Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

for me testing jesse write before her shot is important especially if she is low where i might alter the routine due to that low number

to me giving a full dose of insulin without knowing what blood sugar is seems unsafe .we call that making a test at fasting write before food and shot . maybe a test 6 hours in maybe helpful so 2 to 3 tests a day

as judi sugested doing a curve every week is productive

more info i think is better early in the regulation process. once regulated you can pull back from this if you want. i havent done a complete curve in years on jesse but i do test 3 times a day and maybe a few more if things get out of whack

[BritanyH]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

Beau has his first bg curve this week with the vet. Now that he has been pricked before, Beau is now terrified of the insulin needle. He runs away every time I have it. Once I got it in, he moved so I know some if not all didn't get injected. It's extremely frustrating. I don't know how I'll get another blood sample.

He's been very lethargic after he eats recently and refuses the diabetic food anymore. I read somewhere that could be caused by his pancreatitis. Everything was going so well now I feel like we are headed back the wrong way. Today was supposed to be my first full day back at work without coming back to check on him and now I'm worried. I have a dog walker who comes midday but it doesn't ease my mind.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

yep its not unusual for things to take a step back its the nature of the process

most times it not a pain thing but a space and boarders and they can feel it to much

pull back a bit maybe to much to fast do a few practice tests pull some skin up as doing a shot throughout the day

if pancreatitis has shown its head they dont feel good at all or maybe some other issue has arisen . when a dog stops eating that should be taken seriously . now we do see some dogs turn there nose up at prescription foods

he sounds a bit hi strung in nature so finding what works will be a process . its still very new and you got a ways to go before that new normal sets in . the plan is good just need time and confidence for both of you

[BritanyH]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

It's been awhile since I posted but still not sure I'm figuring this all out!

Initially he was on 15 units twice of a day. Two weeks after his diasgnosis, I took him to the vet for his first curve. Results were 484, 381, 331, 401, 485 so the Vet upped his dose to 16 units and told me to do a curve in two weeks.

Finally got a home curve done, had to recruit help from my parents since Beau is so stubborn with taking his blood. Results were 548, 344, 335, 229, then 89. We are pretty sure the 89 was an error. There was barely any blood on the strip and afterward with the "used" strip still in, it wasn't reading error like it normally does with a used strip. Regardless, we gave him a treat just in case. Feed him his food at his normal time and took another test right after to make sure it wasn't low. Test came back 489 so gave him his regular 16 units. Passed the results to my vet who upped his dose now to 17 units.

A week later, he got his ACTH test for Cushing's, which they have suspected him of having for over a year now (frequent skin infections, pot belly appearance, panting), and his adrenal gland was enlarged at the hospital. However, his results weren't conclusive with Cushing's. It was elevated but not "Cushing's" elevated. Good news I hope, although they said the test isn't always accurate. They told me to focus on regulating the diabetes and if we can't, they will look into further Cushing's tests.

Recently, he refuses his Hills W/d food so they vet told me to switch back to his regular food, which is Nutro, so I did. She said it's more important that he eats and gets his insulin at this stage than force the prescription diet. L

In the last week though, he's been drinking TONS of water again and having accidents at night. Occasionally he can't even make it outside before using the bathroom (I live in an apartment so it's a little bit of a walk). I'll do a curve soon, he is incrediably difficult to get testing from and I need help, so I have to wait till my dad can come one day. I'm assuming it's very high though.

Is upping the dosage by only 1 unit each time sufficient? It seems my vet is being very cautious with increasing the insulin.

Also it seems like we are making progress, he's acting MUCH better, going on walks, but the frequent urination is definitely a problem.

[amydunn19]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

Your vet seems quite savvy so that is good. Many vets don't get that they must eat and it is much more important. But, your dog will likely need more insulin. With pancreatitis in the mix, I would look at low fat alternatives because that is a big danger once they have suffered a bout.

Many independent pet stores will give you samples of low fat food. The lowest I found commercially that my picky pup would eat was Natural Balance Limited Ingredient duck/legume.

[BritanyH]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

Thanks for the suggestions! Just ordered some of the Natural Balance limited ingredients and another kind of low fat food. Hopefully he likes these better!

What do you all do if you aren't around during the usual time to give your dog their insulin? I do 7am and 7pm and have cancelled plans that conflict with his insulin dosage time. This is prime time for dinner so I know I'll have conflicts eventually. Is it bad to give a few hours late? I have a dog walker who can administrator the insulin but they are expense so id use them if I were away for more than a few hours.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

about an hour early or late from normal shot time appears to be the standard without any problems but any individual dog can react differently depending on there situation

mine is more difficult where jesse gets 3 shots one at 5:30 pm and the other at 7:30 pm . she is fed a 5:30 . i split her dose .

yes it is prime time. i go out to allot of lunches and breakfasts . i only left jesse a couple times r and one was a family emergency

its something of a personal choice . one thing i would stay away from is kennels we have seen some problems with diabetic pups with them

[Raysaint]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

Frequent urination and accidents, sometimes we assume it's high sugar, but consider a mild kidney or urinary infection. My dog had them before diabetes, and oxalate crystals. I do regular pee samples and ultrasound to look for anything, and twice a year a full culture, the definitive test for infection. Blood work will check all his organ function too. Check everything and then you know where you're starting from.

[amydunn19]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

I always felt giving the shot earlier was preferable than later. I found it was really beneficial for Maggie's pancreatitis for her to eat four times a day. She would get an upset stomach if I tried to go beyond 12 hours between meals. I usually just planned my life around her. Sometimes, it is unavoidable, but I think you will find that the closer you keep to routine, the better your dog will do. They may be paying someone to do the feeding and shots but I always felt it was safer. Kenneling Maggie was never an option for me.

[Toby'sDad]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

I can also attest to keeping to a regular routine. My Toby runs like clock-work, going out at the exact same times, eating, sleeping....he even goes to the bathroom outside at the same place. I'm retired so we are probably like a couple of old men, stuck in our routines.

I would also never place him in a kennel, I have no travel plans scheduled for the rest of his life. I've found that keeping him serene and completely calm has definitely helped. As I have not been testing him and relying on the apparent not-so-great advice to only monitor water intake, there were two instances this past winter whereby heavy snowstorms completely threw off his sense of direction outside (he's blind) and he became agitated. His water intake then increased considerably. Luckily it was a mild winter so it was just those two storms and being Spring now, he's back to his favorite past-time, rolling on his back in the grass.

[BritanyH]

Re: Diabetes, Cushing's, and Pancreatitis - Support needed!

I've never kenneled Beau and don't plan to. He roams freely around the apartment at all times. I also don't plan on going to dinner every evening but I'm going to run into a conflict at some point. I'm only 25, so I like to go out with friends ever once in awhile and cannot put my life on hold completely. Due to the hospital bills, insulin, Beau's dog walker, speciality food, its extremely expense so I'm trying to cut costs where possible, so potentially moving his shot by one hour to save $25 for the dog walker to come and administer the insulin. Like I said, if I'm gone for a more than a few hours, I have the dog walker come. I was just curious the range that people do for insulin shots because I'm sure I'm not the first person to have conflicts with the insulin time and on a budget.

He had a full blood test when he was at the hospital, he had high blood pressure in addition to the diabetes and pancreatitis. I also did another curve this weekend, still extremely high. The lowest was in the 300s while it started at 530. He has yet to be regulated since he was diagnosed. He was l increased to 18 units twice a day by the vet as of yesterday.