Dottie just diagnosed

[SchnauzerMomOf4]

Hello, my name is Heather and my baby girl, Dottie, was diagnosed with diabetes approximately two months ago. She is a 8yr old miniature schnauzer and I have never dealt with this before. In the last two months she has went from around 28lbs then to 24lbs to now being 21lbs.
Her insulin started at 4u then to 6u and now we are at 8u (all are twice a day).
She's always drinking water and bad started having accidents while sleeping so they have her on a chewable pill for that twice a day as well but sometimes she still has accidents.
I've not changed her food (1cup/twice day) and same brand because I'm afraid to upset her stomach with e erything else she's dealing with. But now, this weekend she has lost most of her eyesight. The vet says its from the diabetes but its so quick and seemed to happen over night!
She is walking into things now and seeming to not remember the layout of the house which breaks my heart. What I need help with is, how can I regulate her insulin? Does anyone know what to do to help with a dog who is losing their sight? What food is best for her???
Any help is appreciated!

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Hi Heather, sorry for the blindness. It seems as though some diabetic dogs can go blind virtually overnight. There are lots of things you can do to help her like wearing bells around your ankles to help her track you, mark traffic areas with rug runners. If there is a specific place Dottie keeps running into you can tack up some silk flowers at her head height that will warn her off before she bonks into the wall.

My girl was also blind and the book Living with Blind Dogs helped us.

The quickest, safest and least expensive way to regulate a dog is to do blood testing at home. Collectively we have tons of experience with it and once we have some numbers to go by we can help a great deal.

If you aren't testing at home, has your vet been running 12 hour curves prior to the increases? If so can you post the numbers?

I ask because increasing by 2 units at a time is a big increase for a small dog. it all depends on the numbers but usually it is best to go in 1/2 - 1 unit increments.

Insulin dose changes should be based on full 12 hr curves. The first test should be run just prior to food and insulin. Then every 2 hrs. after, until the evening meal. Many vets seem to cut corners in one area or another on the curve.

if you think you could home test just let us know and we can help. Before running out and getting a meter though you want to do some checking. All meters are not created equally. My favorite was the One Touch Ultra 2.

I wouldn't make any changes to the diet right now.

Tara

[Eddie]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Hello and welcome
I'm sorry to hear about Dottie losing her sight - I know from our experience how hard it is to watch this.
I do think they adapt to it probably faster than we do, and generally they seem to be quite accepting of it. Our dog lost his sight several years ago long before he developed diabetes. He has adapted to it and still enjoys life, wagging his tail most of the time.
The book that Tara mentions is very good and has some really helpful suggestions.
Things we do include -
- I wear a cat bell on my shoes so he can hear me coming and knows where I am if we are outside together
- We use bubble wrap (big bubble variety) on sharp corners in the house where he tends to collide with things (eg he has to go round two corners to get to the back door and it is much better for him to bounce gently off bubble wrap than to hit the door frame
- We never call him to us outside unless there is a short clear route from him to us as otherwise he runs into obstacles.
- We keep all the furniture in the same places and keep doors either wide open or shut.
- We have mats near the back door so he can find his way in.
- we accept that he will sometimes bump into thing and we can't always stop it (though it still makes us sad)
- We taught him the word "bump" so he knows to stop if we say (shout) that to him, and if there is a new hazard eg a visitor's car we take him to it and say "bump" so he knows there is a new obstacle.

On regulating the blood sugar, I would second everything Tara has said about home testing. It is incredibly useful (I find it essential) to be able to check where their BG is at any given time.Without it I think I would have to live at the vet clinic!

On food, we kept Eddie's food the same as before as he has another digestive problem and I didn't want to have to change food because of that.

I hope some of that is useful. It will all get easier but it is probably very overwhelming at the moment. Longer term you may want to investigate whether the sight can be restored by surgery but that is probably something for the future (Not an option for Eddie so I know little about it but plenty of others on here have pursued it).
Antonia

[SchnauzerMomOf4]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Thank you both! I will be doing a lot of padding around the house and definitely picking up that book. I do want to test Dot at home but wasn't sure what meter to get/use and will vet asap if you recommend the One Touch Ultra 2. We go back to the vet in a few days and I'd like to go with as much I do as I can.
Again, thank you for helping me and Dot!!

