abcessed tooth/dental cleaning

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

How is he tonight after eating and injection?
For now cut his walk in half, exercise lowers theres blood sugar
If he gets wobbly or disorientated rub abit if karo on his gums followed by a carb then a few bits of kibble, this will increase his bg

I, m just thinking the vet didnt know he wasnt getting the right amount of food.

You can book an appointment with your vet to get a curve done until then Your best bet is to get a meter right away, start testing his bg so you will be in control. Making changes not knowing his readings isnt good.
Try to get his fasting bg thats just before feeding and insulin am and pm then every 2 hours
You need to see how the food increase is matching up with the insulin.

[KathyAAllen]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

Roscoe seems good, we went on a 20 min walk and he kept up with my other rat terrier, Toby, when hes usually being pulled by him and my little Pomeranian, Mia. All sleeping now.

Im looking for that meter online, right now....
With testing at home, im confused, if i test and he has a high reading, what do i do then? More insulin? It was confusing during the curve when his bg kept going higher and they didnt give him more insulin, so im not sure what testing at home should do?

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

A curve is done taking bg every 2 hours starting before food then every 2 hours after for a 12 hour period.
According to a full curve results then the insulin can be increased or decreased and only then. Insulin shouldnt be changed judging on just a few numbers. Then when a change is made you wait 5 to 7 days to do another another curve.

The vet couldnt give more insulin they had to wait to keep testing to get the full curve

Its consistency and patients, same thing, food, insulin etc every day for 7 days.

[amydunn19]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

The curves are used as Mo described to show you the pattern of how your dog uses insulin so that you can have data to make a decision for a dosage change. Testing, in general, before meals or at your dog's low point of the day(after some curves you figure that out) will give you a good idea if your dog is on the right track. If you were testing at home, and the dog had steady numbers and then suddenly the numbers go up, this could be a sign of infection - UTI or ear infection....the most valuable part of testing for me is to catch a low. If you test before a meal and insulin and the reading is 50, then you would want to feed your dog, wait an hour then check bg again. You might have to give a reduced dose of insulin if the number is still not high enough. This is the only time when you really adjust insulin based on a number. Lows can be deadly.

Testing has saved my dog many times. Vets don't always encourage testing - some are afraid you might make drastic changes without their input, others probably feel that hitting a client with a newly diabetic dog with insulin, needles, feeding schedules and home testing might be too much. Sadly, there are some that don't want you doing those expensive curves at home.

Testing is a way to feel some control and power in this situation. We can help you get started. Lots of great videos and tips on here!

[Linda1]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

I think you are doing great with Roscoe. Keep at it and don't get discouraged. I think your stress level would go down some if you start to home test and know for sure what is happening with Roscoe's blood sugar.

[Eddie]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

It's a steep learning curve when you start out on this isn't it! you will find it gets a lot easier as you go along.

Different treats seem to have different effects on different dogs but in general green beans or pure protein like a bit of chicken (or dried liver jerky that we give our dogs) will probably be ok. I also give ours eggs (we have a lot of hens!) and they don't seem to affect Eddie's blood sugar.

For us the benefit of testing is to be able to do spot checks on how Eddie is doing and also to learn about his daily trends. For instance the vet assumed that, like a lot of dogs, his blood sugar would be lowest about 6 hours after insulin. In fact Eddie hasn't read the textbook and his lowest point is at fasting just before a meal, 12 hours after insulin. It means that we have to watch out for him getting low around mid-afternoon and if need be we can give him a bit of food to keep him steady till tea time.

The thing to bear in mind is that you rarely reach a completely static state. You find a good dose for the dog then something changes eg an infection, change of food, exercise level, temperature or whatever, and the insulin requirement can change. Testing at home means you keep on top of all that and can just tweak the dose or food accordingly.
I can't now imagine managing this condition without testing, although of course plenty of dog-owners do.
I jumped into it because a forum member sent me a meter kit so I had no excuses not to just get on with it! But I am very glad I did. Our vet has no other clients who home test but they are supportive and look at our results. Eddie has only ever had one curve done by them and they now prescribe insulin based on the data we provide to them.
Antonia

[KathyAAllen]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

Thank you all for the great advice and support yesterday. Well today i had a total meltdown when Roscoe again kept jerking away from me with needle half in ( not getting any insulin. I called the vet hysterically crying, she wanted me to bring him in for them to give him his shot, problem is the vet is 35 mins away now, since i moved shortly before Roscoe was diagnosed. I asked if i could take him to a vet thats 3 mins from my new house, and she agreed, she even called the vet to let him know im coming. So still hysterically crying i met the new vet and he was so nice, Roscoe the brat, sat perfectly still and let him give him his shot. Which of course made me cry more i was 2 hrs late for work. After work, i fed Roscoe and took him right over to the new vet, this time i gave him the shot and he didnt even flinch! of course he had a pretty tech talking sweetly to him, holding his head. Sooo hopefully tomorrow morning Roscoe will let me give it to him, i wish i had family closer to me to help hold him.

