Mini-Me's diabetes

[momofdecker]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

If I remember correctly, Mini is already on gabapentin and tramadol, but I can't remember the dosing. Does she have any room to increase the tramadol to help with pain relief? Sorry to hear that she is still fighting infections and now has a paw injury too.

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

My thanks go out to you all; Holli, Barb & Judi!

My vet did agree with me. He told me to stay on 16u but keep a close eye on her to make sure she doesn't go too low, which I have been doing.

Today we had another LOUD storm and I gave her 10mg of melatonin. I take it at night to go to sleep and I know that is what the U of T recommends now for a-typical cushings so I figured it might relax her during the storm...not a chance. She was very scared and stayed right next to me the whole time.

Yes Holli, I give her 2 tramadol am & pm, however the vet said that I could give her 2 in the middle of the day. I haven't really tried that yet but will try it tomorrow and see if that helps her.

I'm checking into getting her off of the medrol which also helps raise her B/G but she has been on it for about 5 years now for the a-typical cushings disease. I know now that they recommend giving your furbaby melatonin and lignans. I have to find out what the dosage I would give for Mini (she's 77.8 lbs.) and if anyone has any experience with their furbaby in this regard.

I will also post this on K9Cushings to see if anyone on that site can lead me in the right direction. I'm not sure my vet would know this.

Again I can't thank you all enough. Thanks for being there for me when I needed help!

Jeanne

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

hello Jeanne

just wanted to give you some supprt. fireworks here in toronto have been ongoing since thursday.even during the day. i say to Riles it only noise.

my dog , cs bg are higher fasting numbers then usual. maybe meds get accelerated when their upset. fireworks are over herein to.

hope your pupfeels better

[labblab]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Hi again, Jeanne!

I noticed last night that you had returned to us at k9cushings and posted a reply asking for info re: treatment with melatonin/lignans. For the benefit of other readers, I just want to first clarify that UTK has recommended melatonin & lignans for the treatment of certain elevated intermediate adrenal hormones other than cortisol for several years now. This is the condition that they label as "Atypical Cushing's." When Mini's tests were originally analyzed at UTK, I believe she also exhibited elevated cortisol which placed her in their category of conventional Cushing's. It was for that reason that UTK recommended medications other than the melatonin & lignans that would have been suggested had her cortisol not been elevated. Your labelling of Mini as suffering from "Atypical Cushing's" came from folks other than UTK who recommended an entirely different treatment protocol which ultimately led to the Medrol. So I don't want people to think that melatonin/lignans is a new treatment out of UTK. If they didn't recommend them for Mini, it is because her testing profile led them in a different direction.

Which leads me to this question: Have you had recent UTK testing performed for Mini indicating that intermediate hormones remain elevated for which you are seeking treatment? This would require a full adrenal panel including ACTH testing, and not just "resting" or baseline hormone levels. Otherwise, I am not understanding why you would be starting the melatonin/lignans. From our previous conversations, I do understand why you would want to wean Mini off the Medrol. But that presents a different set of issues since it involves cortisol, and not the intermediate hormones for which melatonin/lignans are typically prescribed. So I'm hoping you can give us some more information as to your specific goal with the treatment.

Marianne

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Jeanne, I am off to work, but was glad to see your post even if the news isn't so great. I had been thinking about you and Mini lately.

Can't offer anything right now as I am trying to keep my head above water with Ruby, but I am pulling for you.

Tara

[labblab]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Jeanne, I just came across some info re: melatonin on another member's thread that seems important for you to see. This quote relates to human patients, but I will assume that it is also relevant to veterinary patients.

Hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar levels) has been reported in patients with type 1 diabetes (insulin-dependent diabetes), and low doses of melatonin have reduced glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Caution is advised in patients with diabetes or hypoglycemia, and in those taking drugs, herbs, or supplements that affect blood sugar. Serum glucose levels may need to be monitored by a healthcare provider, and medication adjustments may be necessary.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mel...SECTION=safety

So this seems like another reason to proceed with caution in administering melatonin without a clearly defined reason or benefit...

Marianne

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Jeanne,

For those times, like thunderstorms and fireworks, I am wondering if this product may help.

http://www.bachrescueremedypet.com/

In fact I just purchased some... still waiting for it in the mail, for Abby. I find that when we go out of town, her BG levels go so out of whack, and I think it is because she knows we are leaving, and she sticks to me like glue. Now if she sees her bag come out.... well, now, that is a different story.


I will post on how well this stuff works....

