Magoo is gone... October 6, 2016

[jesse girl]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

just to add to myriah comment i basically do the same thing but if i get a bit stubborn bubble i will push all the insulin back into the vial and then draw it back up i may do that a couple times and when i dont here the bubble sound when pushing it back into the vial then i know my next draw will be good .

[k9diabetes]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

How did the vet visit go?

Natalie

[Magoo's Mom]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Vet visit went well. Fructose was 400 which was good. No UTI so that is good but I just don't know what to do about him not eating in the morning. Also, he is getting twitchy about shots. The syringes the vet provides are 29 gauge. I just ordered 31 gauge on line and hope that helps. I don't know why they would start hurting him. Thinking I will try closer to his butt. Any thoughts on this will be helpful. Many thanks.

[CraigM]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Vet visit went well. Fructose was 400 which was good. No UTI so that is good but I just don't know what to do about him not eating in the morning. Also, he is getting twitchy about shots. The syringes the vet provides are 29 gauge. I just ordered 31 gauge on line and hope that helps. I don't know why they would start hurting him. Thinking I will try closer to his butt. Any thoughts on this will be helpful. Many thanks.

Did you find 31 gauge U-40 syringes??? If you are still using Vetsulin (a U-40 insulin), remember you should be using U-40 syringes. You would not get proper dose if you use U-100 syringes with Vetsulin.

Craig

[tonyr]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Vet visit went well. Fructose was 400 which was good. No UTI so that is good but I just don't know what to do about him not eating in the morning. Also, he is getting twitchy about shots. The syringes the vet provides are 29 gauge. I just ordered 31 gauge on line and hope that helps. I don't know why they would start hurting him. Thinking I will try closer to his butt. Any thoughts on this will be helpful. Many thanks.

If you are injecting into muscle then of course it will hurt, you should be injecting into the fat layer under the skin.
Choose different spots 1 inch either side of spine starting above forelegs working back to just before hind legs and it will be painless for him.
As for tempting him to eat in the morning, remove food if not eaten immediately and give 1/4 dose, try for 2 days running.
If that doesn't work then lightly mix in something he finds irresistable, ie tuna, sauces, gravy etc to his food

[Magoo's Mom]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Thank you both for your replies. I did find the right syringes. It took some searching but a lot cheaper and same brand I have been getting from vet. I have been paying $50 for 100 + sharps container. I got 90 for $22 with free shipping. Any little bit I can save is helpful. Between the food, curves, tests, etc. we have spent over $3000 in just the last three months. A lot for a retired couple. Feeling really bad this morning cause I hurt him. Only got 4 of his 5 units in so will have to give him the other one in a little bit. He didn't eat all his breakfast yet. He usually finishes about 2 hours later so it should be OK.
Going to try testing again today. Still not doing well with that.

As far as food, I have tried everything. I cook lean ground beef for him every morning, dry well with paper towels, and add to his food. He eats that and nothing else. I hand feed him some Hills ID (same thing that is in his dish) until he just won't touch it. Dinner, he just inhales. We walk him before his breakfast, I even tried the egg beaters to add to his food or egg whites cooked with no oil. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

[stylynjm]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Most of us do not do another insulin if we miss it all
You cant be sure of exact amounts amd especially if he doesnt finish breakfast.just wait til next shot.he may run a little high. We have all done it!!!!
Have you tried not walking in morning, adding cooked chicken breast,low fat cottage cheese, natural baby food with NO ONION POWDER, like the beef or chicken
Hang in there,it will get easier.
Ya,the expense can be overwhelming. I use ADW for needles. You can use old clorox bottles for needles. Then out here we can take them to dump hazardous waste. Not sure where you are... oh,see flordia.not sure of their regulations

[jesse girl]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

jesse only gets one meal a day with a small snack in the morning . so its not important to get 2 full meals into them and still work

i give jesse a milkbone in the morning a reduced dose of insulin and give her full meal in the evening with insulin

as long as your consistent many routines have the potential to work

[tonyr]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

How do you give injections, do you pinch the skin together and pull upwards before inserting needle, if you do this then you can be sure you are not hitting anything sensitive.
Do you inject along the spine area as I previously suggested, you can divide this up into 3 sections, so you can give morning on the left and evening on the right.
That would give a total of 6 injection areas so he does not get injected in the same area too often, and gives him a 2 day break from being injected in same area.

