Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer - Earned his wings

[BogiesMom]

I hope this is just a minor set back for Munchie... Our little guys can certainly put a huge lump in our throats.
Prayers and well wishes your way.
Dawn and Bogie

[k9diabetes]

Sending good thoughts for you and Munchie. I always take a sudden refusal to eat or drink seriously.

Natalie

[LuvMyMunchie]

Just got home. Thanks to everybody for all your good thoughts and info.

Had an ultrasound done and no evidence of cancer anywhere.
Kidneys values ok so he's tolerating the Enalapril and his kidneys didn't take a nosedive.
No CHF, so got the ok for the tuna water in his food as he needs to be eating.

IMS thinks this is a result of his diabetes and high bg (my gut can be wrong )and that it could be chronic pancreatitis. The PLI Spec C was sent off to Idexx to confirm one way or the other. He also did say NPH may not work for Munchie. I mentioned the Levemir, which I think is a possibility in the near future but for right now he had his NPH increased to 4 units 2x day. He got an injection of Cerenia and I also have a week's worth of tablets for the nausea and inappetence. IMS will be calling either tomorrow or Saturday with test results for pancreatitis and I'll know by then if his bg's go down at all after dose increase and if not I seriously want to talk insulin change.

I think I've aged 10 years today and my wrinkles now have wrinkles!

Louise

[Rubytuesday]

Hi Louise, I'm glad they didn't find anything terrible.

Since that is a doubling of his previous dose I would do frequent spot checks to be sure he can handle it. You may have the room and I know you want to get those hi highs down but it is a really large increase for a little guy. If he got the 4 units tonight on top of the extra 1.5 this afternoon I would do some overnight checks too.

Tara

[LuvMyMunchie]

Tara-
IMS upped Munch from 2 units twice a day to 3 units a couple of days ago so his total insulin for today before we went to clinic has only been his regular 3 units. It was just in two 1.5 unit increments because he didn't eat all his food in the morning but did eat a tad before we left. His bg was at 730 when I tested him at vet's office but think I did something wrong. They tested when blood was drawn and he was somewhere in the 500's that's why IMS wants the increase. He'll just be getting an extra unit starting tonight but I'll be watching him like a hawk for sure and I've got my bottle of Karo syrup handy. Don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.

If he doesn't eat his regular meal tonight I'm supposed to give him 2 units only.

Louise

[Rubytuesday]

Oh good i feel much better. I got the 2 units from your signature line. I know I don't always make the changes in mine either.

I am sure you must be exhausted. Maybe a bunch of alarm settings. Love my iphone for when I do overnight curves, set 5 at once.

Tara

[jenny]

So glad Munchie got checked out and hope that injection for nausea helps with his eating. Poor you and Munchie, such a worry.

Hope today brings a quieter time for you both and that he starts eating again. You must be exhausted, hope you got some sleep.

big hugs, jen xxx

[momofdecker]

So happy to read that the vet didn't find anything terribly wrong. Hoping today is a better day and that Munchie starts feeling more himself soon.

[BoJanie]

Our vet raised our dose of NPH sooo slowly, it was ridiculous! She would raise it 1 unit at a time, then 2 units. We had to wait 10 -14 days between. I finally just started raising it myself after 4 or 5 days. They weren't happy with that but we were in the mid 500s. I think if you don't get a significant improvement with the higher doses of NPH, why wait to switch? After upping the NPH to 16 units 2 x day we were finally given the go to try Levemir. I would have pushed for it sooner in hindsight. Our starting dose was 2 units 2 x day and we saw decrease in bg pretty quickly. It's powerful stuff and now we only raise it by 1/4 when we go up. I encourage you to push for Levemir if you see no improvement with the NPH. But treat it with kid gloves - it's strong and be ready willing and able to test often. Good luck and hope you can rest. I think I have had 3 full nights of sleep since diagnosis! It's hard to break away from the worry after they have been so sick, even with the bg improvements.

[LuvMyMunchie]

Thanks for your support and "shoulders" everyone.

BoJanie-I'm with you. If Munch's numbers remain high on NPH and elevated bg is causing pancreas problems it does not make sense to keep him on something that isn't working. I certainly don't want him to end up with acute pancreatitis. His fasting was at 381 this morning, which is the lowest it's been so far, and will spot check today. Daytime has been his highest numbers so if I see a drop then I'll know something is working but he's got quite a way to go before his bg is in a decent range. Bothers the heck out of me to see my little guy feeling so badly.

Munch started to turn his nose up at food again this morning but finally decided to eat so he was able to get his full 4 unit injection. Chemo med and Lasix have been temporarily stopped which is a relief as giving the pills has been a struggle with his current nausea and inappetence.

Question for AlphaTrak2 users:
I read the directions and watched DVD and manufacturer clearly states not to use both sides of the test strip when doing a bg reading. If I don't get enough blood I've got 60 seconds to try again, but using the same side.

Yesterday at vets office I didn't get a large enough sample and meter turned off before I could try again. Tech told me to stick strip into meter again and use the other side of strip to test on instead of what the manufacturer states. Ended up with a 730 number but when vet drew blood it was only in the 500's. Gets really confusing.

Do you all just use the one side or do you use both sides of test strip if you don't get enough blood first time??

Question about injecting:
Was told after I insert needle into his skin that I'm supposed to pull plunger back to see if I'm getting air or blood. I didn't see anyone doing this in the videos I watched. It's a bit of a hassle but if it needs to be done, I will.

Does anyone else do this??

Louise