Is it possible to become non-diabetic??

[jaimeed]

Hi all, I have a very important question.
The last few weeks have gone like this:
6 weeks ago my Max's numbers spiked 350's
Vet instructed move up units of insulin from 18 to 22
Numbers still at mid 250's
Vet increased and increased to 26
4 weeks ago numbers were good - around 150
3 weeks ago he became lethargic and started periodically throwing up
Took him to vet - checked blood - glucose 59 - beginning signs of renal failure and given fluids to give once a week subcutaneously
We are continuously checking his glucose but a week ago it showed 23
We've been feeding more carby foods and karo and his units are back down to 18 so as not to drop it too fast, as per the vet, but yesterday his number was 24.
What is going on? Is it possible for a dog to become non-diabetic?
It would be a blessing, maybe Max could live out his final times with one less ailment. Our hearts are breaking..just don't know what to do.
Thank you for any feedback,
Jaimee

[Judi]

Hi Jaimee: I'm not one of the pros around here but wanted to bump your post up and offer you some sympathy.

Depending on how long your dog has had diabetes, some dogs do still produce some insulin during the "honeymoon" period. Look at Jim's thread about Spirit for that.

My Jenny was diagnosed in May and needed 7 units to be regulated till September then suddenly she got scary low like your dog and currently only needs 3 to 3.25 units to maintain. She does have Cushings disease but I don't think that has a lot to do with it.

Have you changed your dogs diet at all?

I know my vets had no problem stopping Jenny's insulin cold turkey until we saw where she was at then slowly starting her at low amounts again until we figured out her new dose so I'm curious as to why your vet thinks you need to keep giving some insulin and if you are why so much?

Jenny went for 36 hours with no insulin. In that time frame her BG varied from 46 up to 350 or something. High is better than low.

I hope you can get your doggy regulated but when in doubt, I'd go for less or no insulin. Just my opinion

hugs to you and your dog. Judi


edited to add a link to Jim's thread: http://k9diabetes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3215&page=22

[jesse girl]

oh my that is not any fun been there done that

are you home testing i presume you are

first things first you must remove the lows from the equation and reducing the dose is needed

i would take it down to 15 or lower the body has its storage reserves of sugar to counteract an overdose of insulin this reserve is not limitless and can be depleted as you can see with those scary lows .

you want to find a dose where you dont go to low and once you find that dose stay there for a week and then reevaluate at that time on dosing

it is always possible that insulin can be produced by the body especially at the beginning but usually fades over time so you may see some fluctuations . its rare for a dog to be diabetic and then return to normal as judy said you could take your baby off insulin for a few days to determine .

you are going in the wright direction but you might want to decrease the dose more substantial to get entirely out of any possibility of going hypo

welcme to both of you and you should see an improvement

[Patty]

From what I've read renal insufficiency can cause lower blood sugar.

"Kidney failure (http://k9diabetes.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=58724) causes hypoglycemia in three separate ways. The kidneys help to generate new glucose from amino acids (called gluconeogenesis). Gluconeogenesis is impaired in kidney failure. Also, insulin circulates for a longer period of time and is cleared slowly when kidney function is poor. The third important reason is that kidney failure reduces the appetite and consequently, oral intake of food." http://www.emedicinehealth.com/low_b...a/page2_em.htm

I'm glad your vet has him on fluids. I agree with Jesse girl in that the insulin dose needs to be reduced further until you have no lows.

[Patty]

Jaimee,
I'm going to leave your thread here so you'll find the link but am copying your posts to Max's main thread where we have his history.

You can post to it here http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3078

Patty

[jaimeed]

Yes we do plan to reduce it and today when we pick up more K/D food at the vets, I am going to ask if we HAVE to do it by 2 units at a time. Can't we just drop him from 16 to say....5 since his numbers are so low? I just tested him again at 12:30pm and he us at 44. I quickly gave him food and a TBS of Karo. So decreasing 10U over time has only increased his glucose from 23-44.

His bloodwork from 2 weeks ago suggested beginning signs of renal failure. High BUN/CREA LIPA. Is he in pain or discomfort? I know what the prognosis is. I guess I just want to know how much time we have with our little sweetheart.

It's just not fair that dogs get so little time only to suffer some slow ordeal. I hate this.
Thank you every one for your responses and help.
Jaimee