You say you are a pensioner, may I ask are your hands a bit shaky or arthritic.
I ask becuase there is a remedy for that if that is causing sometimes painful injections.
As you are using Vetsulin did you know that you can buy a Vetsulin pen which makes injecting simple, consistent and as fuss free as possible.
I use one myself, and you buy cartridges of the insulin instead of bottles from the same company.
They come in boxes of ten catridges, and each cartridge contains 108 units.
When in use inside the pen all you do is dial up the dose, inject as I said earlier which is done by pressing in a button at the end of the pen, leave inserted to the count of 10 seconds then remove.
You have to use there own special needle which screw onto the end of the pen and you can use just the one needle for the 2 daily injections, saving some cost, although they are not really expensive in the biggger scheme of things.
The needles are also short 12mm long so you cannot go deep.
They are also specially lubricated so they slide in easily causing no discomfort to your dog.
As I say the cartridges would be costing the same as you buying bottles of Vetsulin, the needles for the pen will be slightly more than the syringes, but I dispose of mine in my normal rubbish as they are only small and are potected with 2 outer covers so pose no risk to anyone.
The pen comes in 2 sizes and can be bought online being the cheapest, you want the smaller size.

Now onto food, try what I suggested in my previous post, if your doggy is spoiled as mine certainly are they will try to manipulate you to do what they want, instead of whats best, you are not being cruel to do what I said about putting down his food for 10 mins and then taking away, they soon learn what happens if they do not eat it all at that time.
You can give a reduced dose of insulin depending on what is eaten
nothing to 1/4 of food = 1/4 dose
1/2 of food of food = 1/2 dose
3/4 of food of food = 3/4 dose.

Try adding some thing to his food that is nice and smelly like fish or cheese or anything that he finds delicious, mine love Korma curry sauce I guess because it contains coconut oil among other aromatic ingredients, and they would climb mountains to have it.

Let me know what you think and if you have tried out any of my suggestions, and if they work more importantly.
I have been exactly were you are and successfully worked around these issues with no further problems.
All the best.
tonyr

P.S
Stop buying things fromm the vet, buy online for probably a quarter of the vet cost.

[CraigM]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Thank you both for your replies. I did find the right syringes. It took some searching but a lot cheaper and same brand I have been getting from vet. I have been paying $50 for 100 + sharps container. I got 90 for $22 with free shipping.

You found thin (30 or 31 gauge) U40 syringes? Can you post a link because other Vetsulin users might find this helpful.

Craig

[CraigM]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

As you are using Vetsulin did you know that you can buy a Vetsulin pen which makes injecting simple, consistent and as fuss free as possible.
I use one myself, and you buy cartridges of the insulin instead of bottles from the same company.
They come in boxes of ten catridges, and each cartridge contains 108 units.
When in use inside the pen all you do is dial up the dose, inject as I said earlier which is done by pressing in a button at the end of the pen, leave inserted to the count of 10 seconds then remove.
You have to use there own special needle which screw onto the end of the pen and you can use just the one needle for the 2 daily injections, saving some cost, although they are not really expensive in the biggger scheme of things.
The needles are also short 12mm long so you cannot go deep.
They are also specially lubricated so they slide in easily causing no discomfort to your dog.
As I say the cartridges would be costing the same as you buying bottles of Vetsulin, the needles for the pen will be slightly more than the syringes, but I dispose of mine in my normal rubbish as they are only small and are potected with 2 outer covers so pose no risk to anyone.
The pen comes in 2 sizes and can be bought online being the cheapest, you want the smaller size.

Vetsulin in pen form is difficult to find in the U.S. (I think). Although it was announced nearly 2 years ago in pen form, I think few vets actually stock it, and I can't find any online seller. Seems this is another thing where the UK and Canada are ahead of of us. You've had Caninsulin in pen form for years?

Craig

[Magoo's Mom]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Hi everyone and thanks for your replies. Things are going better. I got the 31 gauge syringes and they are not the same. These are the U100 syringes. I found several conversion charts on line and they all matched. I also measured the dose and it is identical. Confirmed with vet so good to go. We also found that we were holding Magoo wrong. Tech at vet showed us how yesterday. We put him on kitchen island on a thick rubber backed bath mat. Hubby holds his head in the crook of his arm and his other arm under him. Totally stabilizes him and no fighting. The 31 gauge needles work much better. Magoo is still not in love with the procedure but tolerates it. He is eating much better. Ate all his breakfast the last two days. Now all I have to do is learn to test him properly. Vet is going to give me another lesson! My vet is so nice....we took Magoo in yesterday morning to get his shot as we were just not able to control him, tech did it, showed us how to hold him and no charge at all. Vet wants me to do Magoo's next curve myself and he will just interpret. Magoo seems to be doing very well and I cannot thank everyone enough for your help! At 71 this is kind of tough to manage!

[stylynjm]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Lol,good job. It does get much easier.sounds like you are doing a great job
Keep up the good work and let us know how magoo is doing. Glad he is eating,sshhhhhh

[Judi]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

I'm so happy to read your update! that is great news about your vet working with you and Magoo. Judi

[farrwf]

Re: Magoo is worse, don't know what to do.

Nice work, ... getting the job done n' everyone's happy.