Angel Mochi December 2020

[k9diabetes]

Re: Any advice and ideas for me to help my dog would be really appreciated.

Just to put things in perspective, you wrote this in March 2017:

My dog Mochi's blood sugars have been pretty up and down the past few weeks and I'm still constantly worrying.

Things can change and it doesn't have to be something scary. They just change. And some conditions that aren't particularly threatening can create periodic changes in blood sugar that last for weeks or months.

One of those things is high triglycerides (fats). It's a common problem in miniature Schnauzers and I've seen many of those dogs go months on one dose of insulin and then very abruptly it's too much or too little. So the dose is changed and they sail along on that for weeks or months and then it abruptly changes again.

Not fun! And sometimes quite scary because their blood sugar can go dangerously low when things shift and they need less insulin.

But it is a little easier knowing it's just the kind of thing that happens with those dogs and it doesn't mean anything is new or worrisome.

So sometimes more insulin is needed, forever or for a while.

Any time high blood sugar becomes a chronic problem and not a self-correcting few days, you want to look at your options and do what you can to correct the blood sugar. Something like Cushing's disease will start to raise the needed dose of insulin, thyroid problems, triglycerides.

So it's not wrong to increase the insulin to get better control when the blood sugar is staying high.

But your post about his allergy shot makes me think it has a pretty big effect on his blood sugar.

after weeks and weeks of high blood sugar between 300-400..I took him to the vet and my vet told me to monitor him and open up a new bottle of insulin to see if the old one has gone bad.

He also gave Mochi a allergy shot that’s suppose to help with his allergies better than taking allergy medication everyday.

A couple days later I took his blood sugar from 12-6 and the numbers we amazing..189-115. Then on Friday night Just before his meal I wanted to see if it’s still ok and it was at 112. I thought I got it back to being regulated..but somehow I noticed him drinking more water again the past couple of days. I took his blood sugar at 9am and it was 406..... I

And at 12-13 pounds, 5 units is not a huge dose. I wouldn't be worried about increasing it if need be. You may find that you have to adjust his insulin dose in response to the allergy injection.

[Lchow022]

Re: Any advice and ideas for me to help my dog would be really appreciated.

Thanks Natalie..you really helped calm me down. It’s definitely a really stressful time. It may or may not be the allergy shot to be honest. It seemed like the allergy shot actually helped his blood sugar for a couple weeks after he got it. Before his allergy shot his blood sugar was always all over the place as well. But it was more consistent than now.

The past 4 days is really really confusing me. Because a number would look good and give me hope and then a few hours later it’s sky high..

I thought I understood how his body worked after last year..but I guess I don’t..

Should I ask my vet to give him another blood test and urine test even though he’s not due for a blood test yet?

[Raysaint]

Re: Any advice and ideas for me to help my dog would be really appreciated.

Thyroid and triglycerides are 2 problems my dog has and his sugar has changed over the last couple months. Have your vet check those things.

[Lchow022]

Re: Any advice and ideas for me to help my dog would be really appreciated.

How do they test for thyroid and triglycerides? I've asked if he had thyroid before but my vet said he doesn't seem to have it.

His blood sugar went down to 174 this morning at 5:30am before breakfast.
I usually feel relieved after seeing a number like that but now I'm still stressed because I know it can bounce back up out of nowhere...It went from 432last night at 9:30pm to 174 this morning...Then yesterday morning at 9:30 am he was at 230 but when I got home to check his blood sugar at 6pm before dinner it was at 429 and the 400's continued for 3-4 more hours...

I've never seen this happen with Mochi..he would have good days and bad days before but now its all over the place all in one day.

[MikeMurphy]

Re: Any advice and ideas for me to help my dog would be really appreciated.

My Lily has hypothyroidism. Her symptoms were hair loss, high triglycerides, high cholesterol and insulin resistance.

The standard blood test for hypothyroidism is the T4 test. However, the best way to diagnose hypothyroidism is to have a full thyroid panel done. The best places for vets to send the blood sample for the full thyroid panel are Michigan State University and Hemopet (Dr. Jean Dodd’s).

[Lchow022]

Re: Any advice and ideas for me to help my dog would be really appreciated.

Mochi’s blood sugar went from 174 at 5:30am before his meal to 377 at 5:30pm before his dinner...what a big jump again..I’m just beating myself up thinking so hard...

I just hope he doesn’t have any other underlying issues..he doesn’t seem to be losing hair..I’m just trying to figure this out so hard..

I messaged my vet and he doesn’t believe it’s somogyi affect and said he should get a blood curve done clinically and a blood test done as well. I don’t think he should be getting a curve done inside the vet as he gets super stressed and his sugars get even higher...it never looked good at the vet.

[Raysaint]

Re: Any advice and ideas for me to help my dog would be really appreciated.

Proper triglyceride testing should be done at fasting. I am taking my dog to the vet as soon as they open at 8:00 a.m., they draw the blood, then I'll feed him and give his insulin. It'll be an hour later than normal morning, but it's only one day.

[Lchow022]

Timing on food and insulin question

Hi there,

My dog Mochi is still waiting on blood results and still trying to figure out why his blood sugar as been all out of wack with constant highs and lows.

