Ollie's Over the Rainbow Bridge

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

Ollie had a successful surgery and is now lying in front of the woodstove soaking up the heat. Thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts.

The area of the eye is swollen of course, but not overly so, and hardly any hair was removed, so he doesn't look too bad. It's interesting again, the difference between vets. The last one (the eye specialist) had him on tramadol after the surgery for pain, quite a lot (75 mg 2x daily). This one wasn't going to give anything but 1/2 a Rimadyl 2x daily. Ollie was in significant pain 4 hrs post-op, he yelped and cried when a few strands of my hair accidentally touched his eye area. I felt so bad. He also had some soreness around his neck on that side, and was trembling occasionally.

So I called the vet after I got home and since we had some Tramadol left over, he said to give him one today and tomorrow. Finally, Ollie had some relief after that. But honestly, has anyone ever had a dog after surgery on no pain meds? I know dogs can take a lot of pain (and don't show it), but the body surely heals quicker when not so stressed. So if not for comfort, why not for healing? You can see I'm a bit perplexed. I guess if most vets did most things the same way, I would feel more confident in their decisions. The reality is that I question every step of the way, and don't trust even my favorite vet completely.

And it's an awful feeling handing your best friend over to people you do not completely trust.

Anyway, Ollie's eating and drinking and on the way to more happiness. Hopefully there will be no complications and we can get his blood sugar back down to the better numbers within a few days.

Mary

[jesse girl]

Re: Ollie's journey

I am not sure if the reduction in pain through medication helps to accelerate the healing process. you could have the opposite opinion without pain the body doesnt know there is anything wrong and the healing process could be slowed

In my family we dont take much medication . My 87 year old mom doesnt like the way she feels . with some of jesses surgery we did not give much pain medication maybe for a day or 2

your right a dogs tolerance to pain is quite amazing and shows as a society we probably over medicate

Glad ollie came through the surgery in good shape and maybe now things can settle down into a routine and a happy dogs life

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

Had a bit of a scare last night when Ollie threw up at about 2pm and then did not eat dinner. We tried to entice him with different food, but he was still throwing up bile after his stomach was empty. So we skipped his insulin, and the pain med. He did get up to the 400's.

He was in a lot of pain for about 20 hrs, trembling and very focused on it. He did manage to sleep pretty well, and was feeling a lot better this morning. He ate all his food (enhanced with chicken broth), got a full insulin dose and slept without trembling most of the day. We have him off the pain med now, and even off the Rimadyl. Not sure if either of those caused his discomfort. Hoping the worst is over.

He did not have any of these problems with his first eye removal, and his glucose was much less under control then (500-700's)...and he was receiving no meds for his hypothyroid then, either. I was hoping for a smoother recovery this time due to all that, but he's been through a lot in the last 2 months.

Wishing all of you a peaceful holiday! Thanks so much for this forum, we'd be lost without it.

Mary

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

Here's a more pleasant report than the last:

Ollie is out of pain, and doing great. He gets his stitches out in a few days. He is playing, going on daily walks, and very spunky. His blood sugar has been pretty much in the good range, with a few ups and downs due to Christmas crumbs all over the floor, I think.

I filmed a movie of him playing fetch with the ball, and I am hoping to upload it soon.

Mary

[jesse girl]

Re: Ollie's journey

sounds quite uplifting

there will always be ups and downs but its nice to have those ups and just relax a bit

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

Hi, we need a little advice on meters and strips.

We have been testing with an Alphatrak 2, with good results, but as you know, the strips are very expensive. So we bought a Freestyle Lite meter as a backup meter, and some Freestyle Lite strips. I have heard that you can use the Freestyle strips in the Alphatrak 2 meter, but I'm wondering how to code the meter. The FS strips have one code on the back, I guess that's what I'd enter as a code? But the code is for humans...and the meter is for pets.

Does the meter adjust the readings for canines? Or is that information within the coding, as indicated on the Alphatrak 2 strips vials, which have different coding for cats and dogs?

Does anyone out there use an Alphatrak with a different brand of strips?

Also, when trying to figure out the % difference in the FS (human meter) vs the Alphatrak (when used with their same brand strips), how many tests do you think would give a good average?

Thanks so much,

Mary

[CraigM]

Re: Ollie's journey

Here's something I wrote a few months ago.


FreeStyle LIte test strips in the AlphaTrak meter

Some of us have used FreeStyle Lite strips in the AlphaTrak meter to save a little money. Both the FreeStyle Lite and AlphaTrak strips are made by Abbott and look identical. I wouldn't be surprised if they came off the same machine and were just packed into different boxes.

