Help Very High Glucose

[KathyLindly]

Miss Mollie is a 12 year old Malti-Poo, weighs 11 pounds she was rescued from an apartment where the tenants had been evicted and weighed 12 ounces. I fostered her and ultimately adopted her. She was diagnosed 5 weeks ago.
She is on her second increased dosage of insulin, Humulin N NPH is now at 4 units 2X a day. She is currently eating Hills w/d 2X a day. Today was the first time that her glucose level was less than 450, her fasting number was at 215 so it looks like we may be making progress.
I had been advised that WalMart was the least expensive place for insulin, however today I was shocked at the $162 price being new to this I did not realize until I got home that the bottle was much larger, 10 ml than the first one that was 3ml so it was actually less expensive by volume
I have two questions regarding food and insulin. Will it be possible to
change her food after she is regulated and what is the difference between the WalMart Relion brand of insulin and the Humulin N? A pharmacist that I trust told me that the Relion was a good substitute for the Humulin but the vet wants me to use the Humulin. If anyone can explain this to me in laymans terms I would greatly appreciate it.

[amydunn19]

Re: Newly Diagnosed

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you are making progress.

Humulin N and Novolin N are the two brands of NPH insulin used. Wal Mart contracts currently with the manufacturer of Novolin to simply put Relion on the box. It is essentially the same insulin like comparing folgers and maxwell house coffee. The differences would be subtle and likely only due to a different preservative. Many vets say they favor Humulin but I also have heard Eli Lilly works the vets offices like a doctors office so they may be the reason they recommend it. I used both with Maggie. She was little and sensitive to insulin - the only difference I saw was that the Novolin N seemed to last longer duration wise and stay fresher longer. Beyond that, it worked about the same. I would just tell the vet that the Novolin is the same thing and it is $25. Period. There is no reason to overpay for the same thing.

[jesse girl]

Re: Newly Diagnosed

hi and welcome

the relion brand of nph is not really a substitute for humulin or a generic version but really a name brand from another manufacturer and the insulin is novolin

actually at one time humulin was under the relion name and took novolins place and eventually switched back to novolin as walmart negotiates contracts for purchase

my jesse went through the changes of those nph insulin's under the relion name . she went from novolin to humulin then back to novolin and i am fine with both nph insulin's and did not see any benefit staying with one over the other so the cheaper version won

maybe if you gave me a side by side i might give the edge to humulin but not to justify the higher price as the difference is negligible

we do find some vets that prefer humulin as with yours and actually over vetsulin the pet insulin which may have got a bad name some years back in the states

[Toby'sDad]

Re: Newly Diagnosed

Hi and welcome! Sounds like you're making good progress fairly early on.

I also concur that Novolin N is fine, been using it for a year now and the consensus seems to be that Walmart is the best bet price-wise as well as the place to purchase the ReliOn syringes. I don't know how I could otherwise afford it.

[Raysaint]

Re: Newly Diagnosed

Besides my dog, I am also diabetic and my specialist has never mentioned that Novolin or Humulin brands had any difference when comparing the same insulin, i.e NPH.

As for changing her food after regulation, a new food will probably have different carb and fiber amounts, so it will probably alter blood sugar. I'd say choose the food, then regulate against that. Every change you make with food will likely change the curve, and you may have to re-regulate. Consistency is important with dog diabetes.

[amydunn19]

Re: Newly Diagnosed

I agree with Raysaint on the food - every time you make a change, the regulation process starts over. Dogs don't always stay regulated even if you don't make changes - sometimes age just causes changes in their reaction to insulin.

If you think you want to change food, then I would do it now.

Do you home test blood sugar? Some vets don't really recommend it but it really helps.

Mollie sounds like a really lucky dog!

[KathyLindly]

Re: Newly Diagnosed

Thanks everyone for your advice, I think for now I will just stick with the same food and insulin. She seems to be doing well so no changes for now.

[KathyLindly]

Testing after regulation

Hi everyone,
Mollies' insulin has been increased to 5 units 2X a day but has been showing steady improvement since the original diagnosis. In general once the dog shows a few weeks of being within the normal parameters how frequently do you test or perform a curve test?
On another subject how does one get a photograph to show? I have uploaded the picture, withing the size limits it shows in the profile but not when I post.

[Raysaint]

Re: Testing after regulation

I discovered if you upload a photo in the profile area, it doesn't show when you post. Upload it in the Avatar area, or Edit Avatar.

As for testing, I'm new to this (3 months) and still not quite regulated, so I test every day, to get an idea of how the insulin is working, what effect a walk has, etc. I think once they are regulated, you're not going to change insulin dosage so I'll probably test once every other day (morning) just to look for something unusual. Just my own preference.
Other more experienced people here will have their own routines and rationale.

[KathyLindly]

Re: Testing after regulation

[QUOTE=Raysaint;160555]I discovered if you upload a photo in the profile area, it doesn't show when you post. Upload it in the Avatar area, or Edit Avatar.

Thanks that worked for the picture. We both have MaltiPoos, Mollie is small, her mother was a very small miniature poodle and she seems to have more poodle characteristics than Maltese.

[Judi]

Re: Testing after regulation

great picture! Mollie definitely shows a lot more poodle.

I am one of the members who tested the least. My dog ran so high for so long I never thought I'd have to. Then she got scary low to the point her back legs trembled and she couldn't stand. So, long story longer, I started at least testing before every meal/shot. It just gave me comfort to know where we were at when I gave her her insulin.

I'd tested the poor girl enough to have a feel for how her #'s would go.

I was definitely glad I'd kept a spreadsheet noting everything down so I could compare.

Judi

[Daisydog10]

Re: Testing after regulation

Daisy is a fairly new diagnosis (1/20/17) and I check her at both injections, sometimes at odd hours when I'm not working and do curves when I think she's off a little. I understood how important home testing is when she came up to me and I noticed her legs were shaking. Sure enough, she was at 65 and I gave her some baby carrots. I hadn't changed anything, just opened a new bottle of insulin and her numbers bottomed out. I wound up lowering her a whole unit after I thought I had her regulated. So I'm afraid not to test.

[amydunn19]

Re: Testing after regulation

I always tested three to four times per day but I had a dog who would drop so frequently, I wouldn't have felt comfortable otherwise.

[CraigM]

Re: Testing after regulation

For years I'd test 2-3 times a day, and also what I call a "mini curve" testing about every four hours from time to time.

Earlier this year I started skipping a day or two of testing!. Of course I go crazy wondering what her blood glucose is.

Craig

[Raysaint]

Re: Testing after regulation

I have always tested him twice a day before each meal (fasting) just to see if the insulin is working consistently day after day, especially during these initials weeks of trying to regulate. Although I know you shouldn't adjust dosage without seeing a full curve. However, it was a habit for me, especially being new to dog diabetes.
3 months in, still not completely regulated, but now I skip the odd pre-supper test because I know no matter what the reading is (except really low) I'm not going to change insulin dose for that night.
But I like to know how each day starts, so morning tests are every day. Then I can review the previous evenings activities or treats or whatever, and also plan the day's walk times in relation to high sugar times and how much sugar I'd like to burn off.