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Fuzzy Newly Diagnosed
Dog's name, breed:
Fuzzy (or FuzzButt, whichever works at the time) , black lab mix 15 yrs (16 in August)
Weight:
52 lbs, 65 before her medical problems began
Diet:
Whatever she’s willing to eat. She’s a very picky eater. Fuzzy has had IBD digestion issues for at least 6 months before being diagnosed with hyperglycemia last Saturday. She ate half a can of w/d and then refused to touch it. Some nights she’ll eat Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry and canned, other times I microwave oatmeal and chicken thighs with broccoli, or will scramble eggs and serve with ground turkey, oatmeal and some cottage cheese. She gets a multivitamin, SAM-E and standardized milk thistle capsules to control elevated liver enzymes. I’ll give about 3 oz of greek yogurt or cottage cheese with half a teaspoon of probiotics and enzymes powder. This morning, the yogurt was the only thing she would eat, which worried me greatly. I discovered slippery elm bark powder, and read that it’s good for pets and people with sore digestive tracts. I trekked out to the health food store this morning and got about 5 oz of the stuff. One teaspoon of the powder cooked with diluted chicken broth made a gooey “soup”, and can be given 4 times a day. She lapped it up readily. I’m hoping that it will help soothe her intestines enough to eat higher protein meals. Her regular vet is out until May.
Insulin:
Vetsulin, 6 units 2X a day.
Brand of BG meter if home testing:
None yet, still researching possible meters.
“And feel free to add any additional information.”
How much time do you have? LOL. Here's the short, short version.
I got Fuzzy as a 5 month old puppy when I was 11 years old. Except for a 4 year absence when I lived out of state, she has always been there for me. While I was away, she lived with my Grandma and developed large tumors and cancers on her legs and shoulder. We’ve had them removed, and other then that, has been pretty healthy her entire life.
December 2009, I found her laying in diarrhea and vomit. I thought she was dead, but as soon as I saw her breathing I got a harness on her and gently lifted her on her feet. She could barely walk, so I had to get her on a towel and pick her up and carry her. Once her vitals stabilized, she went in to surgery. The surgeon said she had the largest gallbladder he’s ever seen. Gallbladder, spleen, and a portion of her stomach were removed. Biopsies found no cancerous materials, but found she had inflamed an inflamed liver and intestines, and e coli in her gallbladder. The e coli found was resistant to most antibiotics except gentamicin and trimethsulfate or something like that. The TMS was prescribed for a couple of weeks, and then prednisone would be started after that for 3-4 months. An insane, bumpy ride with the prednisone and other issues would soon follow.
The side effects of these medications did more harm then good. The TMS made her anemic. The prednisone did strange things to her blood and enzyme levels. Not only has she refused to eat on and off again, she's got elevated liver enzymes and now hyperglycemia to worry about. I was poking around 1800 pet meds to find a multi-vitamin for Fuzz and discovered Marin. My vet told me that it was mostly silymarin, or milk thistle extract. SAM-e could also be used together, and both supplements have shown to reduce bad liver enzymes. I got those off Amazon.com, along with a probiotics and enzymes powder to try out.
One night, she began eating, drinking, and peeing like a horse. It was really, really scary. I took her in the next morning to get a full blood test, just like before. My regular doctor was out until May, but I went in anyway because I was afraid for my poochie.
Turns out, I had every right to be concerned. Her blood glucose level was so high it was off the charts, and was checked twice just to make sure the first test was a fluke. Off to the emergency vet again late in the afternoon. Her BG did not start to come down until 7 am the next morning, and was at 400. As that specific vet was only open 7-8 AM during the weekdays and 24 hours weekends, I had to go back and forth from the ER vet to my regular vet to get her BG lowered. Last Saturday, Fuzzy stayed about 24 hours to get a curve, and is due for another one in a week.
While my regular vet is awesome, she is not going to be back until May. I got to talk to the nurse when I got the Vetsulin and needles. She appeared to try to talk me out of doing at home blood monitoring, and if I’m worried I should just bring her in to the office. Pfft, please. I thought this was rather odd. Besides telling me how to administer the insulin, I’m pretty much on my own. I was told not to give any insulin if she would not eat. I tried to tell her that Fuzzy has had a history of not wanting to eat anything due to IBD. I figured out that cooking chicken, broccoli, eggs, and a small amount of oatmeal together would be the best thing for her before an insulin shot.
I am still looking in to the best lancet, monitor and strips to use. Stress, stress, and more stress all around. All of this is overwhelming to me.
However, one thing still keeps me going and that’s my dog. Yeah, she’s pretty old for a dog her size. But, she’s strong, and always has been. She’s not ready to go yet – there are still a lot of squirrels to bark at.
If you’ve read all of that, I thank you.
