Angel Mochi December 2020

[Raysaint]

Re: Blood sugar all over the place

Give it a week or two. You have to try and remove all variables from the routine. No offence, but my father would be getting a verbal scolding from me. You're trying to determine what's going on and he may be affecting numbers.

Going to 63 doesn't suggest room for an increase yet. You need to see what his nadir is consistently, when and what. Then you can decide on dose, or possibly when to give a carb treat.
That's what I do now, being he went to 6.2 mid afternoon on his latest curve. If his morning fasting is low, I assume his mid afternoon number could get low, so I always now give him a couple pieces of dehydrated sweet potato around 2:00. Just enougt o give a bit of a carb boost to prevent low, and not enough to spike sugar.

[amydunn19]

Re: Blood sugar all over the place

You really have to get a handle on the treats thing - I know it is hard on other people like your dad feeling sorry for him and thinking that giving treats isn’t really hurting him. You may just have to be the bad cop and insist on no secret treats. If somebody would have been giving Maggie extra treats, it would have had her all over the place. You just don’t want the problems that come with it. Just a little extra can wreck everything you have worked on.

[LizE]

Re: Blood sugar all over the place

Snickers occasionally posts some wild rides with her numbers. Sometimes I can track down the cause but a lot of times I have no idea what went on. I do notice that one day of funky numbers (often caused by extra food or vomiting after getting insulin) can often take a week to settle down.

Also, as Snickers ages, her insulin needs change. The change almost always comes after "whacky" numbers with broad ranges. It does not seem to be gradual like you would think it would be.

[Lchow022]

Can't get back to the normal curve

Mochi's curve seems to have changed and it's not going back to the normal curve.

His insulin injection is at 5:30am and 5:30pm everyday. For about 4-5 months now his curve has been around the same. His numbers are always at the highest during midday when they're suppose to be at it's lowest. Then it drops to the lowest at it's fasting time at 5:30pm.

So for example, at 11:30am or 12:30pm he would be at the high 200's-low 300's and then would consistently drop and right before his food and insulin he would be at 100-150's.
I don't know if I should adjust his dosage since his numbers aren't too bad but I really want his curve to go back to the normal curve.

Is there anything I can do?

Thank you!
Lina

[jesse girl]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

I have seen this with jesse over the years . Its not really a change in the curve but more of a change in fasting and how the body deals with that

So if fasting is in the low 100s there is no place for blood sugar to go lower so it rises and then peaks at midday and goes down into the next fasting and the cycle begins again

Its not better or worse from what you had just different . For jesse sometimes her fasting is lower and she will rise off that if higher she will drop . For the most part this is typical for jesse but on occasion we get an oddball

sometimes on a lower fasting if i give her a tad lower dose the spike is reduced . Higher the dose the bigger the spike

Now i split jesses evening dose . Half at dinnertime and the other half 2 hours latter . So if she is lower i give a tad lower dose of the split and if she stays lower the other half gets a lower dose . If higher i will give a tad more

The split gives me a tad more control which has worked well for jesse

As long as the fasting stays lower you may continues to see this pattern but it may switch back tommorow . One thing with diabetes i discovered is you cant depend on anything staying the same

[Raysaint]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

My dog's curve pattern has changed 2 or 3 times. Metabolisms change, just like with people.

As long as his average during 12 hours is still good, I didn't worry about it. I just made sure I spot checked the new nadir times, to see if the timing stayed consistent.

He used to have a bowl type, went to a strange flat then high then drop pattern, now it's kinda back to a bowl.

[Lchow022]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

That makes sense. He's going through a little hiccup again with his blood sugar. Yesterday and today his sugars seem to be really high. I'm working so I was only able to take a few numbers. The numbers are from 285-500.

He hasn't really been going on a high trend in a while and when he usually has a high day he drops back to normal the next. I'm starting to worry and wonder if I should raise his dosage.

When would be a good time to raise it? Is there always a reason to why his sugars got really high and need a raise in insulin? Or Is this normal as the dog ages? We haven't changed anything with his routine except he goes for walks earlier in the afternoon with my dad.

[jesse girl]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

Sometimes a big change in the numbers could mean there is a medical condition has come about like an infection and higher blood sugar can point to that

Look for anything that may have changed . Jesses dose has relatively stayed the same for 8 years a tad more sometimes and a tad less . actually if i see a higher number i first lower the dose to see if she is rebounding a bit and if she stays higher i may take the dose up a bit . If her fasting comes back lower i will keep her on the lower dose

I do make small adjustment depending on fasting

[Lchow022]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

The last time I made an adjustment on his insulin my vet told me not to change it unless I'm going to keep that dosage because constant changes in dosages will cause more issues to his body.

I'm hoping it will go back to the norm. Last week his numbers were pretty good..it doesn't seem like he has an infection. The only difference I've noticed is that he started licking and chewing on his paw more often. Also the same low fat kibbles he's been eating looks really different. They were smaller and lighter in color...I'm not sure if they changed the ingredients.

Should I make a adjustment and give him a higher dose in insulin if his numbers are still high today? Yesterday when I got home from work I checked his bs twice. It went from 350 at 7:30pm(2hours after insulin) to 270(another 2 hours later).

[jesse girl]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

I think it depends on the dog . Jesse can handle small adjustments maybe a quarter to a half unit . you should do a curve before making a dose adjustment you may want to do 2 curves over a couple weeks before making an adjustment . Jesses ears are her biggest problem and when she starts getting itchy in there her numbers go up

[Raysaint]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

During my recent vet visit, she told me unless the highs are starting to happen more often and more consistent, don't worry. My dog has high days more than I like, but usually corrects within 24 hours.

I wouldn't base a dose increase on a high here and there. If the dog is doing well, don't start chasing number correction for a day here and there. It's a rabbit hole that can get deep.

She said, the proper approach for a vet is to treat the whole dog, not just treat the numbers.

[Lchow022]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

Thanks for the reassurance!

It's been 3 days now though and his numbers still seems to be the same...I just took it again this morning and it was at 330.

I'm starting to get worried since his numbers don't seem to be changing. He usually gets back to normal within a day or two. But now that we're on the 3rd day I'm starting to panic.

I know I should wait and do a whole curve on him before adjusting his dose but I won't be able to do it until this weekend. Since his numbers have been higher the past 3days should I just give him about a half unit more?

[LizE]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

A .5 increase is a 10% adjustment so I would proceed with caution. I typically run my dog high and she seems to be OK with it.

If your dog food really did change you don't know if the numbers you are seeing are part of larger swings in the numbers, both high AND low. I would be OK in waiting until you can do a curve. When Snicker's curve changed shape everything got funky for a awhile no matter what I did.

[Raysaint]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

Nothing bad will happen between now and the weekend. Wait and do a full curve, and probably do another curve a couple days later, to see if the pattern is consistent.

My dog started having some highs and inconsistencies in October, I let it go for 2 months before doing curves, and finally adjusting dose.

Don't panic with every blip, they happen a lot. His body may correct soon, or there may be a reason why he's inconsistent now. But you have to give it time, to reach the right conclusion.

[Lchow022]

Re: Can't get back to the normal curve

Thank you all...I'll try to remain composed and take a 12 hour curve on Saturday.

I also wanted to ask if any of you give your dogs Blood sugar gold?
I was looking up supplements to give Mochi for his diabetes and this was the first that popped up.

https://www.petwellbeing.com/product...utm_source=sas

The reviews all seem pretty good and it seems like it helps lower blood sugar and help keep it regulated.

Lina