New here and overwhelmed

[Aliteri]

Hi there,
My 10 year old Maltese was just diagnosed with diabetes. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to manage all of this and I'm feeling very overwhelmed. I spent the first 2 days crying and hugging my pet. I also have another dog who is well, but he's having a time adjusting to the feeding schedule. I have found some very useful topics on here but still have questions.
Is it ok to occasionally have the evening meal a little sooner or later then exactly 12 hours apart from breakfast? I'm trying to coordinate a house/pet sitter for the end of the month when we are scheduled to visit our daughter and her family in another state. I have a person that we use who does a great job, but his schedule is somewhat fluctuating and I'm not sure that on some days he will be able to make the scheduled feeding/insulin time.
Any help is greatly appreciated if someone has experience with occasionally adjusting feeding times to accomodate work schedule.
Thank you.

[Judi]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

the standard thought is that if you are within an hour either way of the 12 the world won't end. we do the best we can do.

Even though this is overwhelming at first it really does get to be a routine. My non-diabetic dog had to get used to the feeding schedule too. They adapt!

I balked at testing blood sugar at home for a long time till my Jenny had some scary low readings. Since all dogs vary, if you could start testing you'd probably feel more comfortable at those times when you aren't on an absolute strict schedule.

hang in there and welcome!

[Abby's Mom]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

Hi there,
My 10 year old Maltese was just diagnosed with diabetes. Right now I'm trying to figure out how to manage all of this and I'm feeling very overwhelmed. I spent the first 2 days crying and hugging my pet. I also have another dog who is well, but he's having a time adjusting to the feeding schedule. I have found some very useful topics on here but still have questions.
Is it ok to occasionally have the evening meal a little sooner or later then exactly 12 hours apart from breakfast? I'm trying to coordinate a house/pet sitter for the end of the month when we are scheduled to visit our daughter and her family in another state. I have a person that we use who does a great job, but his schedule is somewhat fluctuating and I'm not sure that on some days he will be able to make the scheduled feeding/insulin time.
Any help is greatly appreciated if someone has experience with occasionally adjusting feeding times to accomodate work schedule.
Thank you.

Actually I have the same problem with my pet sitter, as I have Abby on a 6-6 schedule. However it fits better on her schedule for a 7am-7pm. I will move Abby in 15 mins intervals, to get to the 7-7 schedule. Hopefully they can still be at 12 hrs apart, but just a different time. The same goes when or if you have daylight savings time. I will move in 15 mins intervals.

Once they become a little more regulated, you may be able to do 1/2 hr... but initially I think you may be safe with 15 mins.

Welcome to the forum, and what a cutie!!

Barb

[Monsters Momma]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

Take a breath...you have found a great place!! I know it's incredibly overwhelming at first, we've all been through it, but we've all made it too! There is a ton of great info on this site, but there is also a lot of great people that don't mind sharing their knowledge with you!

We try to keep Vinny to a 12 hour schedule, but you know, life happens. Sometimes it might have to be 5:30 and sometimes 6:30. We also have another dog, Bogey, that had to get used to a new schedule. He got used to it too. They adapt pretty well. In fact, they both used to graze, but now they eat when I put it down or I pick it up.

You will get the hang of this, by next week or the week after, you'll be feeling a lot more confident! We just took Vinny camping about 10 days ago...I wasn't sure we'd be able to do that and here we are 2 months after diagnosis!

Welcome to the board!
Mel

[Eddie]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

Hello and welcome
I think you'll find that nearly everyone on here was overwhelmed at first. Somehow having to inject your dog twice a day seems very much more than eg having to give pills twice a day. And there seems to be so much to learn.
The good news is that you don't have to learn everything all at once and that your dog will feel better once you get the insulin injected regularly - and then you finally start to feel better!!

We do not stick to a rigid 12 hour schedule. Our normal day will be breakfast around 6.45am and tea at 6pm. If we are late back we have sometimes gone up to an hour later than the usual times (or sometimes a bit earlier) and Eddie survived perfectly well.
Our usual dog sitter (if we are out for just a day) will feed but not inject so we sometimes get her to give him a snack mid-afternoon on the basis that it is safer for their glucose levels to be high rather than too low and that just puts him on till we get back. Some people use timed release feeders to do this (but that may not work with multiple dogs).
You'll work something out as you get into a routine - it does get easier!
Antonia
Antonia

[sherryandfred]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

Actually I have the same problem with my pet sitter, as I have Abby on a 6-6 schedule. However it fits better on her schedule for a 7am-7pm. I will move Abby in 15 mins intervals, to get to the 7-7 schedule. Hopefully they can still be at 12 hrs apart, but just a different time. The same goes when or if you have daylight savings time. I will move in 15 mins intervals.

