advice-please

[eileen]

Re: it happened

I'm sorry to read of Chester's loss of sight but chances are he'll adjust just fine.
As humans we project our thoughts on blindness as to what we'd miss without our eye site...our dogs just don't think the same as us and are happy to continue on with their other senses kicking in.

My Mildred was blind for 10 months before I decided to have the cataract surgery for her. After her intial adjustment period she did just fine.
She always loved to chase after her squeaky toys as I toss them across the room or yard. That never changed, we just toned it down and when I tossed a toy to her I did so gently and with it hitting her so she would know to sniff around close by. Her excitement was just as enthusiastic as she found it and brought it back to me.

We still went on walks and she still ruled the roost by chasing away the cats from any room she was in.
If she could smile she surely was.

I must say that I was fortunate in that Mildred has always followed instructions well and will always mind as for her safety this was so important.
She quickly learned to stop in her tracks when I told her to 'wait' and would freeze until I told her it was 'ok'. She also learned that 'careful, steps' meant she needed to feel for steps going up or down.

One of the reasons I decided to give her her sight back was to make life simpler for me...I simply got tired of talking nonstop as I seemed to do so she would know where I was and what was going on at all times.
She had adjusted fine and was a happy girl.
Her surgery in Northern California where I had it done was about $2,800 for both eyes with a lens implanted into each.

I also need to add that you did nothing to cause anything that has affected her healthwise and you must learn to turn a deaf ear to anyone projecting negativity into the situation.

I had someone constantly telling me when Mildred was first diagnosed with diabetes that a 'bullet would be cheaper'....needless to say I chose to leave that so called friend.

Good luck, you and Chester will be just fine, just takes some creativity and adjustments.

[diggydog]

Re: it happened

Alfie's heart murmur is a 3 and as yet he has not needed any treatment for it but in the last couple of years it has gone from a 1 to a 3 so we are keeping a close watch on him!
After listening to many people say I should have Alfie put to sleep and spending many nights crying about it I realised that there are 2 types of people in the world. Those who do our best for our dogs and those who dont. I know the type of people I spend time with and those who I tolerate to smile and nod along with and am thankful I am not like!

[buddingartist]

Re: it happened

My little man Buddy also went blind and like others have said, I now know it was harder on us than it was on Buddy.

He had accidents like running off the deck (we solved that), jumped over the armrest of the couch, walked in to walls etc. however, I realized that when I stopped crying over his loss and stopped feeling guilty at the fact that we simply could not afford the eye surgery, I started doing things to help him and he started being better.

Their sense of smell and hearing is something I had not fully realized. He knows if there is a cat, a skunk, porcupine, raccoon or whatever animal is roaming around in the bush around our yard and he runs in that direction and barks to let us know. His little sister Cleo still taunts him and there are times where he responds and chases her.

Our fur babies are very perceptive and they do feel your moods.

Good luck
Louise

[nfjchester]

Re: it happened

thank you again for the replies .took chester for a walk today , he seemed to do real well on an area he took almost everyday. the drops seem to be helping being he has inflamation in them , before he couldnt keep them open , now he can . trying to keep positive but its hard when you dont know which illness to worry about first - diabetes - heart - blindness . very overwelming.

[nfjchester]

Grrrrrrrr

chesters level was 94 this morning is that a number i should worry about ? I am asking you all because i really dont like the vet i have .chester ate this morning but then puked an hour later - took him to get tested and it was 94 - they want me to put karo on his gums - should i or should i just let him rest ? this is also the same vet that said chesters heart murmur is close to a 5 . well a different vet was on this morning and said his murmur is more like a 1 - 2 . and when i took him to a specialist in the cities for his eyes i asked if they could listen to his heart and they also said maybe a 2 . so back to my original question because i trust you all more than chesters vet - is 94 okay to be at or can it drop more yet ? he got his shot at 6 am and puked about 7 am got tested at 8:30 am and was 94 . thank you .

[Patty]

Re: it happened

The risk with vomitting early in the day with full insulin on board is that there isn't food available to prevent the drop into lower numbers.

Does Chester typically have a valley curve or a mountain? If he typically goes lower during the day I would give him some karo to prevent a potential drop.

However, karo won't last long in his system. I wonder if he would eat a little something for you now.

[k9diabetes]

Re: it happened

I would see if you can get him to eat something.

Did he pretty much throw up his whole meal - a lot of undigested food in it?

As Patty said, the concern is that he won't have any glucose to go with the insulin that is absorbed later today. The insulin gets absorbed at whatever rate the body takes it in and doesn't care if he has glucose to go with it or not.

So if he's got no food to work with and a lot of insulin, his blood sugar could go dangerously low between now and the time for his next injection.

So if unable to test, depending on how much food it seems like he threw up, I would try to get him to eat some small frequent meals. If he won't eat, I would give him some syrup.

And if he eats but can't keep that food down, I would be talking to the vet about dealing with his nausea.

How does he seem?

Really really ill or just a random cookie toss, which can happen?

A lot would depend on how much of his meal you think he threw up and how well he seems.

Natalie

[nfjchester]

Re: it happened

knock on wood chester is doing alright - i did give him a small amount to eat . i really dont know what to do about the vet - last week his level was 74 at 8 am and his regular doctor never said to give him syrup . now today it was 94 and another vet said to give him syrup - his normal vet was not in today . confusing .

[k9diabetes]

Re: it happened

The concern this time is that he presumably threw up some or maybe all of his meal - which generates the glucose he needs to go with the insulin later on today.

Because the body and brain need glucose at all times to function, there has to be a continous supply of it. If there is too much insulin being absorbed, the insulin can literally transfer all of the available glucose out of the bloodstream and into cells, leaving the brain with none. Which causes the seizures and, if severe, coma and death.

In a horrendously oversimplified example, say your dog has ten molecules of sugar in his blood and you give an amount of insulin that is going to move 100 molecules of sugar out of his blood. So you give him breakfast to supply him with 120 molecules of sugar.

Starting with 10 molecules and giving a breakfast that will supply 120 molecules means he will have 130 molecules of sugar available. The insulin will remove 100 of those, leaving him with 30.

But then he throws up half of his breakfast so he will only get half of the molecules of sugar his breakfast was going to provide - only 60 molecules of sugar.

Now he's got the 10 he started with plus 60 from what's left of his breakfast = 70 total molecules of sugar and his insulin is going to remove 100 molecules.

So because he threw up, he's not going to have enough sugar molecules to meet the 100 the insulin will remove and his blood sugar is going to go negative - a deadly condition.

So continuing to get some food into him and get his blood sugar into a normal range for his next meal injection will keep him safe.

Natalie

[nfjchester]

not drinking

chesters eating normal and acting normal but between the last 2 days he has drank maybe 1 cup total . should i worry ?

[Patty]

Re: not drinking

You could always try adding some water to his food to encourage more water. I'd continue to keep an eye on it to see if the trend continues.

[AlisonandMia]

Re: not drinking

Are you feeding wet food or dry food?

Alison

[nfjchester]

Re: not drinking

he eats wet food

[gizzy629]

Re: not drinking

I'm sure like most, I'm feeling exactly like you right now. Just found out my baby (Gizmo, 11yrs old) was just diagnosed 1 1/2 wk ago. Just know your not alone. I'm just sorry I can't offer you any information because like you, I am just starting with this diabetes stuff. It's very tough!

[k9diabetes]

Re: not drinking

How is Chester doing? Has his drinking returned to normal?

I worry about the little guy given all his issues he is dealing with.

Natalie