Blood Glucose Problems!

[Jules]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Hi Craig,
I'm using AlphaTrak. It was referred by 2 different vet offices. It works very well and based on the records. I always ask the vet for their results as well to see if I'm in the ballpark. I haven't joined the sister forum, but I will look at it for sure. I haven't been able to even visit that decease, as they have it stabilized, the diabetes is the doozy! Right now, I've only increased the insulin to 9 units (from 7) on Monday night. Very anxious to see next curve. I do randomly check his blood during the day and the past 2 days we have finally made it into the 300+ we were 525+ every 2 hours! I'm trying to schedule his next curve to Sunday 11/5 or Monday 11/6. I am very anxious to see the results. I will post previous and newest results. I am so grateful for having found this forum, it is beyond words!!
Jules

[Jules]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Hi Judi,
The last cortisol test was done 2 weeks ago and they were very impressed with the results. So they have him on Lysodren 1/2 tab on Tuesdays and 1/4 tab on Saturdays. As for the vet battles... I have one that wants him on Vetsulin one that wants Novolin N. He has his "specialists", that are at different hospitals and his opthamologist, that is neutral, suggested a different cardiologist to pace his heart during cataract surgery. His internal med vet hasn't been as cordial since he found out the we did not use the cardiologist that he is associated with. It has been a horrible experience. The internist doesn't really want to let me call in with curve #'s. It's kind of like a I'm not getting paid for the phone call situation. So, that's how I found this forum. #1 specialty group was in our area for the longest time w/out any other competition, then a few years ago #2 specialty group came in and there has been a battle of specialists ever since. We used to have to travel 5+ hours away to get an MRI. Now it's literally just around the corner.
Beginning rant...
Since I'm so new to his situation, I call when there is a change in his urination and water intake. They increase the dose and then get upset when I call w/curve results and for the next instruction. Maybe I'm wrong. But he was diagnosed in June 2017 and I have only been dealing with this for that long...these vets deal with it every day. It would be nice if they had a little compassion. Sorry.....end of rant.

[jesse girl]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

N insulin if you can get it without a prescription as most of us do can be a problem for a vet who wants to have complete control of the management of diabetes in a dog

for my jesses diabetes i manage it without any help from a vet and i dont discuss it if jesse needs help for other things . the reason we ended up there is jesse was very difficult to regulate and needed more effort to figure a way to get her on track and i felt a vet could not give that amount of time and i could not afford that . so i became her foremost expert on her diabetes .

for your pup it maybe challenging but not impossible . it may take a bit more effort doing complete curves once week and a few tests every day and track the numbers to make sure they are steady and not seeing big swings which would be problematic

this i one disease that you can have a big impact on how well your pup can do

[Jules]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Jesse girl,
Spot on!! If I had to take him in every single time I had to do a curve it would be $144.00. And $345.00 if a cortisol test has to be done. I just can't. This forum has been an absolute blessing!! It is so nice just being able to get advice and opinions about diabetes. Your message is so inspiring! I look forward to seeing how wonderful he does now that I have found you all to help guide and teach me along the way!!

[Judi]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

ok, this is a great time to be testing at home for sure then! what we've seen on the forum is that around 4 weeks after the cortisol goes down, their insulin needs can seriously drop. My 8 pound dog went from needing 7 units of insulin twice a day to 3.5 units twice a day once the cushings was better.


Another heads up is that seriously decreasing insulin needs can signal too low cortisol. I'd had my Jenny tested in December and her cushings was perfect. By February her insulin needs were less than 1 unit. I stupidly thought it was because I was doing such a good job with her. No, her cortisol was virtually gone. She was on Lysodren also. So monitoring blood sugar really helps in monitoring their overall health.

My vet who treated our cushings told me he went to a seminar and had 5 very good vets describe 5 completely different ways to treat diabetes. So, unless they've lived with it like we have, some of them mean well they just don't know.

That vet also didn't want me to do curves at home because he was a control freak and didn't want me to just react. Eventually I would email him the curve, he'd call me, and occasionally he would charge me $40 for a phone consult. Everyone was happy and the curves were more realistic because we didn't have to disrupt the dog's schedule and life to do it. So stick to your guns! I think finding a vet who is willing to work with you means everything.

You are dealing with enough. A lot of us had to juggle vets. You can do this

keep up the home monitoring. My Jenny's blood sugar was under 40 a couple of times before I realized we'd killed off her cortisol. Her only symptom was weak/shaky back legs.

The cushings forum, as Craig suggested, was very very helpful to me with Jenny's cushings. Dealing with both diseases though is just one more moving target.

hang in there. Judi

Hi Judi,
The last cortisol test was done 2 weeks ago and they were very impressed with the results. So they have him on Lysodren 1/2 tab on Tuesdays and 1/4 tab on Saturdays. As for the vet battles... I have one that wants him on Vetsulin one that wants Novolin N. He has his "specialists", that are at different hospitals and his opthamologist, that is neutral, suggested a different cardiologist to pace his heart during cataract surgery. His internal med vet hasn't been as cordial since he found out the we did not use the cardiologist that he is associated with. It has been a horrible experience. The internist doesn't really want to let me call in with curve #'s. It's kind of like a I'm not getting paid for the phone call situation. So, that's how I found this forum. #1 specialty group was in our area for the longest time w/out any other competition, then a few years ago #2 specialty group came in and there has been a battle of specialists ever since. We used to have to travel 5+ hours away to get an MRI. Now it's literally just around the corner.
Beginning rant...
Since I'm so new to his situation, I call when there is a change in his urination and water intake. They increase the dose and then get upset when I call w/curve results and for the next instruction. Maybe I'm wrong. But he was diagnosed in June 2017 and I have only been dealing with this for that long...these vets deal with it every day. It would be nice if they had a little compassion. Sorry.....end of rant.

