Charlie crossed the bridge January 11, 2014

[jsourdif]

My dog, Charlie, 14 1/2 year old cockapoo, was recently (7-2013) diagnosed with Diabetes. He is on Novolin H (6 units twice day). His glucose curves have been awful and we are struggling to learn how to manage that by doing blood glucose readings at home. His readings continue to be in the high 300's/low 400's. At initial diagnosis, the 6 units twice a day actually drove his glucose levels down to 60-70!! This time, it is the opposite. His behavior during the day is relatively normal ... although he does sleep a lot. During the evening, he begins by sleeping very soundly and then about midnight begins to get antsy, jittery, restless ....we have put him outside to pee and 10 minutes later it appears he needs to go again. He wanders the room and seems wobbly and dazed. I hesitate to have him sleep in another room as he has always slept with us in our room. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you! Judi

[Judi]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Hi! another Judi with an I!

I wonder if he is getting too much insulin?

Have you thought about giving up some sleep and doing an overnight curve? where you check his blood every 2 hours to see what is going on?

Judi

[Monsters Momma]

Re: Sleepless Nights

My dog, Charlie, 14 1/2 year old cockapoo, was recently (7-2013) diagnosed with Diabetes. He is on Novolin H (6 units twice day). His glucose curves have been awful and we are struggling to learn how to manage that by doing blood glucose readings at home. His readings continue to be in the high 300's/low 400's. At initial diagnosis, the 6 units twice a day actually drove his glucose levels down to 60-70!! This time, it is the opposite. His behavior during the day is relatively normal ... although he does sleep a lot. During the evening, he begins by sleeping very soundly and then about midnight begins to get antsy, jittery, restless ....we have put him outside to pee and 10 minutes later it appears he needs to go again. He wanders the room and seems wobbly and dazed. I hesitate to have him sleep in another room as he has always slept with us in our room. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you! Judi

Hi Judi and Welcome!

Have you done a full curve during the day, testing every two hours starting with just before feeding in the morning? When are you testing? Can you tell us a bit more about your pup, how much does he weigh? When does he eat/get insulin? What does he eat? Exercise? What type of meter are you using? Anything you can think of that might be helpful.

Like Judi, I was wondering about too much insulin but without knowing more, it's so hard to say!
Mel

[k9diabetes]

Re: Sleepless Nights

My dog, Charlie, 14 1/2 year old cockapoo, was recently (7-2013) diagnosed with Diabetes. He is on Novolin H (6 units twice day). His glucose curves have been awful and we are struggling to learn how to manage that by doing blood glucose readings at home. His readings continue to be in the high 300's/low 400's. At initial diagnosis, the 6 units twice a day actually drove his glucose levels down to 60-70!! This time, it is the opposite. His behavior during the day is relatively normal ... although he does sleep a lot. During the evening, he begins by sleeping very soundly and then about midnight begins to get antsy, jittery, restless ....we have put him outside to pee and 10 minutes later it appears he needs to go again. He wanders the room and seems wobbly and dazed. I hesitate to have him sleep in another room as he has always slept with us in our room. Does anyone have any ideas? Thank you! Judi

Doing a curve would be very helpful. Sometimes the way they process food and insulin at night can be very different than in the daytime. His blood sugar could be either very high or very low.

So when he's up being antsy, it would be great if you could test his blood sugar and record it in a log.

Does he actually need to urinate again or does he just want to go out and doesn't go potty?

Has he been checked to make sure he doesn't have a urinary tract infection?

A urinary tract infection could make him want to urinate small amounts often and also drive up his blood sugar.

Sometimes in the first month or two, the dog's body is still producing some insulin so a small dose goes a long way. When the insulin-producing ability gives out completely, as it always does eventually, then the injected insulin amount has to be increased to compensate.

It could also be that his blood sugar is going low at times and then bouncing back up.

Curves and blood sugar checks will help sort these things out.

Are you having problems testing or is it going okay?

Also, what you describe also can be symptoms of doggie dementia. Dogs with that problem often are restless at night. So if it doesn't seem to be blood-sugar related, that is something else to consider.

[jsourdif]

Re: Sleepless Nights

A week ago, the vet hospital did a curve on him and the readings were consistently high during the day ... ranging from the 300's to 400's. Vet increased his insulin to 6 units/twice daily. We have been practicing doing the readings and on Saturday 1t 4 pm, his glucose was a 244 (I was ectastic!!) and on Sunday I tested again ... twice ... about 4 pm and the first read was 383 and the second was 444. He eats at 6 am and 6 pm and that is when we give him his Novolin. He weighs 28 pounds and was prescribed a potatoe/venison diet (he has severe allergies and seems to have adjusted to this food even though we have to enhance it with salmon for him to eat it). The only treats that we give him throughout the day are green beans and dry venison jerky treats by Real Meat (brand). Everyone has assured me that these foods should not be causing any issues. We are using a meter that is designed for dogs and cats - not sure of brand - know it is manufactured in Canada. He has always loved his walks and is still able to handle short neighborhood (10 minute) walks two or three times per day. My husband is retired and has been able to keep him active. The days seem normal ... the evenings not so much. I am going to check his blood glucose this evening a few hours after his insulin shot to see what the reading is.

