Welcome Barb and Toby!!

[barbj1]

Hi all I am terrified!!! my little dog Toby is 13 years old and has just been diagnosed diabetic! I have been in floods of tears , sent home from work because i was sure my visit to the vet this afternoon was for Toby to be put to sleep. I just felt i could not cope with giving him injections and as much as i hate to mention money the cost worried me alot. I was in a terrible state at the vets trying to be strong and convinced myself it was the right thing to do. The vet who was ever so understanding persuaded me to have a try to give an injection assuring me toby would hardley flinch which he did not. It was water in the syringe. Anyway I managed it much to my amazement. I just hope i am doing the right thing here and not putting Toby through any trauma. I have been told to give on 5ml injection every morning and see how we go. I would appreciate any comments. Thanks

[We Hope]

Re: dog just diagnoses with diabeties

Welcome!

Your Toby is about the same age as my Lucky was when he was diagnosed. When I learned he had diabetes, I had no idea how he would take to the shots or how we were both going to work that out, but there was no way I would let diabetes have him. It never did.

Word of caution here--I see you posted about giving Toby 5ml of insulin. I hope you mean 5 IUs of insulin because 5ml would represent half of a standard (10ml) insulin vial. 5ml would be the equivalent of two of the smaller Caninsulin 2.5ml vials. It would be too much insulin for almost anyone!

From your post, I gather that Toby's been put on Caninsulin's one daily shot routine. The same insulin is available in the US under the brand name Vetsulin; we used it for Lucky before it was approved for US use.

Know a lot of people who've used the insulin in the UK, in Canada, in Belgium--also here and none of them had success with the once-daily dosing. BUT--once they went to twice a day shots, their dogs regulated easily and quickly.

http://www.vetsulin.com/vet/AboutVet_Overview.aspx

"Intermediate-acting insulin

"As a lente insulin, Vetsulin is classified as an intermediate-acting insulin. It is an aqueous suspension of 40 IU/mL of highly purified porcine insulin, consisting of 30% amorphous and 70% crystalline zinc insulin."

Caninsulin and Vetsulin are considered to be intermediate-acting; the same is true for isophane insulin. This means they will most likely need to be given twice a day, 12 hours apart after meals because there's no good way to try to "stretch" an intermediate acting insulin into a long-acting one such as Levemir or Lantus.

http://www.vetsulin.com/vet/DosingStarting.aspx

"Starting Vetsulin

"In-clinic:

"Weigh the dog. In the event of a fraction of a kilogram, round the body weight down rather than up. For example, a 12.9-kg dog should be dosed as a 12-kg dog. If the dog is grossly overweight, utilize the optimal body weight for calculating the starting dosage of Vetsulin.

"Establish a starting dose based on the labeled dosage of 0.5 IU insulin/kg of body weight. This initial dose should be given once daily concurrently with or right after a meal.

"Begin with once-daily injections, then evaluate.

"Some dog owners may do best by easing into the routine of diabetes management with once-daily injections. This is preferable to having an overwhelmed client who sees euthanasia as the only viable option. After acclimating to the ease of giving injections, the client is more likely to willingly accept twice-daily injections, if needed.

"Remember that hyperglycemia does not kill dogs; hypoglycemia does.

"The majority of dogs (two-thirds) will require twice-daily Vetsulin injections."

Lucky regulated on an insulin that was like Caninsulin or Vetsulin in all respects except the strength. He used Lilly's Iletin II Lente (which is just like the old discontinued Novo Pork Monotard)--both of them are U 100 strength insulins, while Caninsulin and Vetsulin are U 40 strength insulins.

Lucky received two shots a day of the Iletin II Lente and when we were able to obtain the Caninsulin, he was started on two shots a day of it too.

A properly treated dog with diabetes will be able to live a good, happy life--living to its normal lifespan. Lucky lived to be 17 and his body just wore out from old age; his diabetes was well-controlled.

I think you're a very good DogMum and that you're going to be able to do this for Toby!

We'll be glad to help with any questions or concerns you have--all you need to do is post them here.

Kathy

[pgcor]

Re: Welcome Barb and Toby!!

Hi Barb & Toby:

I'm so glad to read that you're giving the shots a chance. You will not regret that decison. I felt at least as bad as you do right now, when my Pip was diagnosed. My Pip was not nearly as cooperative as Toby. It's been two years now and we've all settled into the routine. I know you will too! I'm so sorry that you and I and many of us have to go through this very frightening beginning stage.

I hope you will believe me when I say it WILL get easier. Take a deep breath, we're all here for you and hoping for the very best for you and Toby! I can also tell you without any reservation - the folks on this board are very knowledgeable - you are in good hands!

Pam and Pip

[k9diabetes]

Re: Welcome Barb and Toby!!

I don't know if you have read anything about our diabetic dog Chris but if diabetes was all that he ever had, I would have jumped for joy! Diabetes was no big deal for him and Toby is likely to be the same way.

Of course, that was after I had a diabetic cat, where I discovered that giving the injections was really no big deal. I was freaking out at the idea, wanted to pass out and throw up at the same time! But I lived alone and there was no one to do it for me. She needed me so I finally forced myself to do it. She... couldn't have cared less. Didn't even notice!! After that, the injections were no big deal.

It is pretty common for vets to start with one injection of insulin (at least with Vetsulin) a day when someone is really worried. Once you figure out that you can totally handle it, you and the vet can see if two injections are needed.

I tested by dog's blood sugar a minimum of three times day - he was very unusual in that he got four injections a day! - and that didn't bother him either!

If you want to see Chris looking bored while I lance his lip, check out his video: http://www.k9diabetes.com/christest.avi

It's a big file so give it time to download.

What breed is Toby and how much does he weigh?

If he's large, NPH will be a lot less expensive than Vetsulin but would definitely have to be given twice a day.

Natalie

[eyelostit]

Re: Welcome Barb and Toby!!

Hi, welcome Barb and Toby,

I know how you feel as I cried a whole lot when Niki was dx I felt it was the end of the world.

In time and with the help of this board everything seemed to calm down (ME).

Niki's been diabetic for just about 7 yrs now, she is 12.

You hang in there, it'll be ok.

Dolly