Griffin Buckley October 6th 2008 To December 29 2021

[emz.buckley]

Re: Heat and Diabetes...

Ok...

We are looking into the meter so that we know what happens...

I definitely think 4.5 is too high for him but I am not sure if I want to drop it down to 4 without a curve...

I am so bloody stressed I feel like I could cry... he was doing so well and this has just thrown me because he has been stable for a good 4 months... i’m Trying so hard but it feels like I am failing somehow

[jesse girl]

Re: Heat and Diabetes...

If you feel the insulin dose is to much i would not hesitate to lower it further

Jesses vet had her on 6 units which dropped her to low so i reduced to 3 units which worked for her program . I went back to the vet for another problem and she demanded me to put her back up to 6 units and i told her that was to much . well i ended it there and moved on and she has been good for over 8 years

Most of the management for diabetes is done at home. you can have a vet to consult but testing blood sugar at the vet makes little sense as its not the normal place under normal circumstances without any stress .

It is true that exercise can lower blood sugar and it can be dramatic . this would be another good time to test sugar at home before the walk and after cant do it at the vet . My jesse use to need some honey and a biscuit before she went but not anymore as her body adapted

[emz.buckley]

Re: Heat and Diabetes...

If you feel the insulin dose is to much i would not hesitate to lower it further

Jesses vet had her on 6 units which dropped her to low so i reduced to 3 units which worked for her program . I went back to the vet for another problem and she demanded me to put her back up to 6 units and i told her that was to much . well i ended it there and moved on and she has been good for over 8 years

Most of the management for diabetes is done at home. you can have a vet to consult but testing blood sugar at the vet makes little sense as its not the normal place under normal circumstances without any stress .

It is true that exercise can lower blood sugar and it can be dramatic . this would be another good time to test sugar at home before the walk and after cant do it at the vet . My jesse use to need some honey and a biscuit before she went but not anymore as her body adapted

She has recommended that I drop him to 2 at night if it was too much, so he will be 4.5 in the morning and 2 at night... it’s just so bloody nerve racking...

I am going to suggest maybe giving him something sugary before his walk and also maybe changing the timing of his night injection until after he has eaten because in the morning, he eats before the injection and he doesn’t have any issues so maybe we could switch it round to match... the only reason she had him that way was to make sure he was hungry enough to eat...

[jesse girl]

Re: Heat and Diabetes...

Thats another thing i would not recommend giving insulin before meal . Once a shot is given you cant take it back . Say if a dog did not want to eat or got sick you would have given a full dose on an empty stomach

I know you would think vets would have the common sense to understand this but we are human with our own way of thinking about things

There is a philosophy that people have a tendency to believe that higher sugar is worse and trying to keep a dog in tight regulation is what should be done . Its kind of human nature for some seeing those high numbers freaks them out but not that concerned with a lower number but as we know the lower number is the immediate threat

Now remember testing sugar at home takes your head out of the sand but you see what is really going on and that can lead to some anxiety . Some people just cant really test for this reason because they end up playing with the dose to much . In your case you have a threat of low sugar on multiple occasions which leads to no choice on testing sugar .

Diabetes takes patience and some discipline . Its not difficult to manage if you follow its simple protocols . Almost everyone figures out their dogs trends and patterns . regulation is an individual dogs response and works with a caretakers schedule

I think vets do have a place but they are just so limited to put the time and effort to have a safe successful life with the disease . I had no medical background and it was scary but i learned and educated myself and now its a new normal . to question and be an advocate for you dog is important . Just because someone is a professional doesnt mean they are an expert . I became an expert of my jesses diabetes and no one can do it better because we really work hard at it together

[emz.buckley]

Re: Heat and Diabetes...

So...

Griffin had a good night, no shaking or wobbling so that was a positive...

I have decided to change his nightly routine to match his morning routine so he has his walk, then has his food, has half an hour and then his injection... the past couple of days I noticed he really shook when he had his insulin before his food but he didn’t in the morning and so I switched things round...

We have looked into blood sugar monitors and are researching which one is the best and most reliable then we will have the vet test it out just so it is accurate...

[jesse girl]

Re: Heat and Diabetes...

So...

Griffin had a good night, no shaking or wobbling so that was a positive...

I have decided to change his nightly routine to match his morning routine so he has his walk, then has his food, has half an hour and then his injection... the past couple of days I noticed he really shook when he had his insulin before his food but he didn’t in the morning and so I switched things round...

We have looked into blood sugar monitors and are researching which one is the best and most reliable then we will have the vet test it out just so it is accurate...

Now the thing with handheld meters they are more accurate in the lower range and loose some of their accuracy as you get higher numbers so say you compared at a higher level that may not tell the hole story so hopefully when comparing you get some lower numbers to compare with

Sounds like you have gotten your pup possibly out of hypoglycemia and have made some important decisions on getting there . It takes some courage I know so i commend you for being an advocate for your pup

Once you get a monitor you can really get down to business and regulate your dog and keep him safe and stable .

good job

[Raysaint]

Re: Heat and Diabetes...

Really scary in my opinion to give insulin before a meal. You can't always be sure a dog will eat.

As for 2 different doses, I tried that for a while and it didn't work. I believe a dog's body needs consistency to get used to and adjust to one dose. Playing around with dose, and trying to manipulate things too fine might be frustrating and lead you down a path of constantly adjusting things.

The simpler and more consistent you can make the routine, the less changes the body has to try and adapt to.

[emz.buckley]

Griffin Buckley October 6th 2008 To December 29 2021

Hello

I know I haven’t been around here for ages but I thought I would come on here and share the heartbreaking news that Griffin, after 4 years with diabetes had to be put to sleep today.

