Molly's Story

[CraigM]

Re: My dog is too skinny

Home blood testing just takes a bit of practice. Yes, some (me) had trouble the first several weeks, but it does get easier as time goes by. There are videos on this website, and I think the AlphaTrak http://www.alphatrakmeter.com/index.html Has nice info and a series of videos. Of course the AlphaTrak website is "selling" their meter, so take that into consideration. Many on the forum use less expensive human meters.

Craig

[tari]

Re: My dog is too skinny

Today I take molly in for another glucose test to see if we need to raise it up. I am sure we will. It is getting overwhelming a bit. This test alone cost $51.00 so I guess I need to find a meter so I can test her. What is the easiest, most efficient and most cost effective and often do you take your dogs? Thank you

[amydunn19]

Re: My dog is too skinny

I home test so my vet doesn't do curves. I use the one touch ultra and I buy my strips on ebay. I have found I can get strips cheaper that are due to expire soon. Since I use 4 a day, I go through them quickly.

You can probably buy a meter on ebay or amazon and strips as well. The relion testers at wal mart are very cost efficient but are not as accurate in the high ranges, so the numbers are pretty off.

[CraigM]

Re: My dog is too skinny

Meters and test strips (the strips are what will cost $$$ over time) are MUCH less expensive online. It's common to find meters online for about 1/4 the price than at local stores. Test strips are also less expensive online. As Amy said, many like the One Touch Ultra meter.

Craig

[CraigM]

Re: My dog is too skinny

This seems to be a pretty good price (about $20 with shipping) http://www.amazon.com/One-Touch-Ultr...ch+ultra+meter

If you look around the Amazon website you will see MANY prices for this meter, and for the One Touch Mini. I can't explain why there is such a wide price swing and would just go for the lowest total cost (if you decide on the One Touch Ultra). You would also want to buy at least one extra box of test strips. Doesn't matter if you buy your strips at an online store like Amazon, or from EBAY: I'd just look closely at the description to be sure the strips are for the One Touch Ultra (or whatever meter you choose).

Note: there are 1 or 2 companies that make generic test strips that claim are for the One Touch Ultra system. These generic strips MAY be OK, but I'd suggest using true One Touch Ultra strips to start. After you get the feel for testing, you might experiment with these lower cost test strips. (I experimented with one of the generic brands a year ago and had some repeatability problems and they "seemed" to take a little longer to suck-up the blood sample than the true One Touch Ultra strips. That was soon after the generics first went on sale, they may have been improved by now)

Craig

[tari]

Re: My dog is too skinny

So are these for dogs or are they regular meters? I see dog ones online so I am a little confused. Thanks for all of your replies

[CraigM]

Re: My dog is too skinny

The One Touch Ultra that we have been mentioning is a human meter that seems to read dog blood just a little lower than true. The dog validated meter is called the AlphaTrak-2 (I believe I gave a link to the AlphaTrak website earlier).

The AlphaTrak-2 would be the ideal meter, but is is much more expensive to both purchase and in daily use. AlphaTrak test strips are a over $1 per strip, so you can see how the cost can add up if you test several times per day, every day. Of course some may eventually get to a point where they may test less frequently, but many of us continue to test 2-3 times a day for the life of the pup. There are some of us who have done experiments with lower cost test strips in the AlphaTrak meter (Freestyle Lite test strips, but they are still expensive)

There is no rule that says you can have only one meter!. I have collected seven meters over the years - always looking for something new.

Craig

[amydunn19]

Re: My dog is too skinny

I have always used a human meter - some people think it is a big deal but it isn't. I have always viewed accuracy as a relative term with blood sugar. All meters use an algorithm to calculate blood sugar anyway so it is relatively close but not exact. The number itself is not as important as the range the numbers fall within.

[tari]

Re: My dog is too skinny

Molly went to be checked last night and her sugar was 571. So now she's up to 8 units and we are starting her on thyroid meds. She lost another 2 pounds so shes getting a mini snack for lunch. She is down to 27 pounds.
I was wondering if anyone has done the glucose test where you catch their urine and test? I am not sure I cant keep poking her more.
Thanks again for all you input. Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed by it all.

[CraigM]

Re: My dog is too skinny

8 units still isn't all that much for a 27(?) pound pup. There is no "prize" for the lowest amount of insulin: they need what they need. Every situation is different and she might require more, and 8 units isn't even close to being thought of as insulin resistant.

What brand of food are you now feeding?

You say she is now getting a mini lunch. What are you feeding for the mini lunch? Keep in mind additional food will likely cause higher blood glucose (unless you are talking about just a few green bean sort of snack).

Craig

[amydunn19]

Re: My dog is too skinny

Urine testing is not very accurate. That is why most of us don't use it - too many factors.

You really have to get to a place where you can stow that guilt away with testing. I have to look at it as life saving and necessary. I think we project emotions onto our dogs that may not be there. I just think they don't process it the same way we do. We see it as inflicting pain - they are really perfect creatures of habit and adapt to it all without much fanfare. They do sense anxiety and stress and react accordingly so it is important to try to remain calm. We have all been where you are now so what you are feeling is normal. Testing is just so beneficial - it is worth it in the end.

[Cara Sandler]

Re: My dog is too skinny

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Thanks again for all you input. Sometimes I just feel overwhelmed by it all.

I understand. I remember feeling that way too. It does get easier though.

[CraigM]

Re: My dog is too skinny

I realize you may be feeling "info overload". It's just most of us have been where you are and want to help as much as possible.

Let's talk about the mini snack for lunch. Is this due to the weight loss, or for some other reason? If the reason you are wanting to give the extra food is to help her gain weight, that might actually be the wrong thing to do. Sounds strange, doesn't it?

Here's the story. When a pup spends most of the day with high blood glucose (say, over 400ish) she isn't getting much nutrition from the food fed. Without the correct (better) insulin the food is converted to glucose, travels through the body, but the body can't utilize the glucose and it is eliminated in the urine. Have you noticed how sticky the urine is? That's the glucose in the urine. So, the pup with high blood glucose, no mater how much food she eats, is starving and looses weight. Probably the better approach is to maintain the recommended amount of food, and get the blood sugar down where her body will be able to utilize the glucose (and not pee it out).

I'll look around the internet for a better explanation and will post a link if I find something

Craig

[CraigM]

Re: My dog is too skinny

An article, and two youtube videos

http://www.livestrong.com/article/27...glucose-blood/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrotOPgSkR4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Mjp...Db8CL&index=14


Craig

[tari]

Re: My dog is too skinny

Thank you all again for your replies. Sorry it took me so long just been busy with family and holidays. So the food we changed her to is natures recipe, healthy weight. My vet said a weight one or diabetes one. I am thinking to
see how this works and maybe changing to that royal canin for diabetes. Her snack is 3/4 cup of kibble for lunch. The doc said that might be ok since shes
lost so much. If your experience thinks not, that can be stopped. I have stopped her green bean treats which she did like, but the doc suggested I do so. I am hoping Tuesday it will have come down some and maybe in the right direction. Again on the bright side, she is still acting good and happy and for that I am grateful. I don't have to tell you about the lovefests we have for our dogs. Thank you again and I will post Tuesday results and maybe stop the lunch. Oh and we have started her on a low dose thyroid pill!