Mini-Me's diabetes

[Lulusmom]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Hi Jeanne.

First I'd like to wish your daughter a speedy recovery and a successful visit with her specialist. I'm so sorry that she had to go through such a traumatic ordeal.

Now let's talk about Mini's specialist. Dr. Carro is an internal medicine specialist so unless Al is unhappy with her, I don't see the need for you to incur the expense of another consult with Dr. Cannon. If it were me, I'd give Dr. Carro a chance to review Mini's history and assess the results of fresh tests she is recommending. I am glad to hear that a specimen will be sent to Dr. Jean Dodds for a full thryoid assay. She really is the best.

I noticed on Mini's UTK adrenal panel back in 2008, her post stimulated aldosterone was pretty elevated, which goes hand in hand with hypertension in atypical and typical cushingoid dogs. Cushing's whether naturally occurring or iatrogenic (brought on by administration of steroids) messes with all of the the body's metabolic functions, which is why if left untreated, a dog is predisposed to diabetes, pancreatitis, high blood pressure, cruciate ligament injuries, osteoporosis, etc. It is very difficult to get an accurate blood pressure measurement from a dog without the right equipment, a skilled operator and the right atmosphere. You want to make it as stress free as possible so a good number of dogs do better with their owner present during thie test. I'm sure Dr. Carro is very experienced because internal medicine specialists deal with endocrine hypertension all the time. Did Al mention to her that Mini is on Spironolactone? If not, please make sure she knows because this drug lowers blood pressure.

I'll be watching for your updates and will post this over at k9c.

Glynda

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Sorry I haven't been on in a few days......everyone here has been down & worried.

I forgot to mention that our vet upped Mini's insulin up to 40u in the am & 38u in the pm. Today will be the 3rd day with the new units and actually this morning was the first decent reading we've had in a while...239. I wish & hope I can keep her around this number, but time will tell because of the Medrol (4mg) she gets every morning now.

She did drink "some" plain water yesterday morning but back again to the broth, which is okay with me as long as she drinks. Both vets have no idea why she is doing this.

She also took a walk with me on Friday, yesterday was nothing but rain, so she wouldn't go out except when she had too.

She seems a little perkier which is good. Her appetite is great, of course always has been, especially with taking the Medrol.

Thank you Glynda for your wishes for my daughter, that it appreciated and very nice of you.

Al is going to postpone his appt w/Dr. Cannon till the following week, just in case. We should have the test results by the middle/end of this week. Will definitely let you all know of the results. You all have been very, very helpful in your comments, suggestions, etc.

Again we are so happy & fortunate to have found this site as well as K9C.

Jeanne, (Anxious) Mom of Mini-Me

[momofdecker]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Thinking positive thoughts for both mini and your daughter!

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Nice to see that number, hope it is a sign of good things to come.

I remember there being some talk of when on a once daily medication that it may be good to split it between am & pm. I am not familiar with medrol, but I would ask the folks at k9C if it should be split otherwise it may make the am and pm numbers differently. Now it may all work out with the doses being a bit different, but I would ask for their input.

Best wishes for your daughter. You have a very full plate right now.

Kudos to you too for acting on the suggestions here. Mini's case has been anything but clear cut but I think you are starting to have some clarity.

Tara

[Judi]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

I hope your daughter is feeling better. What a nightmare. And at least Mini me is drinking something! hang in there!

eta: have you tried bottled water? I wonder if there is a new chemical or smell in your water? My in laws had a cat who refused to eat hamburger from a certain grocery. just a thought.

signed, Judi, who's dogs drink bottled water vs. the nasty rusty well water!

[jesse girl]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

I hope your daughter is feeling better. What a nightmare. And at least Mini me is drinking something! hang in there!

eta: have you tried bottled water? I wonder if there is a new chemical or smell in your water? My in laws had a cat who refused to eat hamburger from a certain grocery. just a thought.

signed, Judi, who's dogs drink bottled water vs. the nasty rusty well water!

that is an interesting thought judi i have wondered about tap water yes we do have standards for humans for water quality but what about dogs being so much smaller and may not be able to disperse the chemicals as well

i know with my municipal water there is a parts per million for arsenic i dont know the exact measurement but of coarse they say its safe for humans i did put a filtration system for the water we drink and jesse gets the same filtered water they say it reduces remaining arsenic dont know that for sure but that's what we have done

my jesse is not a big drinker of water unless she is chasing rabbits in the summer time but in the winter her bowl could have water in it for days maybe longer because i change it i am not totally sure i had some concerns about this but she has been like this for a while and doesnt seem to be a problem

i wonder if experimenting with bowls or water types could have an affect dogs can be much more in tune to there environment than us

[Judi]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

I would think the filter would get most of any chemicals. I know a local dairy farmer who had to get their water treated due to arsenic levels. I'm a city girl so that made me pause about drinking local milk. lol

We have well water and the softened stuff is salty and the well water is super rusty. Jenny has always preferred bottled water and her vet agreed with me that with all of her issues I should probably just keep going with it.

I just know sometimes any water can have a different odor or composition at different times of the year so thought I'd throw it out there.

I hate dealing with wells and stuff.

