Spirit Crossed the Bridge Today..... June 9, 2016

[MaryLea]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Beautiful curve! Good job, Jim.

Mary

[jim maceri]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

I've finally got spirit used to the 12 hour cycle with no snacks. Interesting thing is if you look at my last curve (with normal exercise) it kept him very low...

Yesterday it rained so the walks had to be much shorter and we only did 2 medium walks instead of the two short and two long walks...Thanks everyone for convincing me to eliminate the mid afternoon snack, it does make a difference for spirit.

Nov 27

6:00a 203
8:00 164
10:00 176 (short walk)
12:00 163
2:00 191 (short walk)
5:30 225 (took a half mile walk)
6:00 p 156 (post walk reading)

I have determined that a walk, depending on the length and pace can knock down spirits BG between 50 points-90 points. When I see a high reading thru the day I simply get him out to exercise and he comes right back down. I'm going to give the big guy a break from all the curves and test him for several days at 6a/11:30 / 6 p.m. The 11:30 test will be prior to his long walk so I know how to pace it.

[Judi]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

that looks great Jim!

[Patty]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Jim, you and Spirit are doing great!

[LilyBell]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Things are looking great for Spirit!! Good job!

If down the road, you want to take a walk and are worried about Spirit dropping too much I can tell you what has worked for us. Since he is young like Lily was at dx, you may find the need to be a bit flexible at times. What we have found to work is two fold. On days I know we are all going to be home, she gets 1/2 unit less than days the kids are at school. If the kids want to throw her ball, or go outside to run around, she gets a chicken/honey biscuit made by 'Mother Nature'. If there is prolonged play, she gets extra kibble on top of the biscuit. It really is amazing how much exercise can factor in. Last summer we spent a couple of weeks at my parent's lake house in MN. Lily swam every day for most of the day! I was shocked to find out after lots of testing and peanut butter sandwiches that I had to cut her dose in half to keep her at healthy numbers. Anyway, I don't want you to think your long walks are over. It will take some time to figure out what works for Spirit, but if you need to throw in a long walk one day, extra food can help cover that drop. Or if you want to have them every day, a reduction of the dose might fit the bill.

[jim maceri]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Things are looking great for Spirit!! Good job!

If down the road, you want to take a walk and are worried about Spirit dropping too much I can tell you what has worked for us. Since he is young like Lily was at dx, you may find the need to be a bit flexible at times. What we have found to work is two fold. On days I know we are all going to be home, she gets 1/2 unit less than days the kids are at school. If the kids want to throw her ball, or go outside to run around, she gets a chicken/honey biscuit made by 'Mother Nature'. If there is prolonged play, she gets extra kibble on top of the biscuit. It really is amazing how much exercise can factor in. Last summer we spent a couple of weeks at my parent's lake house in MN. Lily swam every day for most of the day! I was shocked to find out after lots of testing and peanut butter sandwiches that I had to cut her dose in half to keep her at healthy numbers. Anyway, I don't want you to think your long walks are over. It will take some time to figure out what works for Spirit, but if you need to throw in a long walk one day, extra food can help cover that drop. Or if you want to have them every day, a reduction of the dose might fit the bill.

Thanks, I really enjoy our walks each day since I work out of the house. I've just noted that on some days, his BG is lower than I would like for exercise since he can drop 50-90 points. I'll try and find a small snack biscuit that he will eat. The vet said to take the canned WD that I make gravy with and cook some biscuits. 325 for about 10-12 minutes and put a small line of honey on it while it cooks. I do like the fact that I can knock down the BG when it is high with just a quick 10 minute/half mile walk.

[bowens2]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Amazing that he takes about the same amount of insulin as Monk who only weight 22 lbs

[jim maceri]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

I thought I really made a mistake today......Spirit seemed to have a lot of energy just before his dinner time of 6:00. He went right to my jeep and wanted in so I took him to the park and did about a 10 minute walk. He was on the scent of something because he was bouncing from tree to tree like a female may have been there just before him. Anyway, when we got home I checked his BG at 5:30 since I was going to feed him at 6. It was 98, one of the lowest readings to date.