I ordered the Alphatrak2 meter, should be here within 2-6 days. Im just worried that, thats another "shot" i have to do, will my Roscoe end up hating me for hurting him

thanks for listening,
Kathy

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

I think at first I focased too much had anxiety giving the injection
I told myself this is best for my dog. Totally concentrating on Injecting
Drove me nuts, i took control, got a meter like you are doing. Took my dog to the sink wrapped in a towel. Put him between my legs, waited, tented, having the treat waiting so he would know next time what to expect. See peeps tying their dog to a chair, waiting for them to calm down, worked.

Its all about patients and consistency. Keep trying you, ll get it done, eventually we all do it..

Meter testing is next, I got an alphatrack being delivered too, cant wait tosee the numbers

[Eddie]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

I had a few thoughts that might be worth checking
- are you injecting him while he is eating? Either his main meal or a few treats to take his mind off it? A bit of food distraction can work wonders!
- Also we have had a few people on here who are slower doing the injections because they have been told to first pull back the syringe to check they are not in a vein. I just wanted to check you were not doing that (as the general consensus is that it is not necessary).
- Remember that if he moves, you can move with him, syringe and everything, and just keep on giving him the shot.
- Finally I'd just advise you to do it as fast as possible ie tent, poke and push pretty fast so it's done before he knows what's going on.

And most of all - do keep reminding yourself that this is a fantastic thing to do because you are saving his life one injection at a time!
Antonia

[amydunn19]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

Oh, Kathy, i wish I could come help you - it breaks my heart that this is so hard for you. I think you just need to change this mindset you have. Shed yourself of the guilt of ALL of it - you didn't cause diabetes. It happens for many reasons that are beyond your control. You must take the attitude that this is life and death for Roscoe because it is. Roscoe is tougher than you think and he is playing on your emotions! They are sneaky that way. Plus, they have very short memories. He will forgive.

Do what you must. Find a friend or neighbor to help you but you do it! Wedge him against something where he can't move but love and praise him during the process. Muzzle him if it comes to that. Take deep breaths and remain calm. Take some needles and practice without insulin. Practice getting him ready, pulling the skin up and pretending to inject. This will help you develop a fluid motion, lift skin and inject quickly. Even while you are sitting around watching tv. Some people sing to their dogs to keep them calm. Don't forget to find a treat for after shot that he loves and only gets at shot time.

You can do this!

[KathyAAllen]

YESSSSSSS!!! I did it!!

Yesssssssss!!! I did it!! I tried to be sneaky and come behind him but hes to smart for that, so i took the suggestion, put Roscoe on my bed, wrapped him in blanket, he still struggled but at first calmness i injected him, i dont think he even knew it was there! I gave him lots of huggss and good boys!! A piece of chicken, his favorite!
So now im off to work, with BOTH of us happy!!

Kathy

thank you again for the words of wisdom and encouragement, i couldnt have done it without you guys!

[harleychik66]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

Doing the HAPPY dance for you. Just keep it up...it will get easier.

And I read where you said you are afraid Roscoe will hate you. I had that thought too....between shots and blood testing and blah blah but you know what? Roscoe will not hate you!! He won't. He may not be overly happy at times with what you're doing but he will not hate you.

It's still something strange and new to him...and you too. The comfort and such will come with time. Pretty soon Roscoe will see it as just another part of the routine.

[Eddie]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

Great news!! Well done to both of you!! And it really will get easier as you go along.
Antonia

[KathyAAllen]

Another success!

I gave Roscoe a chew stick ( no sugar..the store clerk said) while he was busy chewing that i petted and gave him the shot No jerking, whining or pushing me away, didn't even have to wrap him in blanket tonight! I'm breathing a big sigh of relief!
Tomorrow will be 8 weeks since he was diagnosed, i just dont know why all of a sudden after 7 1/2 weeks he would start fighting me, i had no problem for those first weeks. I think it might have been my stress level due to other matters was upsetting him.

Anyone have any suggestions for sugar free snacks? I've been giving him green beans, broccoli and grilled chicken.

Anxiously awaiting my alphatrak2 meter so i can check his blood sugar myself.
He seems happier now that i upped his WD food from 3/4 cup dry to 1 1/3 cup dry twice day. He has had no noticeable problem with the 10ml twice a day of insulin.

a big hug and thank you to all of you who has responded to my posts you guys are great!

[Charlie's mom]

Re: Jerked giving insulin shot

So happy for you! As the others have said, we CAN do this because we are saving the lives of our fur babies