Mesquito's Ginger [Archive] - Diabetes in Dogs: The k9diabetes.com Forum

Mesquito

10-21-2009, 07:29 AM

Thanks for you kind response.

Our dog is 10 years old and is a Shih Tzu named Ginger

She has a bladder stone problem. She eats Royal Uninary SO that halts bladder stones. We also use Pala-Tech Potassium Citrate with cranberry granules that we sprinkle on treats or bits of table scraps.

As she has dry eye problem she is treated with Optimmune ointment twice a day.

As for diabetes she came down with it quickly and developed cataracts.

We use Vetsulin twice a day. Morning and bed time. We had to change her eating habits to morning and evening to space her shots 12 hrs apart as we
give the shot around 1/4 hour after eating.

Mesquito

10-16-2010, 03:40 PM

Changed to Humulin N

Dog's name, breed: Ginger Shih Tzu
Dog's weight: 16 lbs

Diet: Ginger develops large bladder stones unless she is fed Royal Urinary SO to prevent bladder stones. She has had surgery twice to remove stones. We tried Hills C/D for a year but it never dissolved the stones. Royal does a good job. Our Vet says
Royal SO may be fed to a diabetic dog.

Changed diet" 1/2 Royal urinal SO food
1/4 green beans
1/4 steamed carrots

We feed twice a day: 7AM and 7PM

Insulin:Vetsulin

Twice a day after feeding

Number of units per injection and injections per day:

generally level 5.5 if a full meal is eaten

Brand of BG meter if home testing:

IPET, works well with small amount of blood. The blood enters the end of the test strip rather than the side like our Vets meter.

We also use Bayer diastix glucose strips to check for glucose in her urine. We have to ask for the strips at the pharmacy as they are not stocked on public shelfs.

Changed to Humulin N about a month ago under our Vet's guidence as regulation using Vetsulin was impossible to achive.

Ginger started with 2 units on Humulin N twice a day for around 5 days.
Then 3 units twice a day for another five days.
Then 5 units twice a day for two weeks.
As Ginger was generally high I then slowely raised her shots 1/4 of a unit over several more days. We are now at 7 units twice a day and finely her blood suger levels are in range. A quarter unit using a Humulin syringe is hard to set.

I changed from a IPET meter to a Walmart Micro meter. The Micro meter only requires 0.03 microliter. Micro meter cost is $12 and change and the strips are $22 and change for 50 strips. I add +35 to the Micro meter readings to get closer to a canine reading.

Time to update

We quit using I-Pet over a year ago as it required to much blood. We use a Relion Micro Meter from WalMart that works well. I add +35 to Micro meter readings to more reflect true canine level. I test Ginger on her rump each side of tail. I keep the areas shaved for proper access.

We changed to Novolin N and Novolin 70/30 some time ago.

At this time we feed Ginger three times a day and she gets 3 shots per day. See is fed at 6:00 AM, NOON and 6:00PM

First shot is near 6:00 AM, second shot noon and last shot at 6:00PM

First shot at this time is 9 units of Novolin N or Novolin 70/30, depending on her actions and blood level. If she will not eat a treat or her level is near 140 she gets 9 units of 70/30. If she will eat or her blood level is near 120 her shot will be 9 units of Novolin N. Shot at noon is 4 units of Novolin N. 6:00 PM shot is 9 units of Novolin N.

This regime seems to work fine for Ginger however subject to minor change depending on Gingers actions and glucose readings. In fact my Vet called last week and commended me. She also tried 3 shots per day and it helped with some of her problem dogs.

Her food is near 1/8 cup Royal SO and 1/8 cup of other foods, like chicken breast, Tuna, Ham, Winnie ETC. Royal SO controls non growth of bladder stones.

Other food is sprinkled with potassium citrate to prevent bladder stones. I use a salt shaker.I drilled larger holes in to apply a small amount to her foods.