Otis Farrell July 24, 1999 - October 4, 2013 RIP

[farrwf]

Hi All!

Been following your discussion with great interest.

I've a little 11 1/2 yo, 26 lb. pug boy by the name of Otis who was diagnosed with diabetes in mid December. We're working on getting him regulated.

I wish he would stand for the blood testing, but it's hard enough to give him his shots 2x a day. I believe I'll "lurk" and learn for a while.

Bill

[CraigM]

Re: Sparky's Fructosamine

Welcome Bill & Otis,
Lots of good info on the main web site as well as here in the forum. Be sure to ask any questions you might come up with.

The normal things we would like to know about Otis would be; type of insulin, food, feed & inject 12 hours apart? Any other medical conditions?

I'm sure others will welcome you later.

[Patty]

Re: Bill and Otis

I don't want to bombard you with questions if you'd rather lurk for a while but thought I'd create a thread for Otis at any rate. Let us know if we can offer any help.

I have to say I love the avatar of Otis with his toy! Too cute

Welcome to you,
Patty

[farrwf]

Re: Sparky's Fructosamine

Welcome Bill & Otis,
Lots of good info on the main web site as well as here in the forum. Be sure to ask any questions you might come up with.

The normal things we would like to know about Otis would be; type of insulin, food, feed & inject 12 hours apart? Any other medical conditions?

I'm sure others will welcome you later.

Otis is 11.5 yrs old, and weighs ~26 lbs. He's not fat, just a big boned, muscular pug and has had a history of allergy "issues". BTW, he contracted his diabetes because of some big doses of corticosteroids injected by his EX vet because of a skin problem. After those injections, he couldn't drink enough water ... and, it never subsided. I'll tell you more about that on another day.

Otis started with 4U 2x a day. Was increased to 5U after a month and is up to 7U after his recent glucose curve, Tuesday. His glucose was at 400 and was pretty constant, per the Dr.

I initiated the curve when it was apparent he was drinking too much water, and was "confused" at times. The poor guy is rapidly losing his vision too. I got some Diastix late last week and tested his urine several times a day ... the glucose results were all either 1 or 2. That's when I really knew we were in trouble and called the Dr. No ketones showing up in the tests.

Started the 7U shots Tuesday PM ... the Dr gave him one before I picked Otis up. His Diastix readings seem to have "relaxed" a little and seem to be hovering around 1 ... some almost at 1/2. Dr said to wait about 3 days for the new dose to have it's impact and see where we would go from there. Tonight will be 3 full days on the 7U dose and if I don't see a better result tomorrow AM, I'll be calling the Dr.

This is a very sad situation, and is enough to make a grown man cry at times. He's "adjusting" to his decreasing vision and bumps into things a lot.

This morning I went out for about a half hour ... and when I came back into the house, he was sitting upright on his bed in the den whining very quietly. It was enough to make me bust into tears ... what a sad sight. That poor little guy, unable to see much and scared because I had left, ... just sitting there crying. Makes me love him even more!

Gotta feed him now, and get his insulin.

[CraigM]

Re: Bill and Otis

Poor guy! Hopefully you'll be able to get his BG in better control and he'll feel better. At what times are you feeding and injecting? What type / brand of insulin is Otis using?

[Margaret Boyle]

Re: Bill and Otis

Hi Bill,

Just to say welcome...... your story brought back some bad memories.

My dog Lucy a miniature schnauzer was dx 3 years ago and for about 8 months previous to dx she also had a lot of prednisolone injections from various vets for UTI infections and we know now this was a contributing factor in her diabetes.

I was upset when I read about Otis crying........Lucy's sight diminished within 6 months of being diagnosed. We had implants done very sucessfully.

Bill all I want to say is do not get upset they adapt to the blindness, and you can only do the best you can for them.........it is very traumatic to begin with but it will get easier for you.........and there are a lot of wonderful caring people on this forum

You will get plenty of support with all aspects of the diabetes it is a learning process........think positive you and wee Otis will be fine

Once again welcome.

Margaret

[Bichonluver3]

Re: Bill and Otis

Hi Bill!
Your first post was on my thread but you were "moved" before I could welcome you and Otis. A big hug to you both from Sparky and me. I can appreciate how you feel to some degree - we have all been in a similar place as yours. BUT you are definitely in the right place now. There are some incredibly knowledgeable people here who will guide you through every step. I am still new at this and muddling through my own maze but can, at least offer you some support. So many dogs on this forum have lost their sight. It is frightening, at first, to dog & human but you will be amazed at how quickly Otis will adapt.
Again welcome, welcome to our "family" and give Otis a big belly rub from us.
Hugs and tail wags,
Carrol & Sparky

[CarolW]

Re: Bill and Otis

Dear Bill and Otis,

Adding my welcome to those you already have. So glad you decided to post! Please keep us informed on how you and Otis are doing!

Your story of going out for a half-hour and coming back to find Otis sitting up on his bed and whining gently tore into my heart! I can tell, Bill, you are one of the Great DogDaddys on Earth. Otis is so very lucky to have you for his Dad.

Being here, I deeply trust, will be your cushion, where you can learn to cope with whatever comes up with Otis, and begin to relax, as he stabilizes.

It's very common, as I'm sure you know by now, for dogs with diabetes to go blind, and it appears to come on very suddenly. My Kumbi and I had that same experience. It may take a few weeks for Otis to adjust to being blind. You can guide him along the way, using your voice, leaving furniture where it is, as much as possible, giving Otis stuff he can feel with his paws to find his way (carpet runners?). Some people lay down scents; I used food extracts - cinnamon and vanilla, dabbing little tracks, with cinnamon meaning "safe passage; step here," and vanillia meaning "barrier; go around this."