His eyes are also very goopy and I am constantly swabbing them and putting allergy eye drops in them. He has always had such clear eyes and I feel so bad for him. Neither his regular vet or the emergency vet clinic that we use seem to feel that this is an issue that has to be addressed even though I feel it is very uncomfortable for him ... he is always swatting at his face and rubbing his eyes on everything - even though I wash his eyes two or three times per day.

We do have an appointment with our (holistic) vet tomorrow. I know that he is an old dog but even now when we are out in public with him, folks are shocked at his age. I feel like all of a sudden everything is going wrong with this poor pup. And we love him to pieces! I am just looking for some guidance and advice from others who may have seen similar situations. Thank you so much!!!

[k9diabetes]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Can you check the meter brand and advise?

While the AlphaTrak is a very good meter, the iPet has not worked well and I am unimpressed enough with it to suggest getting something else rather than using it.

There is another meter also - I forget the company name - and I have seen poor results with that meter as well.

The only animal meter I recommend and trust is AlphaTrak.

Natalie

[jsourdif]

Re: Sleepless Nights

We are using the Alpha Trak....just measured glucose and read was 248 - 3 hrs after food and insulin.

[jsourdif]

Re: Sleepless Nights

He has been checked for urinary tract infection and we try to time his pee ... Usually 10-12 seconds long. We have been doing ok w/glucose blood meter as well as urine testing for glucose and keto. Keto is negative and urine strips show high readings. We have considered that dementia may be an issue due to his age and the stress of the diabetes and insulin on him. He remains otherwise happy and sweet .... Just trying to make sure that we do the right things for him!!,

Thank you all for such helpful and supportive info!!

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Hello and welcome to you and Charlie

I too have a black male cockapoo Riliey almost 13 this month

How did the visit go with the holistic vet?

Just wondering how you made out last night?

Did Charlie wake up again acting alittle weird and wanting to pee?

Its always good to check their bg when they act alittle wobbly.
It could mean his blood sugar has gone too low and he needs to be treated right away putting alittle karo on his gums, followed by a carb then a few bits of his kibble.

Then check him every 15 minutes till his blood sugar rises.

[jsourdif]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Hi there..thank you for info. Charlie was put on an antibiotic for a week to try to clear up his eye infection. He has now decided not to eat his food (hopefully because of the antibiotic) and that has been a challenge. Fortunately even with insulin and no food, his glucose read is 194. I don't think the 6 units are enough for him because when he does eat, his levels stay in the high 300's. Vet does not want to change food..but Charlie has never really taken to it. My concern is that food contains potato as first ingredient and then venison. He has allergies and this food is hypoallergenic....thus we seem to be stuck!! We would like to find another hypoallergenic low sugar food.

[ocean]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Have you tried Charlie with home cooked food? Meat (I use turkey or chicken) and veggies. I use sweet potato, carrots and green beans etc. but no ordinary potato. I am also looking at Orijen food as that appears to be extremely good, but of course you would have to check the ingredients to see if it contained some allergen. Good luck with this.

[amydunn19]

Re: Sleepless Nights

If Charlie doesn't like his food, I would find another one pronto. You don't want to get into a battle at food time. I think you can probably find one that will be suitable that he actually likes to eat. What are his allergies to? I feed Nutrisca which is good for allergies and has no potatoes but I usually supplement it with a topper. Low glycemic food can be a challenge but you can use a good topper of wet or freeze dried food and make it work.

[jsourdif]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Thank you all food ideas...I am going to see if there is a food that he can tolerate. He is allergic to beef, chicken, grains, etc etc. e loved his old food but vet took him off it upon diabetes diagnosis because of the sweet potatoes.

[amydunn19]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Sweet potatoes would be considered much more low glycemic than a white potato. One of Maggie's toppers has sweet potatoes in it. Which food were you feeding?

[Monsters Momma]

Re: Sleepless Nights

Thank you all food ideas...I am going to see if there is a food that he can tolerate. He is allergic to beef, chicken, grains, etc etc. e loved his old food but vet took him off it upon diabetes diagnosis because of the sweet potatoes.

Judi,
You know, when we were faced with the sudden diagnoses of diabetes, we were told to switch Vinny's food and that he'd need insulin! It didn't occur to us that we had a choice about either of those! I'm sure that's what happens to most of us. Fortunately, we have a dog that will eat anything! Unfortunately, the vet put us on the most expensive insulin and we go through a ton of it!

If Charlie won't eat the food, he can't get his full insulin injection. The easy fix to me would be to put him back on the food he ate...it sounds like it would have to be a decent food since Charlie has so many allergies! What was the previous food?

If that doesn't work, there are plenty of options out there. I've been looking for a weight control dog food for my other dog and was just on this site www.dogfoodadvisor.com You can always look there too!

Good luck,
Mel