Just found out my dog is diabetic

[CUJO]

Im having a ahard time getting my dogs sugar levels to stay down, its high at night time and thats with him having two shots a day 30 units each time. I called the vet about increasing the dose and he didnt seem to be to concern with doing that. Can anyone help me on what to do'?
This morning his sugar was high i did increase the insulin an extra 15 units and his sugar is down to 130 and holding. He is due for another shot at 8 tonight im hoping his sugar stays down.My dog is a rottie not a pure breed he did weight 180lbs now hes at145. Another question i have is whats a good dog food for dogs that have this? hes on dog chow always has been.

[MaryLea]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

Welcome to the forum! I'm not the most experienced, but hopefully some of them will come along shortly.

From 30 units to 45 in a big jump! Watch his bgs VERY closely!!! For one injection to lower his bgs to 130, the second one could make him go into a hypoglycemic episode. You do not want that to happen. How high is "high"--when you said his bg was high? (100 is kind of a "threshold." Below 65-70 is, IMO, too low.)

Please give us as much information as you have and are comfortable sharing. When diagnosed; recent bg curves (numbers, times and meal times and info), etc. When did he weigh 180? How long did it take for him to lose to 145? Does he eat regularly and all his food?

The more you can tell us, the better.

Mary

[bowens2]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

All I can say is wow!

[peggy0]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

You should never ever increase a dogs insulin by this many units!!!!!! What was the dosage your vet told you to start your dog? How long has he been on the dosage? When you say he's on dog chow, do you mean the brand? How much do you feed him and how often. Please answer these questions, and as Mary said, you need to watch this dog all night. If you haven't given him his evening insulin, pls go back to the dosage your vet perscribed!!!

[buddingartist]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

All I can say is wow!

Ditto and scary

Louise

[Patty]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

I echo the concerns with increasing insulin by 15 units. That's a scary large jump.

There are ways to manipulate the shape of your dog's curve so his numbers may flatten out for you.

Do you have any numbers you could post from previous curves? Wondering what his high and low points are.

I would go back to his original dose as 45u could in the next couple of shots put him in very dangerous territory. Then you can work in slower increments.

Welcome to you!
Patty

[CUJO]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

Welcome to the forum! I'm not the most experienced, but hopefully some of them will come along shortly.

From 30 units to 45 in a big jump! Watch his bgs VERY closely!!! For one injection to lower his bgs to 130, the second one could make him go into a hypoglycemic episode. You do not want that to happen. How high is "high"--when you said his bg was high? (100 is kind of a "threshold." Below 65-70 is, IMO, too low.)

Please give us as much information as you have and are comfortable sharing. When diagnosed; recent bg curves (numbers, times and meal times and info), etc. When did he weigh 180? How long did it take for him to lose to 145? Does he eat regularly and all his food?

The more you can tell us, the better.

Mary

his levels have been 521 after being on 60 units of insulin( into 2 shots a day) when he gets these shots it comes down to 200 but when he is due for the next shot there is a big spike to 400 or 500 when he weigh 180 he got really sick i didnt know what was wrong with him took him to vet and they told me hes diabetic. he was running a fever also with u.t.i. he didnt eat for 6 days drank his water and munch very little and weight was coming off quick. then he didnt loose anymore and hes eating once a day and taking insulin. lastnight when i got home from work at midnight his levels was at 483 and he got his last shot at 7pm that night within 4 hours it jumped to that 483. when i left for work his level was 234 and i left at at 2 pm. so something isnt working right or hes not getting enough insulin to keep it down. he is on dog chow dog food and im woundering if its the food

[CarolW]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

All I can do is echo what the others are saying. I'll be waiting for your answers to the questions that have been asked.

Meantime, though, here's a Big Fat Welcome to you and your dog, to this top-notch forum on canine diabetes! You could read some of the other threads, to get an idea of how things work, and also, read at least the first three articles on the main site:

www.k9diabetes.com

That should give you a good start, along with more specific assistance from forum members after you've shared your answers to the questions!

Wishing you and your dog the very best, and looking forward to learning more about the dog!
Sat, 3 Dec 2011 17:57:40 (PST)

[hiwaygal]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

Wow...Cujo! I'm not very experienced either but the numbers you are giving are scary!

One thing I will suggest is feeding him smaller portions twice a day - just before each insulin injections. I'm pretty sure that will help regulate him a bit more. We feed at 8am and 8pm. You could do a 12-hr rotation that fits your schedule better.

As to what to feed him, in my experience that can be a very personal decision and experiences vary. My dog Buddy stays very well regulated (when healthy, he's having some problems with an infection right now) on Royal Canin HF. It's a prescription dog food (you'll need a script from your vet) specifically formulated for diabetics. You can get it at PetSmart. But there are lots of other good choices out there.

