Jeb passed June 29, 2017...

[jebsmom]

Ok, let’s see if I can do this.

I’m here to thank you for this forum. My name is Glennys and my dog is Jeb. He’s a collie mix who was diagnosed in early June. He developed ketoacidosis and was at the emergency vet intensive care for two days at $1000.00 a day. My husband started talking about putting him down because we couldn’t afford the expense. So I took him home against medical advice, cared for him myself, and we both managed somehow to survive. Then in September, we drove our rv to Texas to help our son move. Jeb experienced major changes in routine, temperature, humidity, and elevation. The night we arrived, he had a seizure. I knew enough to put pancake syrup on his gums and by the time we found an emergency vet there, his bg was 82. The wonderful vet suggested I learn to test him myself and referred me to jjefferjo’s even more wonderful vet, who referred me to Jj, who referred me to this forum, and I’ve been reading it compulsively ever since.

Jj, I want to say that I don’t think Jeb would be alive today if it hadn’t been for you and your incredible wisdom. You walked me through a difficult time with intelligence, kindness, and patience. My motto, thanks to you, is “low and slow, go jeb go,” and I say it to him every day. I don’t have words to express my gratitude to you.

So many people here are helping me. Jim Maceri and jesse girl, thank you for showing me how to manage Jeb’s walks. They’re the high point of his day. CraigM, thank you for all your information about testing. I give Jeb a frozen green bean each time I test him now. Momofdecker, thank you for your example of devotion to your dogs. You’re an inspiration to me. To so many other people, to Natalie, to Patty, to all of you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

I’ll write again in a couple days with more information about Jeb and where we are now. Today I’m just grateful to be a part of this amazing group and I just want to tell you all, “Thank you.”

[CraigM]

Welcome to you and Jeb!
I think Jeb is our first Collie! We would love to hear more about him: diet, type of insulin, any hints you've come with. Of course, a photo of the pup would be great!

Craig & Annie

[jjefferjo]

Welcome glad to see you here and to know that Jeb is doing just fine.
Go Jeb Go!
Jj and Ed

[jebsmom]

Thanks, Craig. Jeb gets a teaspoon of honey and a biscuit. I wish there were some way they could just tell us they need a treat. We could give it to them, everyone would be happy, and we wouldn’t have to worry about interventions.

[CarolW]

I'm no longer here full-time, as I was for years, but taking time today, I discovered your WONDERFUL story about how you ended up here on the most magnificent online forum I know about canine diabetes.

NICE GOING! I'm so glad you're with us! I'll try to catch up now and then, and when I do, will be glad to read your news of Jeb.

And a big, fat welcome to you!

Sat, 15 Dec 2012 19:56:50 (PST)

[Judi]

belated welcome from me too! we also think the world of JJ & Eddie. Some dogs actually go up to their owners when they are low. My Jenny hasn't figured that out yet!

[jim maceri]

Another "official" welcome to you and jeb!!! There is nothing that makes us happier on the forum than to read about the success of some of the new members AND those of us who have been here for a while.

Keep us updated there is always so much to learn. After 14 months I still rely on the folks here for support in all kinds of ways.

I love the fact that he comes when testing is needed. Spirit runs to my office as soon as he hears the cap "snap" closed on the test strips. We are truly blessed to have dogs that allow us to test....the whole process is so much easier and less stressful when we know where the numbers are.

[jebsmom]

Well, I ended up giving Jeb 9.0 at dinnertime because he seemed really tired and was going down when I expected him to be going up. Then by 6:45, he had dropped to 77. It’s the first time he’s been that low in several weeks. Here is his curve for today.

(All numbers are ReliOn Prime with conversion, except for the last 2, which are AT2.)

5:00 am 319 2 c wd 9.5 u
7:30 370 1 biscuit/2 tsp honey walk-15 min
8:30 252
9:45 155
11:00 227
1:30 pm 229
3:15 186
5:00 183 2 c wd 9.0 u
6:45 77 .25 c wd/1 tsp honey
7:15 93

Thanks very much for any thoughts.

[jebsmom]

Thanks so much. This is really helpful. It’s wonderful to have people to go to with questions.

Barb, it makes sense that his body would use more energy to stay warm. Maybe he’ll get a sweater for Christmas. He’s always had a thick winter coat in the past, but he shed a huge amount in Texas and is still building up his fur again.

Jesse girl, I will try increasing the honey to a tablespoon. What times of day have you found best for walks? I experimented quite a bit a couple months ago with different times, and early in the morning seemed best. But maybe I should experiment again. I’ve been taking him as soon as it gets light, before the insulin has kicked in too much (or before it has now – maybe it’s kicking in faster now with the increased dose???).

Patty, I increased the insulin from 9.0 to 9.5 in the evening a couple days ago. I increased it to 9.5 in the morning on 12-7. When he had a seizure in Sept., we cut his dosage in half (from 11 to 5) and have moved up slowly since then. When I last took him to the vet a couple weeks ago, he said to increase him to 10 and I’m doing it in half steps, which I’ve been doing all along. He weighs about 52 lbs. It may be that this dosage is too much, but he hasn’t had any serious lows, so I’d like to try it a few more days and see what happens. What do you think?

This morning I decided to skip the morning walk and see how he did. He was 319 when I tested him at 5:00 am. I tested again at 7:30 because that’s the time we usually return from a walk and he was 370. I didn’t like him that high, so I decided to go ahead and do a short walk, with honey & a biscuit beforehand. At 8:30, he was down to 252. So it was basically the same scenario as yesterday. Should I maybe just skip the walks for a few days.
I decided to do a curve today, so I’ll post it this evening. Thank you again, so much.

[jesse girl]

well you could experiment with a different time what i look for is when insulin isnt that strong you dont want to walk when things are dropping so look for a time when jeb usually rises there still arent any gauntness that he still might drop as with jesse her body did better over time

spirits dad jim as you know uses exercise to lower the numbers and able to use it as part of controlling the numbers but that is quite the challenge which he has a done very well

everybody has there own little thing that works for them it is quite amazing