Sally the Beagle

[R. Renfro]

Hi all, I'm an RN with over 30 years experience, much of which involved educating and providing care for human diabetics. Call me Riki. My husband has been an insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetic for over 20 years. He's Steve. So, you would think we wouldn't be so befuddled and confused after our 45 lb. female beagle, Sally, was diagnosed with diabetes this past weekend; but our heads are spinning! Already we have gained a lot of good information from your site. She is still in the hospital but should be discharged tomorrow if her blood sugars (which were in the 400's) have stabilized and her ketones get back to trace/none. She will be on insulin (probably NPH) twice daily and will need a follow-up glucose curve with her vet in another week and periodically thereafter. We plan to get a glucometer just for her and probably will get the One-Touch Ultra based on recommendations from this site and great prices from Amazon for the monitor ($18.00) and generic strips ($15.89/100 strips). It sounds like most people recommend Walmart Pharmacy for the NPH and syringes. We'll just use some of my husband's lancets and may try her ear for testing. Anything else you would advise newcomers to the world of diabetic dogs just starting out? Thank you for all the help you have already given and for being there for us! --Riki

[Monsters Momma]

Re: Your dog's diet, insulin, and meter used

Hi all, I'm an RN with over 30 years experience, much of which involved educating and providing care for human diabetics. Call me Riki. My husband has been an insulin-dependent Type 2 diabetic for over 20 years. He's Steve. So, you would think we wouldn't be so befuddled and confused after our 45 lb. female beagle, Sally, was diagnosed with diabetes this past weekend; but our heads are spinning! Already we have gained a lot of good information from your site. She is still in the hospital but should be discharged tomorrow if her blood sugars (which were in the 400's) have stabilized and her ketones get back to trace/none. She will be on insulin (probably NPH) twice daily and will need a follow-up glucose curve with her vet in another week and periodically thereafter. We plan to get a glucometer just for her and probably will get the One-Touch Ultra based on recommendations from this site and great prices from Amazon for the monitor ($18.00) and generic strips ($15.89/100 strips). It sounds like most people recommend Walmart Pharmacy for the NPH and syringes. We'll just use some of my husband's lancets and may try her ear for testing. Anything else you would advise newcomers to the world of diabetic dogs just starting out? Thank you for all the help you have already given and for being there for us! --Riki

Hi Riki, Steve and Sally! Welcome!
You have found a great place full of information and people that deal with this diabetes thing and are willing to share their experiences. I have learned so much since finding this forum!

I guess the first thing is I would advise is...dog diabetes and human diabetes are not alike. There are of course some similarities, but the way we treat our pups is different. Where insulin can be adjusted daily for humans, we don't do that with our pups. We keep them at the same dose for a week to 10 days, do a curve (testing every 2 hours starting and ending at fasting) and then adjust. The only time I adjust is if Vinny has gone really low for some reason...exercise, illness, or just because he likes to throw a wrench into things occasionally!

It's good to hear that you will be testing her. It's the one thing that keeps me sane. Also, it has helped us get him regulated. I have always done his curves at home because I knew the results would be skewed at the vet's office.

Anyway, welcome again!
Mel

[CraigM]

Re: Sally the Beagle

Welcome

Wondering if Sally is spayed? Will you strictly be feeding twice a day?

Many like the One Touch Ultra, but I've (two years ago?) had trouble with the generic brands of test strips for the One Touch Ultra. This was fairly soon after they came on the market, so the inconsistency might have been worked out by now. I'd suggest starting with the true One Touch Ultra test strips and do several comparisons with the generic brand(s). There must have something I really didn't like about the GenStrip brand because I still have an unopened container of test strips in the cabinet.

Yes, Walmart is the place to buy Novolin-N. Can't beat $25 for the 10ml vial, also the insulin syringes are inexpensive there.

Good luck & will be following Sally's adventure.

Craig

[jesse girl]

Re: Sally the Beagle

hi and welcome

i have a beagle also jesse testing on her inner lip has been easy and painless beagles have fairly big lips which makes it easy to find the sweet spot

i would buy some one touch ultra strips to compare to the generic version we must remember we are using humane meters on dogs . they do work well in general . i have used a human meter on jesse for her whole time being diabetic

i think NPH works just as well for most as vetsulin so i would not hesitate to start with it

as mel suggested its not the same as far as treating and control may not be what you see in humans . trying to attain what looks like normal blood sugar can be frustrating and counter productive limit your goals at least in the beginning . maybe have a goal of blood sugar from 150 to 250 a day which is actually quite good for many

i remember my vet at the time reading out of a book saying we need to have sugar from 80 to a 100. allot of grief from just that one statement for jesse and me trying to attain impossible regulation and probably not safe

your off to a good start developing a plan before your pup comes home that can be helpful . if you follow the simple protocols with this disease your pup can have a normal dogs life with some limitations

jesse still chases her rabbits every afternoon

[Eddie]

Re: Sally the Beagle

Hello and welcome!

It sounds as if you have a flying start to dealing with doggy diabetes!

We use the One Touch Ultra and find it very good (better than the vet's hand held meter when we compared the two against a lab analyzer). We do use the One Touch strips though (not sure if we have the option of generic ones here in UK).

I wanted to test on the ear as I felt squeamish about using the lips. I tried the ear, and pretty much everywhere else, before we tried the lip, and it was just so much easier to get blood from the lips that we have always used the lips since. I just mention it as you have a dog with lots of lip to aim at and it can be quite hard to get enough blood out of an ear.

The other advice that I found really helpful at first (which, given your background you are probably already doing) is to write down what she eats, how much she exercises, and other medication etc as well as keeping a record of her blood sugar levels. When you are looking for patterns later on it is really useful to have as much info as possible and I find I forget all the details if I don't write it down.

Antonia

[Joan]

Re: Sally the Beagle

Welcome Riki

There are actually several of us diabetic dog owners who have nursing experience. I think the understanding that comes with it is very valuable. So you will do well and adapt to the differences as you go.

if you are having the vet do your first curve, it would be a great idea to give the vet your meter and ask if they would test with it at the same time, and you would have an instant idea of any difference between the lab and your meter. Not important at first, as you will be just trying to determine ranges and trends. But it never hurts to have more information that may come in handy later on in the process.

[amydunn19]

Re: Sally the Beagle

I would recommend getting the One Touch Ultra strips from eBay and not the generic ones. I did get some generic strips to compare and they were just not even close or consistent. I do get short dated strips from eBay - they are much cheaper and if you can swing a bigger quantity, you can save more. I wouldn't even hesitate on strips that are a month expired. I have seen some on there that are several months expired which I would pass on but strips do stay good for quite a while past the date.

The One Touch is the meter I have always used and we have always matched up well with the vet's lab. It is most reliable at the lower ranges but that is true of any meter, even the alphatrack animal meter.

The ear is a tough place to test - at least for me. I know Craig uses it but most people stick with the lip or base of the tail or any skin tags or bumps. They usually don't have nerve endings so they are perfect test spots. You might be great with the ear - most people find it difficult.