Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

[jesse girl]

Re: Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

Like i talked about jesses spike can be greater the lower she is at fasting

I just think thats how the body tries to balance injected insulin

I think what you have seen with levemir it takes awhile to settle and see its true colors as far as regulation So patience is important

Its possible with further settling of the dose you might have to reduce it a bit

I understand your vet being cautious because of the potency of the insulin and not to many dogs use it so its still undetermined how a dog might react

[Lolo]

Re: Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

I think you’re right about food spikes varying based on whether they’re low or high. We haven’t had many days of high fasting BG lately, but the few times she’s had something in the mid 300s she spikes under 100 pts. When she’s lower she may spike 150+.
I’ve also been trying injecting her lower on her back below her shoulder blades on either side. I had been doing scruff because I was told it was slower to absorb there. That was a good thing when she was on NPH or 70/30, but with levemir I want it to absorb and kick in as quickly as possible.

[Lolo]

Re: Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

Just an update on Lucy and levemir... I’m still seeing fasting BG mostly in the high 100s and low 200s. She seems to have more energy. She has a good appetite and I don’t have to beg her to eat. Almost all good news, except for that dang food spike. Sometimes she spikes only 50-60 pts (even when her fasting BG is low) and sometimes it’s 150+. I can’t figure it out. When she does have a really big spike it can take 5-6 hrs to get her below 250. She hasn’t gone over 400 in awhile though. Very very close, but not over. Yesterday she started the day at 228 and spiked to 388 within 2 hrs... didn’t go below 250 until around the 5-6 hr mark and then PM fast BG was 198.
She’s been fully transitioned to this food for two weeks now. Just debating whether to try switching foods to something with more low glycemic carbs like Nulo cod and lentils. Or is it more just the nature of some dogs? Some spike and some don’t and as long as I’m feeding dry food I’m going to see a spike? If it was only 50-60 I wouldn’t care, but it’s the days/nights that it sends her close to 400 that I’m concerned with.

[Raysaint]

Re: Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

My dog does the same. Low morning fasting usually means a higher spike at noon, then sometimes doesn't come down much by supper. A higher morning fasting and he still spikes around noon, maybe not as much, but then usually comes down a few points by supper.
I almost don't hope for low fastings now.
Yesterday morning fasting was 12.9 (230), supper fasting was 9.9 (175).
Day before morning was 8.8 (160), supper was 12.9 (230).
Day before, morning was 7.7 (140), supper was 18.3 (330).
Looking at other days, seems like he has to be at least 9 (160) morning fasting to have a decent supper fasting.

When I see my endocrinologist in July for my diabetes, I'm going to ask him about this bodily behaviour.

[jesse girl]

Re: Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

Probably not much you can do on dosing as what you see is inconsistent . I am not sure you want to change foods as you have found something that seems to work for the belly . You may still see further improvement as things settle for the long haul

congratulations i would say your dog is regulated . you may see ups and downs for her entire diabetic life but thats the nature of how we treat them with injected insulin

[amydunn19]

Re: Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

Those numbers are about as good as you can hope for and many people would love to have them. I don’t really call 50-100 a real “spike”. If the numbers stay within 100 points, that is considered very good. Blood sugar is an ever changing thing from minute to minute. If you start changing food, it could have the opposite result. That might not make sense but we have seen that happen. Dogs just don’t work like people. Changing foods could change digestion and the action of insulin. Glycemic values aren’t as important with dogs as with people.

If you wanted to play around with amounts, or timing, you could do that more easily.

[Lolo]

Re: Dog diagnosed 1/30... Need advice/help!

Of course the morning after I posted this we had a 398 AM fasting. Just when you think you have it allll figured out.
I think it may be because I gave her the barest hair under 3u because her PM fast was 190 and I don’t like to wait to inject because of the delay for it to kick in. Unfortunately levemir is so concentrated that a tiny air bubble or a “hair” under a usual dose could be comparable to 1u difference of another insulin. That is most definitely the downside to levemir... the absolute precision needed to get similar dose draws from day to day.