Re: New Automatic Injection Device
Welcome Blind Dog Man,
I'll probably need to ask a few questions as we go to clarify what you need. I'm not sure what your vet means about the needles staying sharp. There are two versions of the AutoJect, one for syringes with permanently attached needles which most of us use and one for syringes with removable needles. The syringes with permanently attached needles are disposable, so they are only used one time then disposed of in a sharps container, so since it is only used once, the needle never has a chance to become dull.
Since you're using Caninsulin and I am not familiar with the action of it, I'm sure others will help out here. I see from the rcommendations I've found on the internet that Caninsulin is given once daily for dogs, depending on the weight, but that can be adjusted. Most of us use Humulin N which has a 12 hour duration and is given twice daily. We usually feed our dogs approximately equal amounts of food, 12 hours apart, once in the morning and once in the evening and give the injection after each feeding. This may eventually vary from dog to dog.
I gather from what I've read that you are using 0.5 ml syringes with 29 gauge 1/2" needles and it sounds like you're reusing the syringes and changing the needle each time. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I am not clear on why you are doing it this way instead of using the disposable syringes with permanently attached needles.
More questions for you since we just need to be clear about what you are doing in order to make any good recommendations.
1. How much does Ollie weigh.
2. What are you feeding him.
3. How much are you feeding him and how often.
4. Are you giving Ollie any treats and if so, what kind of treats and how often?
5. Do you have any glucose level readings you can give us? Has the vet done a curve on Ollie. (A curve is when they do a reading every 2 hours for at least 12 hours so they can see how the insulin is affecting the glucose levels through the day.) If a curve has been done, can you post those numbers?
6. Are you doing blood testing at home yet and if not, would you be willing to try? Those of us that do test at home have found it invaluable in getting our dogs regulated.
7. You said you give one large injection daily. How much Caninsulin are you giving?
8. Where and how are you injecting Ollie at the moment.
9. Is Ollie a fairly calm dog? Is he fairly easy to work with?
I'm sure there will be more questions, but that will help us out to start with.
The more information you can give, the more and better information we can provide.
Since Ollie has been blind this long, I'm sure he's well adjusted to it by now. Many of us are just now having to deal with blindness in our dogs since diabetic dogs often develop cataracts, so you probably have a lot of good information and advice you can give us.
If you haven't had time to look yet, there is a lot of good information here including charts and videos dealing with all things regarding diabetic dogs, including giving injections.
I'll continue to try to help you, but I right now I think it would be beneficial if someone could move this thread so that it will be specific to Ollie and more people will see it.
Great to hear from you
Pat
Welcome Blind Dog Man,
I'll probably need to ask a few questions as we go to clarify what you need. I'm not sure what your vet means about the needles staying sharp. There are two versions of the AutoJect, one for syringes with permanently attached needles which most of us use and one for syringes with removable needles. The syringes with permanently attached needles are disposable, so they are only used one time then disposed of in a sharps container, so since it is only used once, the needle never has a chance to become dull.
Since you're using Caninsulin and I am not familiar with the action of it, I'm sure others will help out here. I see from the rcommendations I've found on the internet that Caninsulin is given once daily for dogs, depending on the weight, but that can be adjusted. Most of us use Humulin N which has a 12 hour duration and is given twice daily. We usually feed our dogs approximately equal amounts of food, 12 hours apart, once in the morning and once in the evening and give the injection after each feeding. This may eventually vary from dog to dog.
I gather from what I've read that you are using 0.5 ml syringes with 29 gauge 1/2" needles and it sounds like you're reusing the syringes and changing the needle each time. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I am not clear on why you are doing it this way instead of using the disposable syringes with permanently attached needles.
More questions for you since we just need to be clear about what you are doing in order to make any good recommendations.
1. How much does Ollie weigh.
2. What are you feeding him.
3. How much are you feeding him and how often.
4. Are you giving Ollie any treats and if so, what kind of treats and how often?
5. Do you have any glucose level readings you can give us? Has the vet done a curve on Ollie. (A curve is when they do a reading every 2 hours for at least 12 hours so they can see how the insulin is affecting the glucose levels through the day.) If a curve has been done, can you post those numbers?
6. Are you doing blood testing at home yet and if not, would you be willing to try? Those of us that do test at home have found it invaluable in getting our dogs regulated.
7. You said you give one large injection daily. How much Caninsulin are you giving?
8. Where and how are you injecting Ollie at the moment.
9. Is Ollie a fairly calm dog? Is he fairly easy to work with?
I'm sure there will be more questions, but that will help us out to start with.
The more information you can give, the more and better information we can provide.
Since Ollie has been blind this long, I'm sure he's well adjusted to it by now. Many of us are just now having to deal with blindness in our dogs since diabetic dogs often develop cataracts, so you probably have a lot of good information and advice you can give us.
If you haven't had time to look yet, there is a lot of good information here including charts and videos dealing with all things regarding diabetic dogs, including giving injections.
I'll continue to try to help you, but I right now I think it would be beneficial if someone could move this thread so that it will be specific to Ollie and more people will see it.
Great to hear from you
Pat
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