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Madigan Doesn't Read the Book
HELP! My wonderful 9 year old Min-Pin, Madigan (Madi for short) was diagnosed 5 weeks ago with diabetes. I am not totally unaware of diabetes in animals since 18 years ago I had a cat who was diabetic. He was a wonderful guy and giving him insulin was a cinch.
Madi, however, is another story. Though she is only 11 1/2 pounds now, she screams, wrenches herself away, and does everything short of biting me when it is her "injection time". Since my husband is disabled, he cannot help me give her her injections. Also, because of my work hours, I have to feed her at 4:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and I don't know anyone who will come over at 4:00 in the morning to help. Every day, twice a day, she becomes so upset that I'm afraid she is going to have a massive heart attack and die in my arms.
I am giving her her injections but I only have a window of about 1/2 a second to inject. I've found that placing her on the counter and wrapping my left arm around her while using my right to give the injection is the only way I can get the insulin in. However, I have such limited time, before she manages to struggle her way almost out of my grip, that I am not happy with the results. I've resorted to grabbing a clump of skin/fat and injecting as quickly as I can. If I don't, I lose the opportunity and must let her rest and then put her through it again. Then, of course, she is doubly upset and it is even harder.
Madi lives in a household with two Border Terriers (one male and one female) and three cats. I lock the two Borders in their crates prior to giving Madi her injection since the female (Brython) actually thinks Madi is getting special attention and even tried to attack her. My male, Baxter, simply gets concerned when he hears Madi's shrieks. (By the way, she shrieks even before I've had a chance to do anything more than place my arms around her.) Obviously, this child is quite the drama queen!!
I've talked to my vet and all of my vet techs and tried everything they've suggested but to no avail. I give Madi treats and praise after her injections and even have some rice cake pieces on the counter for her to nibble on as I'm giving her the injections. Being the hard head that she is, she won't touch them until I've finished. (I've also tried the "letting her eat her food and doing it then, but Madi is a walker when she eats -- moving around the bowl.)
I adore my Madigan and want to always inject her properly but I don't believe I can be when she is moving so much. Yes, I've tried wrapping her in a blanket (but then she twists herself up in such a way as I can no longer even see her injection area to inject into.)
Everyone tells me that she'll come around in time, but having already lost a beloved cat to diabetes, I don't feel that I have time. When diagnosed, Madi's glucose level was 586. After being prescribed 2 units twice a day and 10 days later, it had only dropped to 465. At that point, my vet increased her dose to 4 units twice a day. We had improvement -- down to 245 and considering my precarious technique, I was really pleased. However, her last reading was 310, so now she is receiving 5 units twice a day.
DOES ANYONE AT ALL HAVE A BABY LIKE MINE? I'VE SEARCHED AND SEARCHED AND I'M DESPERATE FOR ANY IDEAS THAT MIGHT CALM MADIGAN DOWN. I'VE EVEN RESORTED TO SEARCHING FOR STRAIGHT JACKETS FOR DOGS. (I'm not crazy -- just very desperate!)
P.S. She's not mad at me after her injections, she still sleeps in my arms and treats me with the same wonderful love as ever. I owe it to her to overcome her tremendous fear and get this thing nailed down so that she may live a long and happy life.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Madi's Mom, Suzanne
Madi, however, is another story. Though she is only 11 1/2 pounds now, she screams, wrenches herself away, and does everything short of biting me when it is her "injection time". Since my husband is disabled, he cannot help me give her her injections. Also, because of my work hours, I have to feed her at 4:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. and I don't know anyone who will come over at 4:00 in the morning to help. Every day, twice a day, she becomes so upset that I'm afraid she is going to have a massive heart attack and die in my arms.
I am giving her her injections but I only have a window of about 1/2 a second to inject. I've found that placing her on the counter and wrapping my left arm around her while using my right to give the injection is the only way I can get the insulin in. However, I have such limited time, before she manages to struggle her way almost out of my grip, that I am not happy with the results. I've resorted to grabbing a clump of skin/fat and injecting as quickly as I can. If I don't, I lose the opportunity and must let her rest and then put her through it again. Then, of course, she is doubly upset and it is even harder.
Madi lives in a household with two Border Terriers (one male and one female) and three cats. I lock the two Borders in their crates prior to giving Madi her injection since the female (Brython) actually thinks Madi is getting special attention and even tried to attack her. My male, Baxter, simply gets concerned when he hears Madi's shrieks. (By the way, she shrieks even before I've had a chance to do anything more than place my arms around her.) Obviously, this child is quite the drama queen!!
I've talked to my vet and all of my vet techs and tried everything they've suggested but to no avail. I give Madi treats and praise after her injections and even have some rice cake pieces on the counter for her to nibble on as I'm giving her the injections. Being the hard head that she is, she won't touch them until I've finished. (I've also tried the "letting her eat her food and doing it then, but Madi is a walker when she eats -- moving around the bowl.)
I adore my Madigan and want to always inject her properly but I don't believe I can be when she is moving so much. Yes, I've tried wrapping her in a blanket (but then she twists herself up in such a way as I can no longer even see her injection area to inject into.)
Everyone tells me that she'll come around in time, but having already lost a beloved cat to diabetes, I don't feel that I have time. When diagnosed, Madi's glucose level was 586. After being prescribed 2 units twice a day and 10 days later, it had only dropped to 465. At that point, my vet increased her dose to 4 units twice a day. We had improvement -- down to 245 and considering my precarious technique, I was really pleased. However, her last reading was 310, so now she is receiving 5 units twice a day.
DOES ANYONE AT ALL HAVE A BABY LIKE MINE? I'VE SEARCHED AND SEARCHED AND I'M DESPERATE FOR ANY IDEAS THAT MIGHT CALM MADIGAN DOWN. I'VE EVEN RESORTED TO SEARCHING FOR STRAIGHT JACKETS FOR DOGS. (I'm not crazy -- just very desperate!)
P.S. She's not mad at me after her injections, she still sleeps in my arms and treats me with the same wonderful love as ever. I owe it to her to overcome her tremendous fear and get this thing nailed down so that she may live a long and happy life.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Madi's Mom, Suzanne
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