My dad usually feeds him in the morning and this morning I was very upset with my dad because he told me he feeds him at 545 every morning. I needed to take Mochi’s blood sugar before he eats so I woke up at 5:30am so I can get his blood sugar before he eats. Unfortunately when I went to the kitchen he was already done eating!!!...My Dad has been feeding him at random times between 5:30-5:50am...then for dinner it’s always between 5:45-6:00pm. Sometimes even later than 6:00pm when I need to take his blood sugar because I don’t get off work until 6pm.

Do you guys think that could be a reason to having random spikes in his sugar? Or am I over analyzing...I use to consistently feed him at 6:30am and 6:30pm but now since my dad only works part time and my dog only wants my dad, he feeds him. Does feeding him like that affect anything even though it’s only within 30minutes?

thank you...
Lina

[jesse girl]

Re: Timing on food and insulin question

hard to say unless you can repeat what was done a few times and see what the results are

With jesse small things like that really dont make much of a difference if any for her . Even keeping everything perfect most will see some inconsistencies

[Lchow022]

Giving up...really can’t take much more

I don’t know what to do anymore...

Things seemed to have been going pretty good judging from his water intake. I even bought a new blood sugar meter just Incase the old alpha trak wasn’t working properly..
My vet told me to check his sugar three times a day for the next few days. Morning right before food and insulin, middle of the day 12pm and once more right before dinner and insulin..I wasn’t able to get his sugar in the morning today because my dad fed him way too early...so I was only able to take 2 numbers..

At 12pm it was at 105 and then at 5:30 right before his dinner and insulin it spiked to 460..this is really starting to freak me out..has anyone gone through this and tell me what can be happening?..I’m so upset with my vet because he never called me back to let me know what his blood test results were. He only works twice a week.. Now I’m freaking out more...

Can anyone give me any input or help me calm down...?
This has been going on for over two months now..I just hope Mochi is ok...

-Lina

[Judi]

Re: Giving up...really can’t take much more

remember Natalie's post on your other thread: There is no such thing as perfect regulation. How is your dog feeling and acting? That is what I wound up focusing on with my dog.

With the 105 have you tried decreasing half a unit?

Take a deep breath, I'm no good at analyzing the doses. The food being served within a half an hour shouldn't be a big deal. Maybe the insulin is just running out a little before the next dose. Have you tried adding some fiber?

Just to put things in perspective, you wrote this in March 2017:



Things can change and it doesn't have to be something scary. They just change. And some conditions that aren't particularly threatening can create periodic changes in blood sugar that last for weeks or months.

One of those things is high triglycerides (fats). It's a common problem in miniature Schnauzers and I've seen many of those dogs go months on one dose of insulin and then very abruptly it's too much or too little. So the dose is changed and they sail along on that for weeks or months and then it abruptly changes again.

Not fun! And sometimes quite scary because their blood sugar can go dangerously low when things shift and they need less insulin.

But it is a little easier knowing it's just the kind of thing that happens with those dogs and it doesn't mean anything is new or worrisome.

So sometimes more insulin is needed, forever or for a while.

Any time high blood sugar becomes a chronic problem and not a self-correcting few days, you want to look at your options and do what you can to correct the blood sugar. Something like Cushing's disease will start to raise the needed dose of insulin, thyroid problems, triglycerides.

So it's not wrong to increase the insulin to get better control when the blood sugar is staying high.

But your post about his allergy shot makes me think it has a pretty big effect on his blood sugar.



And at 12-13 pounds, 5 units is not a huge dose. I wouldn't be worried about increasing it if need be. You may find that you have to adjust his insulin dose in response to the allergy injection.

[Raysaint]

Re: Timing on food and insulin question

A body doesn't work like a machine, being that specific on timing of metabolism. Nor does insulin. Being within a time range is fine.

[Raysaint]

Re: Giving up...really can’t take much more

Having a spike before a meal is normal, as insulin is running out and also the liver may be releasing a bit of sugar as the body calls out for energy. A midday snack might affect the 105 but might level out the afternoon.

But regardless, you are too focused on numbers and that will drive you crazy. I learned this the hard way. My vet finally drilled it into my head that if the dog is showing no clinical signs, they are doing OK.
Of course you don't want consistently high numbers, but achieving consistent "good" numbers every day week after week, is not realistic for many dogs.

Trying to figure out what is going on is the needle in the haystack. Eliminate the easy causes, like thyroid or infections.

My dog's thyroid is slightly high now, so we cut back the med dose. It is likely the cause of my dog's new curve pattern, which started a couple months ago. It threw his numbers out of whack, but hopefully we get back to his normal, which wasn't great all the time.

You can analyze yourself into the nuthouse. Check out this link.

https://www.aaha.org/guidelines/diab...s/default.aspx

[momofdecker]

Re: Giving up...really can’t take much more

Check out this link.

https://www.aaha.org/guidelines/diab...s/default.aspx

Glad to see that the 2010 information has finally been updated to reflect what folks on this forum have been saying for years! Great article - thanks for sharing!

[Lchow022]

Re: Giving up...really can’t take much more

Thank you Raysaint for helping me out...I’m definitely driving myself crazy.
Two days in a row now with good numbers morning and afternoon and then this high number kicks in...

5:30am -137 (before food and insulin)
12pm-105
5:30pm-460 and 377 (took it twice with two separate meters)

Exact same thing yesterday..is there any adjustments I can do to help the sugars not get so high during that time?

I have to take one more small curve because my vet wanted me to do it three days in a row and then every other day.