How much it helped, if any, I couldn't really tell. After a few weeks, putting down fresh scent every few days, I stopped doing it. Kumbi was finding his way around fine.

He always loved his walks; we always took the same route along the roadsides, and he would stride out, straight and true - very interesting! He continued that even after his elder companion, Kwali, died. He was clearly using his ears, nose, and the tiny bit of light and shadow he could distinguish.

He was not a candidate for surgery for his cataracts, largely because we live in the boonies, and I didn't have the money to do it.

But he lived a happy life till he died this past 8 June (2010), not of diabetes, but of cancer.

Bill - I feel very sure you'll find this forum always helpful and supportive; it's by far the best of the number of forums on canine diabetes I've been on. Natalie, Patty and Peggy serve us so very well, and as you see, many forum members are helpful too. It really does feel like family here.

So do ask questions, at any time; as we have world-wide membership here, somebody is likely to be up at most any hour, and can probably jump in and make a suggestion if you're having worries.

Do give Otis big licks and wags, from my new dog Camellia (age nearly four) and me, here on Earth, and from Kwali and Kumbi at the Bridge - along with hugs for you!

Sat, 26 Feb 2011 01:10:35 (PST)

[farrwf]

Re: Bill and Otis

Poor guy! Hopefully you'll be able to get his BG in better control and he'll feel better. At what times are you feeding and injecting? What type / brand of insulin is Otis using?

He eats at ~5:00 AM & PM, insulin injection follows immediately. He also gets either a scrambled egg, or some chicken for a mid day snack. Also put a few OM kibbles in with his snack. He also gets a few Alpo Variety Snaps as treats throughout the day.


Humulin N

[peggy0]

Re: Bill and Otis

Hi and welcome to the forum. Poor Otis, who is absolutely adorable, we've all been through this. My dog went blind very quickly at age 10 after being diagnosed and he was very frightened. he worked it out but wanted to be with me all the time. I had his cataracts removed and he did very well. Could see immediately.

What kind of food are you feeding him? You need to be careful with treats as they can add to the glucose issues. Make sure whatever treat you give has no sugar. Bits of vegetables or meat is fine. Check your liva snaps to see whats in them. This is one thing you'll get use to doing -- reading every label to see what is in it!

Hope you have good news with this new dosage. Let us know how we can help.

[jjefferjo]

Re: Bill and Otis

Welcome Bill and Otis
I lurked for a bit before I joined forum, wish I had jumped in sooner.
This a great place to be just wanted to Hi, that Otis sure is cute!

[pat3332]

Re: Bill and Otis

Welcome to both of you.

Peggy already asked most of my questions, but I wanted to verify his brand of food. Is the OM the Purina OM Overweight Mmanagement kibble? Does he eat it well?

I'm a big believer in consistency, especially when trying to get him regulated. Like Peggy said, I would probably stick with the little bits of chicken for his snacks and not change it back and forth for a while. Once he's regulated, you can try changing back to a little egg to see if it affects his glucose levels differently than the chicken.

If you are adding a little kibble occasionally and not consistently, that could also affect his glucose levels. Bailey weighs 95 pounds, but is very sensitive to extra small bits of kibble which cause increases in his glucose levels.

You mentioned his allergy problems. Did you ever discover if he was allergic to anything specific and is he still having any problems, or are they under control? Bailey had a problem with any food that had grain fillers and I've had to change him to grain free food and add extra fiber and carbs using non grain additions to his food to level out his curves.

Hope we aren't overwhelming you by asking too many questions.

Take Care

Pat

[farrwf]

Re: Bill and Otis

Hi and welcome to the forum. Poor Otis, who is absolutely adorable, we've all been through this. My dog went blind very quickly at age 10 after being diagnosed and he was very frightened. he worked it out but wanted to be with me all the time. I had his cataracts removed and he did very well. Could see immediately.

What kind of food are you feeding him? You need to be careful with treats as they can add to the glucose issues. Make sure whatever treat you give has no sugar. Bits of vegetables or meat is fine. Check your liva snaps to see whats in them. This is one thing you'll get use to doing -- reading every label to see what is in it!

Hope you have good news with this new dosage. Let us know how we can help.

Otis is eating a mixture of canned Hill's WD & Nutro Natural Choice Senior. I'd say about a 2 to 1 ratio ... WD/NNCS.

[farrwf]

Re: Bill and Otis

Welcome Bill and Otis
I lurked for a bit before I joined forum, wish I had jumped in sooner.
This a great place to be just wanted to Hi, that Otis sure is cute!

That's a baby picture.

[CraigM]

Re: Bill and Otis

If you are adding a little kibble occasionally and not consistently, that could also affect his glucose levels.

One thing is certain and that is every dog is different. What happens in one, has no affect in another. Some can have small snacks, others get their BG all out of whack on a very small mid-meal treat. Annie is one of the "no snack" (OK, almost never) dogs. I believe I can see an increase in her BG with just 4 - 5 kibbles between meals. We have given a small bit of chicken, size of my small finger nail, egg white about the same small size, or a small piece of a vegetable without seeing a BG increase. These treats are infrequent, she isn't use to them anymore, so she doesn't seem to miss them. I don't THINK a human type-1 diabetic would eat a slice of pie, or even a slice of bread, between meals without it affecting their BG: same idea?

This might be a problem with home testing! We see the increase in BG and it drives us crazy.