[Jules]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Oh My Gosh!! Judi thanks so much!!!! Hunter is losing his hind leg balance and the cortisol dropped 2 weeks ago from 10.2 to 5. But they have maintained Lysodren dose. I will definitely visit the cushings forum. I am so happy to have people that I can share my info with and oh my gosh, I am learning so much!! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you All!!!

NOTE: I just tried to register at k9cushings.com several times and it will not allow. Error message about the "Can you spell"

[Judi]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

If I can reset my password over there I will message one of the admins about you! It's been a long time

I sent Harley Pom Mom this link and told her you are having problems registering.

[amydunn19]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

As far as day to day blood glucose management, I stopped consulting my vet once he was comfortable with my decision making. The best thing to do is monitor your dog, learn all you can about his tendencies and research this forum, ask questions and manage most of it yourself. I always saved the big problems for the vet. I realize the Cushings will require some vet interaction but I find many vets just aren’t very experienced with diabetic dogs that don’t respond the way the “books” say. If you have 4 vets, you will get 4 different opinions.

Maggie’s original vet was very nice but was just clueless. It took her near death experience to jolt me out of my false sense of security. I realized that my vet was way overdosing her and decided I was going to figure it out. I was not the most medically knowledgeable person but it was just something I felt I had to do. I was so upset that when I found a new vet, I pretty much told him that I was testing her at home and I was going to be in charge of her care. He was nervous but told me as long as I discussed everything with him before actually changing things, he was ok with it. And from there, we were a great partnership. Finally, he said I didn’t need to call him every time I wanted to change something because he felt I was going to be fine.

Usually, somebody here has experienced a problem or has some knowledge to help with any situation. You are doing great so far!

[Jules]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Thanks so much Amydunn19. Everyone's help means the world to me!! He is having a rough rough time right now. Doing a curve today will post when it's finished with all his other info later today.
Jules

[Jules]

Hunter's Curve

Hi K9D Friends,
I thought I would go ahead and post Hunter's results and my thoughts. The internist usually does his last curve at 2:00pm if the numbers are still elevated. I wanted to post two curves since the change to Novolin N. Which seems to be working very well and I am wanting to adjust at 7:00pm tonight to 10units.

Curve 1: Change to Novolin N 10-30-17
7:00am No Insulin and Fasting BG 530
7:30am Breakfast/Insulin 7units
8:00am BG 507
10:00am BG 465
12:00noon BG 539
2:00pm BG 538
4:00pm BG 568
6:00pm BG 555
7:00pm Dinner/Insulin 7units
8:00pm BG 513

He was increased to 9units 10/30/17

Curve 2: Today 11/3/17
7:00am No Insulin and Fasting BG 542
7:30am Breakfast/Insulin 9units
8:00am BG 354
10:00am BG 409
12:00noon BG 366
2:00pm BG 343
4:00pm BG 379

Like I said I would like to adjust to 10units tonight. I will recheck BG at 8:00pm after his dinner and insulin. I'm having a very tough time getting him to eat in the morning. Does anyone else have a problem w/eating? Would that be caused by the overnight insulin decrease as the body is waiting to get next dose? He does pretty well in the evening at dinner. I feel like with the numbers still elevated I would be safe to move up one unit.

[jesse girl]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

one unit should be ok but be careful if having problems with appetite

definitely you have seen an improvement from the last curve

congrats on a job well done

[Jules]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Thanks Jesse girl!! It's so awesome have this forum to help!! I'll start a journal when I have problems getting him to eat in the mornings. He is acting like he is starving right now and ready for dinner.

[jesse girl]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

just keep an eye on things when resistance is broken for whatever reason it can be dramatic and numbers can keep going lower on that same dose

[CraigM]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Shredded cheese, a little water packed tuna fish (not sure how this goes with his normal meal) mixed in helped Annie at times. She really liked https://www.amazon.com/Purina-Fortif...Dog+probiotics I used ½ packet mixed into her breakfast at times. If things get really difficult, there is a prescription appetite stimulant.

Craig

[labblab]

Re: Blood Glucose Problems!

Hello Jules! I'm one of the staffers on the K9Cushings forum, and I wanted to pop in to let you know that your registration over there has now been finalized. So you can begin posting any time that you wish.

In advance, I can tell you that it'll help us a lot if we can find out the exact numbers for the testing that was done to diagnose the Cushing's, as well as any subsequent monitoring tests. I believe I saw you referencing a recent cortisol drop from around 10 to around 5?

You've also mentioned Lysodren dosing twice a week -- has this always been your dosing pattern? Lysodren treatment more commonly begins with a daily "loading" period, followed by subsequent "maintenance" doses given 2-3 times weekly.

As you've probably already gathered, it can be very tricky to accurately diagnose Cushing's when a dog is in the midst of acute diabetic control issues. The two diseases can indeed occur jointly, but we've also seen instances where cortisol elevation was actually caused by the diabetes as opposed to being a primary problem in its own right. So that's why accurate diagnostics are so important in this type of situation.

Anyway, I know you're in great hands here in terms of your diabetes questions. And we'll surely be watching for you to start posting on K9C!

Marianne