We got him stabilised after the first year, always had issues in the summer but he got through them and was a very happy and health little boy. This summer however, Griffin had some sort of stroke/heart attack which took a lot out of him but he seemed to bounce back really well. Then in November, we changed vets and discovered that he had a long standing UTI. He had shown no symptoms at all, no pain, nothing. And as everyone here knows, it’s a fight when they have the UTI with constant curves, which we did at home, antibiotics, etc. Christmas Day, he had some sort of attack, we aren’t sure what it was but he was rushed to the emergency vets, they gave him an injection and said if it didn’t correct itself in 72 hours, we could try pills and see if that worked but if not… anyway, he seemed to bounce back but was uncomfortable from what we thought was the UTI causing constipation so we took him back ans they said he should be ok overnight until he could see his vet this morning.

So we took him this morning, thinking maybe it would be a change in medications, etc and the vet said that basically, every time he came in, he got worse, and no matter what they were trying, it wasn’t working as much as they would like it too. He had constant eye infections, the glucose were fluctuating, he kept losing weight, they UTI’s weren’t clearing and the constipation. It. Are down to quality of life. He was still eating, he liked being cuddled, etc but was it worth continuing. Part of me wanted to give the pills one last shot to see if they would work but we agreed to 24 hours, give him a good day and if he let us know that he wanted to fight, we would. We brought him home, told him that if he wanted to go, he could, we would be ok ( we aren’t but we wouldn’t force him to stay) and it was like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he declined really quickly. We promised to take him to his favourite park, which he did but he was so tired that we phoned the vet and said we would have to bring the injection forward. We took him to get his favourite treat, popcorn chicken from KFC which he hadn’t had since this began and he ate it with gusto but he basically went back to sleep so we knew he was ready. We were all there with him and apart from checking to see that we were all there, he went peacefully.

I am absolutely heartbroken and I don’t know what to do with myself. First of all, we don’t have another dog so coming home to an empty house or without him with us is just horrible but I did all the food, the pills, injections, everything and suddenly it is all gone. I don’t have to worry about that anymore and it breaks my heart. I feel like if I had done something different, he would be here even though he was 14 and we did everything we could. I just don’t know what to do with myself.

I want to thank everyone here for the help provided at the start and wanted to let you know what had happened to our Mr G… i’m just so heartbroken and I’m so much pain that he’s gone… our little man…

Goodbye Griffin, you fought so hard and did so well. You get to play with your brothers now and run around, doing anything you want and eat anything you want. No more injections and pills. We will see you when it is our time.

Emma

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Griffin Buckley October 6th 2008 To December 29 2021

hi Emma

so sorry to hear of Griffens passing. thankyou for sharing , letting us know

14 years old thats great. 4 yrs diabetic. you took good care of your Griffen.

its always sooo hard to let go but we have to, they dont suffer.

they dont seem to stay with us long enough, they change our lives for the better forever. you.ll be okay, take care.

[bgdavis]

Re: Griffin Buckley October 6th 2008 To December 29 2021

I'm so sorry for your loss of Mr. G. Know he is now running free at the Rainbow Bridge. Keep him in your heart.

Bonnie and Angel Crissy Ann

[k9diabetes]

Re: Griffin Buckley October 6th 2008 To December 29 2021

Emma... I'm so very sorry to hear about Griffin. It seems something else was terribly wrong with him, leaving you no choice, just as it was with us and our diabetic dog, Chris. We discovered he had cancer just a few weeks before he passed away and found it only accidentally, but it explained his long slow decline, which made it minutely easier when we had to let him go. We knew what was wrong.

Still, there's no doubt that something much worse than diabetes was at work with Griffin and most likely there was nothing that could be done at that point. It sucks... but you leave him knowing that you did everything that could be done.

I also experienced that total loss of a lack of what to do with myself and having no real purpose anymore. I was Chris' 98% caregiver and his routine made up the fabric of my day every day for years.

Eventually... like two months later, it became clear to my husband that I wasn't going to be happy without a dog in my life. That's not the right decision for everyone but it was for me. Not that I was sure it was wise at the time. But it gave me a purpose - a new set of problems to sort out as our Jack turned out to be extremely fearful and undersocialized. I wasn't looking for a project dog again but got one anyway, and maybe that was a good thing. An opportunity to help another sweet boy have a healthy happy life.

Sending you a huge hug and a kiss skyward to Griffin. It never goes away, but I can say that it gets less painful in time. More happy memories and fewer sad ones. But thinking of him still brings me to tears (right now) and he passed in 2008...

I know Griffin would thank you for all that you did for him. You have him his life, happy and healthy and with you. Nothing meant more to him than that.

Natalie

[jesse girl]

Re: Griffin Buckley October 6th 2008 To December 29 2021

I lost my mom almost a year ago and my Jesse about 6 months ago . Yep they take a piece of you when they go . I think for me I had some guilt but overtime it was a blessing to let them go . Yep I do have an empty household . I spent 11 years caring for Jesse when she became diabetic . I usually would not leave her for very long at anytime of the day and was glad to do it

For now Iam spending more time with family . Grandkids can be quite the adventure . I took a trip across the country to visit family and lay my mom to rest after I let jesse go .

The next 3 nights I will have my grandpuppy polo staying with me while my son takes his family on a trip

You will forever be someone different when you loose a loved one but thats ok as that lost love will be added with a new love . It could be a new pet or the love of the outdoors or a new hobby

We miss what was and tend to look back but there is much looking forward to our lives and new adventures