Linda and Ladybug

[Ladybug]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Hi Patty,

Thanks for writing. How's Ali today? I too hope the Sam-E works for Ladybug. I'm starting to feel like you with the "hour glass". I hope I can slow her aging process for a few more years. As you said, "they should live as long as turtles". But I can see her slowing down, no more of her "Jack Russel" attitude.

My garden is doing absolutely wonderful this year. I guess because of the warm winter we had and I was able to plant things earlier. I'm getting run over with all the zucchini this year - the bottom shelf of my fridge is filled! Also starting to run out of recipes - there's only so much you can do with zucchini. The green beans and tomatoes are just starting and my eggplant won't be ready for another month.

School shut down a week earlier this year because we didn't close for any bad weather - not even a snow day! That was unbelievable. The kids are so heartbreaking and getting harder to deal with. One eight year old was diagnosed Auspergers, ADHD and taking Prozac for anxiety. The special ed class I'm in has grown from six students two years ago to 24 students this year coming up. Getting a little too big. I was warned that the kids will be a lot tougher - it can't be any worse than the year just past. But I'm sort of prepared. I'll see in August when I go back- may have to get my hair cut shorter so I don't pull it all out!

I keep reading about you and Ali - you are in my prayers.

Linda and

[Ladybug]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Hi all!!

Can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted, but I have been reading. I just want to update and then I have a question.

Ladybug turned 13 in April and will be 5 years diabetic this October. Thanks to the Sam-e, her liver enzymes are back to normal. Her last blood test showed everything normal. Her bg's have been wonderful - 130-180. Her cataracts have not gotten any worse. Her hearing? Well, I believe she has just become "more selective", she just hears what she wants to hear.

My big question.....I retired in December and since that time, she has become very active, the most she has been in her entire life. She does not sleep 8-9 hours a day like she used to. I call her my "butt buddy" because she is with me every minute of the day. As a result, she has lost some weight due to the increased activity. The increased activity is just in the house - up and down the steps, etc. If I go to the bathroom, she comes in and sits with me!

She needs to gain some weight, but how can I raise her calorie intake without raising her sugar levels? Everything I've tried raises her bg levels.

So, can I assume that more calories = more carbs = more insulin? Or is there another way?

Linda and Ladybug

PS - still doing our "happy dance"!

[Judi]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Happy birthday to Ladybug! When I increased Jenny's calories I had to increase her insulin. I don't see any way around it. Hope you can get ladybugs weight up

[k9diabetes]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Linda!! How fun to see you and Ladybug here and to get such a glowing update on her.

Yup, increasing food means increasing insulin, though usually not by a lot. You can often raise the amount of calories/food by 25% and have to make only a very small adjustment in the insulin dose - half a unit in some cases.

Some people have found that what was very tightly regulated on one diet/insulin dose is not as stable when you increase just because things don't match up quite so well. But as long as it's decent, you can get by until she gets weight back on and then go back to the maintenance amount.

Congrats on your retirement!! What a great thing for Ms. Ladybug to have you with her all the time.

Natalie

[Ladybug]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Natalie and Judi,

Thanks so much for replying. I'll just start changing her food one thing at a time for a few days and see how the bg goes. Hopefully it won't take too long to see her gaining some weight.

Linda and Ladybug

[Soaphie & Sydney's Mom]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Happy birthday ladybug, and congrats on a great update!

[jesse girl]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

yay for ladybug happy birthday

just shows a diabetic can live a long healthy happy life with a little bit of work to keep them safe .

[Patty]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Wonderful update Linda! Happy Birthday to your girl!!!

[Ladybug]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Hi all,

Need some help with increasing calories so Ladybug gains some weight.

Per the vet, she's been eating 1/2 cup WD dry and 1/2 cup WD wet twice a day. He always wondered why she wasn't gaining weight. Now that she's lost a few pounds, he wants me to increase her calories (see my post of 6/21/13).