- Lynnie and Fuzzy
EDIT: Now I realized I posted a reply to one person, and not the OP. Oops. :P
Fuzzy (or FuzzButt, whichever works at the time) , black lab mix 15 yrs (16 in August)
Weight:
52 lbs, 65 before her medical problems began
Diet:
Whatever she’s willing to eat. She’s a very picky eater. Fuzzy has had IBD digestion issues for at least 6 months before being diagnosed with hyperglycemia last Saturday. She ate half a can of w/d and then refused to touch it. Some nights she’ll eat Blue Buffalo Wilderness dry and canned, other times I microwave oatmeal and chicken thighs with broccoli, or will scramble eggs and serve with ground turkey, oatmeal and some cottage cheese. She gets a multivitamin, SAM-E and standardized milk thistle capsules to control elevated liver enzymes. I’ll give about 3 oz of greek yogurt or cottage cheese with half a teaspoon of probiotics and enzymes powder. This morning, the yogurt was the only thing she would eat, which worried me greatly. I discovered slippery elm bark powder, and read that it’s good for pets and people with sore digestive tracts. I trekked out to the health food store this morning and got about 5 oz of the stuff. One teaspoon of the powder cooked with diluted chicken broth made a gooey “soup”, and can be given 4 times a day. She lapped it up readily. I’m hoping that it will help soothe her intestines enough to eat higher protein meals. Her regular vet is out until May.
Insulin:
Vetsulin, 6 units 2X a day.
Brand of BG meter if home testing:
None yet, still researching possible meters.
“And feel free to add any additional information.”
How much time do you have? LOL. Here's the short, short version.
I got Fuzzy as a 5 month old puppy when I was 11 years old. Except for a 4 year absence when I lived out of state, she has always been there for me. While I was away, she lived with my Grandma and developed large tumors and cancers on her legs and shoulder. We’ve had them removed, and other then that, has been pretty healthy her entire life.
December 2009, I found her laying in diarrhea and vomit. I thought she was dead, but as soon as I saw her breathing I got a harness on her and gently lifted her on her feet. She could barely walk, so I had to get her on a towel and pick her up and carry her. Once her vitals stabilized, she went in to surgery. The surgeon said she had the largest gallbladder he’s ever seen. Gallbladder, spleen, and a portion of her stomach were removed. Biopsies found no cancerous materials, but found she had inflamed an inflamed liver and intestines, and e coli in her gallbladder. The e coli found was resistant to most antibiotics except gentamicin and trimethsulfate or something like that. The TMS was prescribed for a couple of weeks, and then prednisone would be started after that for 3-4 months. An insane, bumpy ride with the prednisone and other issues would soon follow.
The side effects of these medications did more harm then good. The TMS made her anemic. The prednisone did strange things to her blood and enzyme levels. Not only has she refused to eat on and off again, she's got elevated liver enzymes and now hyperglycemia to worry about. I was poking around 1800 pet meds to find a multi-vitamin for Fuzz and discovered Marin. My vet told me that it was mostly silymarin, or milk thistle extract. SAM-e could also be used together, and both supplements have shown to reduce bad liver enzymes. I got those off Amazon.com, along with a probiotics and enzymes powder to try out.
One night, she began eating, drinking, and peeing like a horse. It was really, really scary. I took her in the next morning to get a full blood test, just like before. My regular doctor was out until May, but I went in anyway because I was afraid for my poochie.
Turns out, I had every right to be concerned. Her blood glucose level was so high it was off the charts, and was checked twice just to make sure the first test was a fluke. Off to the emergency vet again late in the afternoon. Her BG did not start to come down until 7 am the next morning, and was at 400. As that specific vet was only open 7-8 AM during the weekdays and 24 hours weekends, I had to go back and forth from the ER vet to my regular vet to get her BG lowered. Last Saturday, Fuzzy stayed about 24 hours to get a curve, and is due for another one in a week.
While my regular vet is awesome, she is not going to be back until May. I got to talk to the nurse when I got the Vetsulin and needles. She appeared to try to talk me out of doing at home blood monitoring, and if I’m worried I should just bring her in to the office. Pfft, please. I thought this was rather odd. Besides telling me how to administer the insulin, I’m pretty much on my own. I was told not to give any insulin if she would not eat. I tried to tell her that Fuzzy has had a history of not wanting to eat anything due to IBD. I figured out that cooking chicken, broccoli, eggs, and a small amount of oatmeal together would be the best thing for her before an insulin shot.
I am still looking in to the best lancet, monitor and strips to use. Stress, stress, and more stress all around. All of this is overwhelming to me.
However, one thing still keeps me going and that’s my dog. Yeah, she’s pretty old for a dog her size. But, she’s strong, and always has been. She’s not ready to go yet – there are still a lot of squirrels to bark at.
If you’ve read all of that, I thank you.
- Lynnie and Fuzzy
EDIT: Now I realized I posted a reply to one person, and not the OP. Oops. :P
I am not one to give advice, but there are plenty of folks who will help you along your journey with Fuzzy. They have helped me and my Ladybug over and over again. Absolutely wonderful people here! 
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