Once they become a little more regulated, you may be able to do 1/2 hr... but initially I think you may be safe with 15 mins.

Welcome to the forum, and what a cutie!!

Barb

welcome..you will find some great information and great people on this site to help you get a better understanding about all of it..my fred has been diabetic for about 3 yrs now and we never stick to the 12 to 12..its almost impossible for me..my vet told me we have a three hour window between feedings..so i tend to do it on the 10th hour...once in a great while i go over the 12 hour mark and he is late at getting it..but i never do it any earlier than the 10 hour mark..best of luck to you, and dont stress you will get there..

[eyelostit]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

Hi there, Welcome

It's hard to take it all in at first, you're sad about your doggie. Hang in there, you'll do great, in no time you'll be helping others.

Dolly and Angel Niki

[Emily]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

I was told by my vet that an hour early or late isn't a problem. I try to stick to the 12 hours the majority of the time, but when there is a scheduling issue I know that I have that buffer zone and I don't stress about it.

Ask any question here and someone will come along that can probably answer it!

[Aliteri]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

Thank you to all who posted! I think I am going to be ok pretty soon, it's just that when you first get the news it feels like you are being turned inside out. I seriously had lost my appetite and felt sick. I kind of new already by his symptoms, I was just hoping against hope that I would get a different answer. My dogs are like my babies since my real ones grew up and moved away. My husband on the other hand could easily do without them. Oh, he likes them well enough because he knows that I love them, but he is really not a pet person.

I can tell my little Sashi is feeling better already and that helps. Sashi also has a bladder infection which I guess is common with the diabetes. The meds he is on for that has helped also as he is no longer wetting his kennel at night.

[Aliteri]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

I have another question. Is it ok to pre fill syringes for when I have a pet sitter? I want to make it as easy as possible for him to administer the shot and I am terrified that they will get the dose wrong. It is very hard for even me to get it right since my dog only gets 1.7 units twice a day. I have read conflicting answers from different sites.

Thank you!

[jesse girl]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

that question comes up a bit and i have thought about it if an emergency came up

the problem you are storing it in a plastic syringe so it may stick to the walls of the plastic over time you still will have to mix it as you would in a vial of insulin so its possible that may not work as well in that environment.

i have never tried so i dont know for sure , maybe you can try it while your home and see how it goes

[Eddie]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

I have no direct experience of doing this so I'm not sure. My own feeling would be that I'd probably be comfortable leaving one pre-filled syringe eg for later that day but not a whole lot of them to cover several days, but I may be being overly cautious.

Might it be possible instead to use a very fine pen and mark on each syringe the exact level for the dose so as to reduce the scope for misreading the numbers? or even scratch it with a sharp implement if a pen line would be too thick?

Antonia

[Abby's Mom]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

I too had the same thoughts. I do not pre fill the syringe. However I give detailed instructions... How many times to roll the bottle, warm insulin, bevel side up, appropriate place to administer, as well as the amount, but also leave a sample syringe, of where the plunger is when insulin is drawn, with no bubbles.

Perhaps I am too ODC.?

Barb

[Monsters Momma]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

I too had the same thoughts. I do not pre fill the syringe. However I give detailed instructions... How many times to roll the bottle, warm insulin, bevel side up, appropriate place to administer, as well as the amount, but also leave a sample syringe, of where the plunger is when insulin is drawn, with no bubbles.

Perhaps I am too ODC.?

Barb

Maybe...a tad, Barb!

[Monsters Momma]

Re: New here and overwhelmed

I guess I tend to be a bit more laid back, but you have to understand, I have a 94 lb lab! He doesn't seem to care how I stick him or where. He doesn't even care if it's warmed up or not. As long as I don't do it while he's eating, he's fine. We have that understood between us!

I don't think one prefilled syringe for later would worry me. I'd just make sure it was refrigerated.