[CUJO]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

You should never ever increase a dogs insulin by this many units!!!!!! What was the dosage your vet told you to start your dog? How long has he been on the dosage? When you say he's on dog chow, do you mean the brand? How much do you feed him and how often. Please answer these questions, and as Mary said, you need to watch this dog all night. If you haven't given him his evening insulin, pls go back to the dosage your vet perscribed!!!

the dose he is to be on is 30 units twice a day, i gave him and extra 15 units into 2 shots so his shots was 37 units each time and his levels have been in the 150-183 and he is done with his shots today. when i did it by what the vet said 30 units twice a day his sugar was staying around 483 and the highest its been is 521 just 2 nights ago. thats way to high for anyone let alone a dog so i called the vet and he wasnt concern that his levels where that high and there is concern with me and the way the dog wa acting so thats why i gave him the extra 7 units in 2 shots. and it and has been holding at 150-ans 183 all day,this is the first time its been like that since we found out a month ago and its working. the dog food is dog chow complete and balance brand , im not forsure if i made it clear from what i said about the extra 15 units its not 30 units plus 15, its 37 units twice a day to keep his sugar down. I took the 15 and split into two for eachshot with th30 units hes supose to have

[Judi]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

I think most of us thought you did go from 30 twice a day to 45 twice a day. Glad it was only to 37 twice a day.

I don't have a ton of experience but with the instant 183 reading you got from the increase you may be looking at possible low blood sugar with your dog which is very serious, they can have seizures or worse.

Most people recommend you change the dose for 5 to 7 days. Do a curve, where the blood sugar gets tested every 2 hours, then adjust again. Your dog's system may take awhile to adjust to a new dose.

Also, you may be having the high spikes and the lower, desirable numbers due to rebound issues where he is actually getting too much insulin.

Like I said, I haven't been around that long either and it is overwhelming.

The food is a big deal but consistency is the biggest deal. I feed my dog twice a day right before she gets her insulin. she gets her insulin twice a day.

It is really important to know a dog's trends for all day long. Your vet doesn't sound overly helpful though. I had to find a second vet to deal with my dog's diabetes are there other vets in your area?

please keep testing his sugar tonight and if he goes too low rub corn syrup on his gums ok?

Judi

[CUJO]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

Welcome to the forum! I'm not the most experienced, but hopefully some of them will come along shortly.

From 30 units to 45 in a big jump! Watch his bgs VERY closely!!! For one injection to lower his bgs to 130, the second one could make him go into a hypoglycemic episode. You do not want that to happen. How high is "high"--when you said his bg was high? (100 is kind of a "threshold." Below 65-70 is, IMO, too low.)

Please give us as much information as you have and are comfortable sharing. When diagnosed; recent bg curves (numbers, times and meal times and info), etc. When did he weigh 180? How long did it take for him to lose to 145? Does he eat regularly and all his food?

The more you can tell us, the better.

Mary

Hes not getting 45 units hes only getting 37 units twice a day hes supose to be on 30 units twice a day. I raised his insulin due to the fact its been over a month and his levels after he gets a shot is in the 300's and when its getting closer for 2nd shot hes hitting 521 with the extra 7 units plus his 30 units hes been holding at 150 and alittle higher. Tell me this isnt it dangerous for a dog to have high levels of sugar like that and them not come down? The amount im giving him is keeping them alot lower then 521 that forsure. Hes levels should be reading 80 to 100 from what vet said. Im not trying to get it down to that hes holding at 231
i can handle that alot better then coming home and seeing him at 521 on 60 units a day. He has been eating once a day cause his sugar was so high, now that his levels are down some what he did want the other part of his food.

[Judi]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

Also, a UTI can raise the blood sugar so if he is being treated for that and starts to get better, he may need less insulin. thank goodness you are able to test!

Judi

[jesse girl]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

well hes a big boy

it appears from what i have seen on the forum rotties can be a challenge to regulate with some erratic numbers

i have read that some have switched to long acting insulin's like levimere or lantus and had much better results . the nice thing about those type of insulin's they are much more potent than nph if thats what you are using and you would use considerably less insulin per shot

remember changing foods can change the amount of insulin needed more or less and it can make a difference but finding a food and matching it to insulin can be time consuming it may take up to a month or more just to determine if a food can work

[CUJO]

Re: Just found out my dog is diabetic

he did have a U.T.I when we first found out and i was telling the vet that it can make his sugar go up cause i didnt want to believe he was diabetic. My vet i dont thimk he really cares to much cause he seems not to concern with his levels being so high, but i am and im trying to get them down