I bet Jesse gets some moisture from the meals you feed her.

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Well shut my mouth...I spoke too soon.

Her B/G this afternoon was 468! AND the chicken broth I was mixing with her water has dextrose in it. I didn't know that plus the beef broth Al bought also has dextrose in it and onion powder. OMG I can't believe I did that to her, no wonder her number was high this afternoon.

Al bought some chicken breasts that I am boiling and from now on will be making our own chicken broth for her.

It seems as though we take 1 step forward and then screw everything up. I know you learn thru your mistakes but we can't afford any more.

Thanks for listening to me & thank you all for the well wishes for our daughter.

Jeanne

[momofdecker]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Nice catch. Mini is a lucky girl to have such a caring family. Have you tried putting juice from canned tuna packed in water (not oil) in her water? Many folks on here have recommended that as a way to entice a dog to eat and drink more.

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Thanks for the suggestion Holli...I will have Al get some & try that tomorrow.

Will let you know how she does.

Also going to put a call in to the vet because Al wants to lower her Medrol by 25% and leave insulin dosage the same...I'm not sure so we'll see.

Thanks again,

Jeanne (Dunce cap on)

[Patty]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G chart

Jeanne,
I've been following along thought really can't add to the advice given. We use a PUR filter on our water, including what Ali drank. Could be too that she liked the sweet water if the broth had dextrose .

Wishing you all well.
Patty

[alan]

Mini-Me's B/G going crazy & still waiting for test results!


Hi Everyone,

I haven't been on this site or the K9C site for a while as I was waiting for all of Mini's test results to come back. We're still waiting on the results from UTK and urine culture (our vets office messed up the first one & we had to do another this past Monday). We should have the results end of this week or beginning of next.

On January 22nd we started cutting her 4mg medrol into quarters and have given her 1mg medrol w/breakfast, 1mg w/snack in the afternoon (about 6 hrs apart) and 1 mg in the evening with her dinner - for a total of 3 mg per day. This seemed to be working for her B/G as she was for days under 200. Now today she is in the 300's; this am she was 342 & at 2:30 this afternoon she is 361. I don't know what's going on. I haven't changed anything as far as her food goes. She still refuses to drink unless I put my homemade chicken broth in it, which I guess is okay.

I put a call in to our vet to ask him his opinion as what to do?? I have also noticed in the past week that she has started to shed a lot.

Her thyroid test from Dr. Dodd came back okay, thank God.

Her blood wellness came back a little confusing. Her ALKP is the lowest it's been since before she was diagnosed w/Atypical Cushings, it was in the 600's which is still high but she was in the thousands for 5 years. Also, her WBC & Neutrophils are way high. Our vet said this could be from her being so stressed out when they were taking her blood. She hates going to the vet. We won't know for sure what's going on until we hear from UTK and the urine culture results. I will keep you all up to date as soon as I hear something.

We're just totally lost at this moment.

And I have to say it's very hard for me right now sending this info to you all as I'm crying like a baby over the recent losses that I just read about. Life just shouldn't be this hard especially for our furry friends who can't tell us what hurts or feels wrong.

Thanks for listening to me & if you have any input please let me know.

My best to you all & hugs to your furry babies!

Jeanne, Mom of Mini-Me

[Cebe]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G going crazy & still waiting for test results!

Don't panic. While mid to high 300s aren't ideal, it's not that bad.

Sometimes it takes a few days for a dog's system to adjust to changes. It's only been a little bit since you cut back the meds.

I would do a full curve and see where she stands, and possibly adjust the insulin as needed.

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G going crazy & still waiting for test results!

Nice to hear from you. I was thinking of sending a shout out.

Huge success with getting her under 200. If I had a nickel for every time Ruby threw me a wacky day I would be a rich woman indeed. Hopefully that is all it is and if it is just today then I would take a deep breath and see what tommorow brings.

And I have to say it's very hard for me right now sending this info to you all as I'm crying like a baby over the recent losses that I just read about. Life just shouldn't be this hard especially for our furry friends who can't tell us what hurts or feels wrong.

I have another poor analogy for this. I think about when we buy a car. We have to put up a down payment before we can get the car and have fun with it. With our dog's we have many fun, loved filled years until we need to pay the piper in pain and suffering when we have to go on without them.

Not to minimize the pain of losing a companion, but only for myself to say it is a loss I will gladly suffer again and again. The richness each and every one of my animals has always made the pain worth it and without some of those animals my life would be so much less rich.

--------------
If I had a nickel for every time Ruby threw me a wacky day I would be a rich woman indeed.

and then

life would be so much less rich.


Ah, I see it now! I am so very rich.

(forgive me, home with sick boy 5 days now, going stir crazy and starting to sound a bit loony)

Tara

[Patty]

Re: Mini-Me's B/G going crazy & still waiting for test results!

And I have to say it's very hard for me right now sending this info to you all as I'm crying like a baby over the recent losses that I just read about. Life just shouldn't be this hard especially for our furry friends who can't tell us what hurts or feels wrong.

Amen to that. They teach us so much through their challenges, don't they? Just wish we had them longer.

Hope today is just an 'off' day. Anxiously awaiting tests with you.

Patty