help him, he never protested.

Schnauzers are very smart little dogs, Kramer for one, LOVED the vet, and he was one of those dogs that we could have forgiven him for hating it if he had, because of all of the times we took him there, and for all of the procedures he had to endure.

Schnauzers are "endocrine machines" and they don't follow suit like some other dogs, the answer to their medical problems and symptoms is never the "simple" answer, but that "being different and difficult" is usually why we schnauzer people ARE schnauzer people. You are doing a great job with Gretel, it doesn't sound like she's letting diabetes get her down.

[CoolGram]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Breanne,

I think you're right about the clicking noise scaring them. Gretel is definitely very skittish about certain noises, more so than most dogs I know, and that's another reason I've been hesitant about doing it. I suppose I could do it without the clicker, but then I'd be afraid of really hurting her if I stuck the lancet in too far.

It's interesting that you said Kramer loved the vet. I'm not sure I'd go that far with Gretel, but she is definitely very sociable when we go there - walks quite eagerly through the door. (Of course she does that on the way OUT too!) She's always peeking into the different rooms, and trying to get behind the counter to see the "girls", who all love her and make a big fuss over her.

I, too, would certainly understand if she didn't want to go through that door. Just like Kramer, she's been through so much with her different issues, and most times when she goes there, they're going to inflict some sort of pain on her, but she's just so good about it.

I'm going to look at the link to the video you attached and thanks for sending it. I know for sure at some point I will forge ahead with home testing and I KNOW I'll need plenty of support then!

Carolyn

[Chloe's Mom]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

We tested Kramer on his dew claw, here is a link to a video:
http://s197.photobucket.com/albums/a...t=P2090002.flv

Hi Breanne,

I thought that video was testing using Kramer's Carpal Pad. I sent this one to my Vet so she could use it for her other diabetic pet owners.

Am I looking at the dew claw and thinking I am seeing the carpal pad?

Hugs to you!
Heidi and Chloe

[KramiesSister]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

You're right...its the carpal pad. I used to call it "the pad on his leg above his paw" and then someone corrected me and called it his dew claw. It never really made sense to me because he doesn't even have a claw there! but I just went with it.

We tested him on his carpal pad, and i don't really know how sensitive they are because I'm almost certain he didn't feel it.

If you can just get Gretel used to the clicking sound of a lancet with out being loaded, actually poking her probably won't be a big deal. Just slowly get her used to the sound, and get her used to the idea of you holding onto her leg (with treats and lots of lovin). Eventually, once you're ready to start trying, she won't think its weird at all!

[CraigM]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

I lance by hand without a device. What causes Annie to jump is the BEEP that the AlphaTrak meter makes. Of course, since I test on her ear, the BEEP is probably pretty loud to her!

Craig & Annie

[CoolGram]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

Hello everyone! Just a quick update on Gretel's ongoing "regulation" trials and tribulations. Last Thursday she had another spot check at noon and her BG was 273. Her insulin was increased to 12 units twice daily and she goes back to the vet tomorrow for a curve. She is very energetic and happy and has gained another 2 ounces.

There was a little snafu when I took her for her spot check last Wednesday. I had put her outside about 9:00am, and after about 5 minutes or so, I looked out the window to see what she was doing and I saw her pawing at a dirt pile in my flower garden, then stuck her nose in the hole she had just made and when she pulled her head out she was chewing something. I ran outside to see what she was after, and discovered that there was a rabbit's nest under the dirt pile. I covered the hole back up again and knew from that moment on I would have to watch her like a hawk to keep her away from it.

Anyway, when I took her for her spot check, after I told them what time and how much she ate etc., I thought I'd better mention that I had seen her chewing something, but never saw what it was. The vet decided she wouldn't check her that day in case she had eaten something that might have affected her BG. Soooooooo, that meant another trip back to the vet on Thursday.

And, wouldn't you know, as closely as I have been watching her around that rabbit's nest, Sat. evening we were getting ready to go out, and I walked away from the window for 2 minutes, and when I went back to it she had pulled a baby bunny out of the nest and was shaking it. I raced outside, made her drop it, sent her packing into the house, and carefully placed that dear little bunny (who was still alive thank goodness) back into the hole and covered it back up. Today my husband is going to put some fencing around it until the bunnies leave the nest (on their own). Guess I won't be working in my garden for a while!

I'll let you know how the curve goes. Have a great day!

Carolyn

[Dakotapix]

Re: Mini Schnauzer Gretel - Injection problems brewing!

If your garden and yard are such that naturally attract rabbits, you may as well accept that Gretel is doing only naturally what miniature schnauzers were bred to do. They are diggers and chasers of small animals. I probably raise several litters of rabbits every year in my yard and have finally taken to live trapping them and moving them to a county park a few miles from my yard. This after having my late mini, Wolfie, catch and kill a few of those critters. I'm guessing I moved out at least eight to ten bunnies last year. It seemed to control the population last year and yet, they're back this Spring. The rabbits have also done lots of damage to newly planted plants in our garden so some control had been necessary for me.

Another schnauzer I owned killed a rabbit a few years ago and became infested with fleas so getting rid of them is a good idea even though these varmints might be fun to watch.