The difference is that the AlphaTrak strips have several "code" numbers listed on the strip container for different types of animals (dogs, cats, horses, etc. each have different codes) because of differences in their blood. The FreeStyle Lite strips are only sold for FreeStyle Lite Series meters and have a single code number for human blood (Actually, I think modern FreeStyle Series meters are auto-coding and you can't even change the code number on the meter).

The trick is to determine what code number should be inserted into the AlphaTrak meter for a box of FreeStyle Lite test strips.

My procedure is to use the small vial of control solution that came in the AlphaTrak kit. Use a true AlphaTrak test strip, code set per the strip container, and use the control solution as imitation blood, note the reading. For example, let's say the AlphaTrak strip + control solution read 150.

Insert a FreeStyle Lite strip. For the first test leave the code set to whatever you used with the AlphaTrak strip, and test again using the control solution. If this test results in a reading within 4-5 points (145-155ish in my example) you are good to go! Unfortunately, most times the above test will be more than 5 points off. If the numbers are off by 6-8, it would be your choice, probably not enough to worry about. If more than 8 points off, you might want to do more testing.

After lots of testing / comparing, code 5 or 6 seem to be best for me. I would insert a FreeStyle Lite strip, change the code to 5, and test with the control solution. If off by more than about 5 points, test again using code 6. Hopefully, either code 5, 6, or the number that was on the AlphaTrak strips will be close enough. I forgot to mention that I ignore the code printed on the FreeStyle Lite container because that number would be used with human blood.

Of course, this may change from box to box. I usually buy three boxes of FreeStyle Lite strips at a time and hope they send me three boxes with the same batch number.

Of course Abbott will tell you to use only the high cost AlphaTrak test strips. Do your own testing, don't rely on my testing / recommendations :-)

Craig


Another thought is to retire the AlphaTrak and go with the PetTest meter.
https://www.amazon.com/Advocate-Gluc...=pettest+meter The test strips for the PetTest are currently about $25 for 50. I'm a little upset that the price of these strips have risen from $19 to $25 in the past several months

Craig

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

Thanks, Craig...that makes sense.

Just took Ollie for his first "hike" post-surgeries, and he did great. I have him on a lead and harness. He also wore his visor, which he usually hates, but I found a way to attach it to his harness and keep it from rubbing the backs of his ears, which seemed to help a lot. He even crossed the shallow creek! He has developed a lot of trust in his handlers!

Mary

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

Here's a link to a video of Ollie playing ball yesterday. I hope it works, this is the first time trying this:

https://1drv.ms/v/s!Ah4c6PJcEfBPhD0qaP-_auiwhPEv

[Auddog]

Lol, he looks like he's having a lot of fun
Glad he's doing well!!

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

Ollie continues to gain strength and look healthier all the time. His numbers are usually in the 100-250 range, though occasionally he goes high, but not for long. Stitches came out, cone came off, he is getting around admirably for a blind old man. He looks far healthier than he did a year ago.

We had our other dog, Honey, tested for hypothyroidism. Her symptoms were failure to lose weight with reduction in diet, and low energy. Sure enough, she tested positive, so we started her on the meds yesterday. It's such a common disease, has such a simple test and the medication is fairly cheap with very rare side effects; I would recommend anyone who suspects their dog has it to not delay.

For Ollie, his insulin started working much better as soon as his hypothyroid was treated. He's lost about 9-10 lbs of excess fat (he's now 60 lbs) and he's on 18-20 units Novolin 2x per day.

Mary

Mary

[jesse girl]

Re: Ollie's journey

wow what great news for both dogs

your right it does seem to be common and if your diabetic and struggling its definitely worth testing for

[momofdecker]

Re: Ollie's journey

Wonderful news for Ollie! Kudos to you for recognizing the symptoms and having Honey tested as well.

I truly believe Decker's undiagnosed hypothyroidism took a much greater toll on his life than the diabetes ever did.

Hoping for continued positive updates for Ollie and Honey!

Holli

[farrwf]

Re: Ollie's journey

Great report, ... love to see good news. BTW, Levothyroxine is on Walmart's $4 generic prescription list.

[oliversparents]

Re: Ollie's journey

A question about Ollie's glucose levels. This has happened 2 times in the last month or so. Just when we get him into a nice range (250-80) at 18 units, he spikes up to the 300's and stays there for a few days, even though we are increasing the insulin (gradually up to 23-25 units). Then he goes back down to the 100's, and we reduce the insulin back to 18-19.

I guess we were hoping at some point to not have to test his blood as often (we test it before meals, and more if it's low).

I know it's not much to go on yet, since it's only happened twice. Yes, he may have eaten something to make it high, but would that cause it to stay high for a few days, regardless of an increase in insulin?

Thanks.