Barb

[Judi]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Tami had recommended Rescue Remedy for Ranger for our big road trip last October. For him, it worked great. He is not diabetic but is a little psychotic and hates riding in the car.

Within 20 minutes of giving him the Rescue Remedy he calmed down. So for him, it helped a lot.

I gave a bottle to someone I know locally who's dog has major separation anxiety when she goes to work. She said it didn't help him one little bit!

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Thanks.. Judi.
From the reviews, I see a mixed bag as well, in that sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I thought it may be worth a shot.... when I took her to the vet, she tried to bite him, and she nevers does anything like that. Geeezzzz...She was so keyed up.

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

hello Jeanne

just wanted to give you some supprt. fireworks here in toronto have been ongoing since thursday.even during the day. i say to Riles it only noise.

my dog , cs bg are higher fasting numbers then usual. maybe meds get accelerated when their upset. fireworks are over herein to.

hope your pupfeels better

Thank you for your support. Fireworks & thunder are her worst enemies. We give her doggie tranquilizers for this if it's real bad, however, even with that she still has high B/G's.

Jeanne

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Hi Holli,

Thanks for the response, much appreciated.

It was just a thought on my part to get her off of the Medrol. She does fine with it but I know it also helps raise her B/G.

And I know that melatonin and lignans are not new from U of T, I didn't mean for it to sound that way, it's just that those weren't prescribed as a way to treat her at that time about 5 years ago. We have not had any serious blood work for some time now, probably will check again in the coming months to see how she is doing.

I just get so frustrated trying to keep her B/G under control and my mind goes in to overload and I panic some times.

Thanks for your response & will keep your response in the back of my mind, when I have it, LOL.

Jeanne

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Jeanne, I am off to work, but was glad to see your post even if the news isn't so great. I had been thinking about you and Mini lately.

Can't offer anything right now as I am trying to keep my head above water with Ruby, but I am pulling for you.

Tara

Thanks Tara,

I really appreciate all that the members at this site suggest, comment, etc. You all are really the best! And have the best comments, suggestions, etc. from your experiences thus far.

Hope everything is going okay for you and Ruby.

My best to both of you!

Jeanne

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Jeanne, I just came across some info re: melatonin on another member's thread that seems important for you to see. This quote relates to human patients, but I will assume that it is also relevant to veterinary patients.



http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mel...SECTION=safety

So this seems like another reason to proceed with caution in administering melatonin without a clearly defined reason or benefit...

Marianne

Thank you Marianne! The info you sent is interesting and something that I will keep in my mind. I haven't changed anything...I just get so frustrated some times with this horrible disease and my mind starts wandering trying to think how I can help her.

We will just keep on keeping on and hope we can keep her as healthy as possible.

Jeanne

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Jeanne,

For those times, like thunderstorms and fireworks, I am wondering if this product may help.

http://www.bachrescueremedypet.com/

In fact I just purchased some... still waiting for it in the mail, for Abby. I find that when we go out of town, her BG levels go so out of whack, and I think it is because she knows we are leaving, and she sticks to me like glue. Now if she sees her bag come out.... well, now, that is a different story.


I will post on how well this stuff works....

Barb

Great Barb! I hope it works...I will wait for your post on how it works. I also will purchase if it works...I'll try anything to help Mini.

Thanks for the info and looking forward to hearing how it works.

Jeanne

[alan]

Re: Mini-Me's diabetes

Tami had recommended Rescue Remedy for Ranger for our big road trip last October. For him, it worked great. He is not diabetic but is a little psychotic and hates riding in the car.

Within 20 minutes of giving him the Rescue Remedy he calmed down. So for him, it helped a lot.

I gave a bottle to someone I know locally who's dog has major separation anxiety when she goes to work. She said it didn't help him one little bit!

I'm waiting to see how it works for Barb. Mini also has separation anxiety really bad. I'm with her 24/7 for the most part. But if I'm doing things around the house and leave her in the living room after a minute she'll come looking for me, she has become my shadow. But that's okay, I think because I'm with her all day & night that I have taken the place of our other furbaby that was Mini's Alpha, Snoopy. We lost Snoopy a couple of years ago and I'm not sure that Mini ever got over her being gone. And I'm the one that she sleeps with, I feed her, take her for walks, and check her B/G & give her insulin shots. Al, my husband, used to take her for walks when he would come home from work but sometimes she won't even go with him unless she sees me walking with them! She's become quite a pistol. But she gets all of our love no matter what.

Thank you for the input, I appreciate all of you!!!!!!