Anyway, I did some calculations - 1/2c WD dry is 60 calories 25g carbs and 1/2c wet is 101 calories 16g carbs = 161 calories twice a day or 322 calories per day. I have added 1 ounce of brown rice twice a day which is 32 calories 7g carbs or 64 calories per day. Her total calorie intake now is 386 per day.

I read an article that said a 20-30 pound diabetic dog should get 700 calories per day. What she eats now, 386 calories per day, I think is extremely low, almost like I'm starving her. The article also said for a diabetic dog to gain weight you need to feed a low fiber diet.

What should I be doing that I'm not? I feel really bad that I didn't check this earlier. But the vet did say she is healthy, just needs to gain weight.

Also, with adding the rice, her bg has only gone up about 50 points which I think is good.

You'd think after almost 5 years, I would know all this.

Linda and Ladybug

[Judi]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Jenny is 7 pounds and was losing weight on 230 calories a day. I felt like I was starving her too.

Now I give her 4 1/4 ounces of the WD wet twice a day and she is maintaining her weight just fine.

Every dog has a different metabolism and I do think as they get older with their medical conditions they may not utilize their food like they used to. (one of my vets suggested that as a possibility)

I wouldn't go low fiber. The high fiber food really has been better for Jenny's regulation.

I just think their bodies change. Judi

ps. Jenny is kind of a couch potato during the week so she may need less calories than a more active dog

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Hi Linda.

I use this site, to deterime how many calories.
http://mycockerspaniel.com/mer.htm

I am sure that the 700 calories may have been for an active dog, and if LadyBug is not that active, you may not need to feed her that much.

You may just want to increase her food (double it), if she is only getting 322 calories. Perhaps leave the fiber as it is as this will keep her curve the same.

i would increase her food, and then adjust insulin accordingly. Just increase her to keep her in the same range as she is today.

Barb

[Patty]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

I know Peggy and Natalie often just increased the amount by about 25%. You could do that across the board with the dry/wet/rice remaining the same.

[Ladybug]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

Hi all,

Just a little update on Ladybug's new diet for her to gain weight.

I decreased her WD dry food to 1/2 ounce, increased the WD canned to 5-1/2 ounces and added 1 ounce cooked brown rice. She got this mix twice a day. I got a kitchen scale that measure in ounces, best thing I ever bought. I weighed 1/4 cup WD dry, which is what she used to get, and it was only one ounce.

Immediately, I noticed a big drop in her bg readings, she is now in the upper 100's and staying there, no more spikes. After doing some research on the WD dry, I am going to say that the WD dry was causing her sugar levels to go all over the place.

I was very surprised that I have been able to decrease her N insulin from 6-1/2 to 5-1/2 units twice a day.

Now to the rice...about 2 weeks ago, she started itching and chewing. I checked her body and found nothing except one or two little red bumps. She started rubbing her eyes and licking her paws. Then her bark changed which was really strange, it was as if she had a sore throat or something stuck. Also, she couldn't hear as well. Everything started within the same period of 2 weeks. I could tell she wasn't feeling well.

Started doing more research and found that all her symptoms were an allergic reaction and that it could be food or medicine. Kept on reading and found that lots of dogs develop allergies to rice. I couldn't believe it. The article also said that allergies can cause a temporary hearing loss from the buildup of histimines in the body caused by the allergies.

I stopped feeding the rice this Saturday and guess what? The scratching, chewing and licking has all but stopped. This morning I was behind her and said her name and she turned around, so her hearing is returning. Unbelievable....you think you're doing right and it turns out to be wrong.

My one question is what can I substitute for brown rice? Would pasta cause the same allergic reaction? I was thinking the little orzo pasta. She has gained a little over a pound and I don't want her to start losing again. She still gets her Sam-E everyday for liver function.

Linda and Ladybug

[farrwf]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

That's wonderful, Linda. As frustrating as it is to deal with allergies, you nailed that one for Ladybug!

[Patty]

Re: Linda and Ladybug

I'm thinking orzo would be more simple carb where the brown rice was complex. You could use whole wheat pasta, quinoa, green lentils, sweet potato, maybe whole wheat couscous. All these are more complex carbs. You'd just have to try to see how she digests them and how the numbers respond.