Please HELP

[Designerdeb]

My Maltipoo has been on Vetsulin for a month with no good news! She’s 16lbs, she was started on 3 units 2x day now is at vet having first curve and was given 9 units this am and was told it’s bately budging from 500s??? Now what? I am so upset I can barely function as she is my baby girl, She w b 8 in April and I’m feeling totally discouraged! I’m waiting to hear from vet but I needed to get some advice? Please anybody I appreciate your thoughts? How long and how do I change insulin to see if that would work? I’m devastated

[Designerdeb]

Re: Please HELP

Just to clarify she was started on 3 units 2x day and slowly over the course of month went recently to 7 units 2x day as of 3 days ago, now was given 9 u it’s at vet this AM

[CraigM]

Re: Please HELP

Is the vet basing insulin increases on only a single blood test, or a curve (series of 4 - 5 blood tests spread throughout the day? A single blood test can be very misleading. Home blood testing can save you a lot of money, and help you get to regulation quicker.

Just want to verify you are using U-40 syringes. The box, bag and individual syringe should be marked U-40.

Craig

[Designerdeb]

Re: Please HELP

Thanks for responding, so sorry about your baby How many units and of what insulin was Annie on? She's at the Animal Hospital today since 8AM having a curve done, a few hours ago after she had been injected with now 9 units of Vetsulin her numbers weren't budging but now I just spoke briefly to the vet tech and she said they came down a little. I am praying a lot, this has been incredibly difficult to deal with

[Lchow022]

Re: Please HELP

Try not to panic too much..it has only been a month as this will take time..a lot of time.

My dog was in the 600's the first two months. It is tricky...as you can see my dog has had diabetes for 2 years now and his blood sugar is still all over the place.

I freaked out when my dog was first diagnosed too..just make sure you stay consistent with everything.
My vet would not increase the dose that dramatically..he usually up's it one unit and wait to see if it goes back down.

Is your dog acting ok? Does he seem lethargic or not wanting to eat?

[CraigM]

Re: Please HELP

Thanks for responding, so sorry about your baby How many units and of what insulin was Annie on? She's at the Animal Hospital today since 8AM having a curve done, a few hours ago after she had been injected with now 9 units of Vetsulin her numbers weren't budging but now I just spoke briefly to the vet tech and she said they came down a little. I am praying a lot, this has been incredibly difficult to deal with

Annie started on Vetsulin and was somewhat stable on 7 units. Vetsulin was removed from sale in the U.S. for a couple of years and most switched to Novolin-N. She varied from 7 to 11 units of Novolin-N, basically because of different meals and other medications / medical conditions that seemed to affect her blood glucose. She was pretty well stable on 9 units her last couple of years. Of course, every dog / situation is different.

Did your pup have an insulin increase TODAY, and a curve done the same day? If “yes”, the curve might not be very informative. Most think an insulin change takes several days to settle.

Craig

[k9diabetes]

Re: Please HELP

I am concerned about the dosage being given because it was raised rather quickly.

Ask the vet to give you all of the blood sugar readings they have taken on a printout and post them here - when taken, how much insulin given, and the blood sugar.

Was a full blood panel done?

If so, were the liver and kidney values on that blood panel normal?

Natalie

[farrwf]

Re: Please HELP

Why a curve on the same day the dose is upped?

[k9diabetes]

Re: Please HELP

Also very important to know - is she spayed?

Natalie

[Raysaint]

Re: Please HELP

The first day of an insulin increase may not do anything. It takes the body a few days to get used to it and process it properly.
And a curve on the same day?? The vet should know any dose change needs a week to settle in, then curve.
Sounds a bit like the vet is stabbing in the dark. Stick with one dose for a week.

[amydunn19]

Re: Please HELP

I have to tell you that it is concerning the speed at which the vet has raised the dosage. It is possible that your dog could be on a dosage that high but it is important how you get to the proper dosage. Normally, a dog is diagnosed and started at 1/5 unit per pound. After five days of the same meals and same insulin at the same time every day, you do a 12 hour curve to see where your dog is at with numbers. Then, a decision to either raise or lower the dosage is made based on the curve. With a small dog, increases probably should be not more than a one unit increase at a time. On the first increase, a vet might consider two units if the numbers are exceptionally high. After the dosage is adjusted, you would let it settle another 5-7 days, then do another curve and examine the numbers and look at changing dosage again. This cycle repeats itself until you get to numbers in an acceptable range.

The dangers of going too fast is overdosing. You would think in an overdose situation, the numbers would be low but the body reacts to it by releasing stored glucose which cause the numbers to be really high. But the body can’t keep doing it. This was my situation. My vet would check Maggie at what should have been her low point but was actually a high point. (We know from the dogs on this forum that dogs don’t go by the recommended patterns. Every dog is different) They never did a 12 hour curve on her and just kept increasing. Eventually, she was on 9 units and she was only 11 pounds. One morning, she crashed at about 5 am. If my other dog hadn’t awakened me, I would have slept right through it. I had a meter that someone had loaned me but I had trouble getting blood and I had no idea what the numbers meant. I shoved grape jelly and PB in her and revived her. Amazingly, in my panic, I got blood and her blood sugar was around 30 after all the PB and jelly and dog biscuits. I found a forum with some really lovely people who helped me through it. I learned everything I could. It was just a take charge moment - I changed vets and I knew if she was going to make it, it was on me. I kept a journal and did all my testing at home. I got lucky that she survived and I found a vet who was an internal medicine vet but was willing to work with me. I told him up front that I was testing at home and if he couldn’t deal with it, then I would find someone else. I was just determined at that point. Maggie made it almost 9 years with diabetes, and in the end, that is not even what her main issue was - she had terrible pain in her cervical spine.

If you don’t feel this vet is on top of it, then I would find someone else. It was a shock to me that my original vet had no idea what she was doing. Diabetes is not covered well in vet school for the most part. The thing is in a general practice, they may not treat very many diabetics, and some vets go strictly by the book. They have no idea why a dog isn’t responding to the “book” directions. Or the dog doesn’t test the same at the vet where they are anxious instead of at home where they are comfortable. Anxiety, exercise, baths, every piece of food, illness, medications and pain are just a short list of things that can cause blood sugar to go up or go down. The caregiver is the perfect person to manage the dog’s care. The vets don’t know their patients on the intimate levels that a person who lives with them does because they just don’t have access to the dog.

So, this long winded post is to let you know that you can take control and get this situation figured out. We can help you - this forum exists so dogs can get the level of care they need and the owner is not in the dark about the process.