Out of control numbers

[kidpwr4]

Wow, apparently it's been 3 1/2 years since I've been on here!! Time flies! Jasmine has seemingly been doing very well, but this spring began rapidly losing her vision. She can no longer enjoy her favorite past time of playing ball because she has NO IDEA where it went.
I brought her to the vet for ear problems last week and we did a blood panel. Her BG came back at 401! She hasn't been drinking or urinating excessively, so I really had no idea. I did test for ketones a couple times since that day, and it fortunately was negative. I finally had enough available hours today to do a curve. Her numbers varied from around 500 to mid 300's at the lowest.
I did change her food to one she gobbles up and enjoys a few months ago (purina pro plan savor). She previously had been on Eukaneuba, but it was really getting to be a struggle to get her to eat. Maybe I should've been monitoring her numbers after the switch? Does this food perhaps have a higher sugar content? If her glucose has been this high for that long, would that be the cause of the rapid decline in her vision? Why didn't she tell me with thirst/urination? Did her body just get used to the high numbers? Can I possibly ask any more consecutive questions?
After doing the curve today, I increased her insulin from 17u to 18u tonight. So far, that made no difference. She is an almost 11 yr old (her bday is July 5) 63 pound Goldendoodle who was diagnosed at the age of 7 when she was a relatively young, very active and fit dog.
Any insights/advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Out of control numbers

hi

what a cutey. looks like Riles face

you just increased the dose . maybe wait a few days to see the results. looks like your back on track

i know with feeding Riliey any change can raise or lower his blood sugar so the change in food might have raised him

[CraigM]

Re: Out of control numbers

Welcome back

Did you stay at the same dosage for all this time? Did her weight stay the same, or did she gain a little over the years?

No real telling why the eyesight is giving out now, but I guess that's not uncommon. My Annie went blind after about 6 years. I'm thinking it just finally catches up to some, even with fairly well controlled diabetes.

Annie is also a ball player. We now play ball in the house by bouncing the ball down a hallway. Sometimes she goes right after it, other times she has to hunt, but she still seems to have fun.

Craig

[kidpwr4]

Re: Out of control numbers

Her insulin dose gradually increased in previous months. She used to be at 13u for quite a while. She began drinking more and having accidents and we settled on 17u for many many months. As I said, she really gave me no indication this time that her BG was high again. Hopefully some more gradual increases will get her back to a good point. We have an appt with a vet ophthalmologist on Th. I just want to make sure she has nothing else going on that will cause her pain; I don't think cataract surgery is on the cards for us given it's price and her age.

[jesse girl]

Re: Out of control numbers

yes sometimes they can show few symptoms on injected insulin even with higher numbers. why is a good question

it shows relying on physical symptoms may not be an option that tell us where the numbers are but can be helpful correlating it with home testing

i guess they tested for an infection . many times when regulation has changed that can be a clue to something else medically going on

[CraigM]

Re: Out of control numbers

The reason I asked about any weight gain is that with a heavier weight an insulin increase might be needed?

Craig

[kidpwr4]

Re: Out of control numbers

She really hasn't gained any significant weight. She's about 5 lbs more now than she was in Feb. 2011 when she was diagnosed, but has been pretty steady for years now. Good thought though!
The other weird thing with her blood work was that her cholesterol was off the charts high. The vet didn't really have any explanations for that. Everything else (other than her glucose) was in fairly normal range.

[amydunn19]

Re: Out of control numbers

I have never been able to use symptoms to tell too much with my dog. She usually is opposite to what her symptoms are - one day last week, she drank almost a full bowl of water and I tested her and she was 42. Maggie has been on new medication and of course, it wasn't supposed to affect blood sugar. I have heard that one before!

[Cara Sandler]

Re: Out of control numbers

The other weird thing with her blood work was that her cholesterol was off the charts high. The vet didn't really have any explanations for that. Everything else (other than her glucose) was in fairly normal range.

Elevated lipids are pretty common in diabetic dogs. My Sparky's lipids were so elevated that his serum, which should have been a golden color, was actually grey. The only time I've seen that in a human is when their lipids were greater than 5 times what they should have been.

[kidpwr4]

Re: Out of control numbers

Thanks for the info, Cara. I did not know that, and apparently neither did my vet! I love this forum! Most Veterinarians don't seem all that well informed about diabetes which continues to surprise me. The new partner at the office that I'm seeing now seems to know more than the other one though.

[kidpwr4]

Re: Out of control numbers

I took Jasmine to the Eye clinic tonight. She said her cataracts are as bad as they're going to get; won't get any worse. She said if it's really bright or really dark she can't see anything. In between light she can see shadows and movement.
The whites of her eyes are nice and white which means there's nothing else going on that would be causing her any pain. She told me to watch that. If they start to get red then there's a drop she would need.
She suggested a small rug at the base of the stairs going up to clue her in which steps are up and which are down. We live in a split level where they're right next to each other and she has fallen down a few times at night because she thought she was going up and she was by the down.
Also suggested a ball with a bell in it to play ball. I'm not sure she'd play though. She really just likes her tennis balls!
Her glucose is still too high. I'm up to 19 units from her previous 17 so far.
I don't think my dh would ever agree to cataract surgery for her, but it's less than I thought....about $3000. It isn't an option unless we can get her diabetes under control anyway.
Anyone have any more suggestions on ways to keep her safe and improve her quality of life without vision?

[CraigM]

Re: Out of control numbers

Nice report. Yes, keep an eye out for redness or pinkness in the eye.

I transitioned Annie from tennis balls to a squeaky puppy ball. She uses that stupid () ball as a security blanket! When I call her for testing, first she has to go find her ball. Time for dinner? First, she has to have her ball! Bed time? Yep, the ball is either in, or next to her bed.. It amazes me that she finds it so quickly now that she is blind. We have a short hallway where I throw the ball, she does a great job following the bouncing ball.

Rose bushes. The one real problem we had was with rose bushes. She would walk right into them so we transplanted them into planters and into the front yard.

Craig

[kidpwr4]

Re: Out of control numbers

Craig, how long has Annie been blind and how long did it take her to get used to moving around and seem comfortable and at ease?
It sure would be nice to give her back her vision. I miss our fun-loving running, chasing dog. Life goes on.

[CraigM]

Re: Out of control numbers

Craig, how long has Annie been blind and how long did it take her to get used to moving around and seem comfortable and at ease?
It sure would be nice to give her back her vision. I miss our fun-loving running, chasing dog. Life goes on.

Totally blind about 18 months, but very poor vision for 3-4 years? Reduced vision / blindness hasn't really affected her other than playing ball outside. She follows us around the house and quickly learns to navigate whenever changes are made in the house. She's 14 years old, so has slowed down as much to age as to blindness.

Craig

[Charlie's mom]

Re: Out of control numbers

We live in a trilevel and have baby gates at the top of the stairs, we don't need them at the bottom as his highness gave up stairs when he lost his sight. He'll use the single step at the doors to the house, but prefers the ramp my husband made for him for those, and human power for the stairs.

Charlie too has been blind for nearly 18 months; he knows his way around both of our homes and knows his routes for walks at both too. It's really amazing how they adapt.

Laura