Anyway, I decided to pull out the food and feed him early at 5:30. Instead of giving him a shot I decided to wait about a half hour to let the food get a head start as I reviewed 3 weeks of testing. I decided to cut the evening dose to 12 units instead of 14. I had done this once before.....He did the usual routine of going right to his toy basket after dinner, pulled out "christmas buddy" and began chewing on it. Next, he usually takes a nap, which he did....I waited till 7:00 and tested him again and was relieved to see that he was up to 157.

Ok, lesson learned, he doesn't always get his way!!! He went on his usual walks (4) today and this was the 5th that sent him way to low for my comfort. If he follows his pattern the BG should continue to go up thru the evening based on past charting. I do expect his morning fasting numbers to be lower than the usual 160-207. I've had fasting readings in the a.m. as low as 138 and gave the usual dose with no problems. Am I being way too cautious? Was my method the right thing to do? I used my charts, curves and BG testing as my guide and thank goodness all of you talked me into having so much information. It is soooooo true to not try and manage the high numbers but manage the low ones!

[SandyL]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

You followed your gut and did just what you should have done!! Great job!! See what we all meant when we said it wasn't an exact science lol. This is probably one of many "WTH" moments Spirit will give you!

Sandy

[jim maceri]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Thanks Sandy...I'm so very new to this I'm learning (and guessing) as I go....I did trust my gut but I had a sick stomach for hours.

[Patty]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Definitely good instincts. I remember when I joined the boards there was frequent advice given to not inject if you have a fasting number below 100. Definitely that risk is decreased if a dog has a mountain curve.

But I do with Ali exactly what you did with Spirit in this case. I feed and delay her injection a bit to let the food get ahead. If she's rising, I inject often with a lower dose.

If she's not rising, I give a bit of honey and/or extra food so she rises before an hour is up. I don't like to give her injection more than an hour after her food so I make sure she rises before then.

[SandyL]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Thanks Sandy...I'm so very new to this I'm learning (and guessing) as I go....I did trust my gut but I had a sick stomach for hours.

Oh, I certainly had those moments as well...."OMG, OMG did I do the right thing??" Then I would pester the poor baby for hours making sure she was alright! Confidence on those kinds of decisions WILL come believe it or not.

But I have to say, I usually decrease my dose when she's running low at fasting...I still go by the saying "better high than to low" Makes me more at ease by doing this AND I'm not sticking her every 15 min to make sure she's rising.....I even went this route when she had a mountain type curve, I'm a chicken at heart and didn't want to chance it


Sandy

[jim maceri]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

Well, even with the reduced dose last night his morning fasting number was 171....within his normal range for the morning. The vet called this a.m. after I sent him the weekly curves (2) and my daily chart. He seemed pleased and didn't want me to change a thing for another week, continuing with 14u. 2x per day. He was quite surprised how much spirit can drop after a walk so of course he said to watch this. He liked the idea that I did a pre/post walk readings on several days to establish a range of drop (50-90 points). He sure doesn't seem too concerned with the readings in the 90's. At 8:45 just when he called I did another BG test and it was at 92 after his walk, which I told him. He reiterated that a dog's normal range was between 60-110. At 10:30 he was back at 161. Another walk at 11:30 and when we got home he was back down to 119......

I scheduled an appointment for 2 weeks so we can have a CBC/Fructosime and some other blood work done before we all jump in the motorhome for Florida. I keep wondering just how long this low dose of insulin is going to be enough. I think someone said that it could be as long as a year on newly dx dogs.

[LilyBell]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

I just don't know Jim, if Lily (a young active dog) was frequently hitting the 90s, my vet would want me to decrease her insulin by 1/2 unit. I would want to also just so I could ease off of the testing some. When dealing with numbers so low, you really have to test a lot. Anyway... just saying...

[CarolW]

Re: Spirit-Newfoundland

I too would be uncomfortable with readings in the 90s (for Kumbi). Or, likely, any dog. Problem is, you don't have "wiggle room" for the BG levels to drop for some unknown or un-anticipated reason.

You truly are doing a great job, Jim. Congratulations!
Wed, 30 Nov 2011 07:27:15 (PST)