[CraigM]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Agree that the One Touch Ultra2 is a great meter. Just wanted to mention that it is usually MUCH less expensive online (Amazon is a good place to look). Test strips are also much less expensive online. I'm thinking even if you went with fast shipping it might be half the price you'd pay at a local store.
http://www.amazon.com/One-Touch-Ultr...e+touch+ultra2 The $51.75 combo deal would be good. That way you wouldn't run out of test strips right away. This was just my first search, you might find even a better deal.

Craig

[ceruleanblue]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

As far as human meters, I really like the One Touch Ultra 2 as well (eBay has great prices for meters & strips). The only drawback is that is does require the biggest blood drop for a sample, and you're probably going to waste some strips at first figuring out how to get it. I also wish it had a beep, but that's just personal preference for me, and doesn't have anything to do with the way the meter works.

If you want to go with a dog meter, American Diabetes Wholesale has a special on this meter kit: http://www.americandiabeteswholesale...t_8078_109.htm. The code ALPHA100 at checkout makes it only $97.98. The AlphaTrak is made for dogs, and only requires a tiny blood drop, but the strips are expensive.

[amydunn19]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Hi, Heather - welcome to you and Dottie. I have a nondiabetic schnauzer myself and Maggie, my diabetic JRT. I love both breeds because they have so much spunk.

I will chime in with praise for the One Touch Ultra. My vet was so impressed with it, he bought one to use at his clinic. I find it to be very accurate.

Maggie lost her sight practically overnight. We elected to have the cataract surgery as she was a good candidate and we could swing it financially. Has your vet referred you to an opthalmologist? Even if you can't do surgery, you will probably need to get her on some eyedrops and monitor the progression.They can also tell you if she is a good candidate for surgery.

Dogs adapt pretty well to loss of vision and you have already gotten some great tips.

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Hi Dottie,

Just to offer a warm welcome. I have both meters, but if not mentioned already, there is a difference between the human meters such as the one touch and the animal meters Alpha Trak 2. Once you find out the ratio of the difference in percentages between the vet meter, or the lab reading ( you will measure your meter at the vets), then take this percentage from the one touch reading. Typically human meters read higher than dog meters.

If you can provide some blood test results, and what type of food you are feeding, that would help us respond. Typically however most foods can be tweaked to the insulin. It is recommended to stay away from the pouch type of food however.

Blood work, perhaps high triglycerides or high cholesterol. These can be lowered with additional fish oil, sometimes.

Barb

[maladuca]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Welcome Heather and Dottie. You have come to the right place. The people here are very helpful and compassionate. You are not alone.
My dog Teddy went blind within four months of diagnosis. It is still new to us and very heartbreaking. But he has a wonderful quality of life with love all around him. To stay on top of the eye trouble you will want to see an opthamologist if you have one nearby. Teddy had complications that led to painful glaucoma. The drops helped tremendously. But if I had been more conservative I might have been able to head off the infection and pain. Be sure to ask questions and watch those eyes carefully.
Best of luck!!!
Margaret

[CraigM]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Typically human meters read higher than dog meters.

I think Barb might have mis-typed. Human meters frequently read lower than dog meters.

Craig

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

I think Barb might have mis-typed. Human meters frequently read lower than dog meters.

Craig

You are so right. It was too early in the AM to be typing.

[Monsters Momma]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

I think Barb might have mis-typed. Human meters frequently read lower than dog meters.

Craig

Frankly I'm surprised anyone else talked about meters at all with you as our resident expert Craig!

Welcome to you and Dottie! You have gotten some great advice and I just wanted to welcome you to the forum! You have definitely found a great place for information and support!!
Mel

[SchnauzerMomOf4]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Thanks again for the helpful advice. Her meter should be here Friday and I did order from Amazon. My local drug store wanted double what I paid online! Dottie is on Purina Dog Chow hard food 1 cup in moring and 1 at night. She's been on this food her entire life (before was puppy chow).
I am starting to look at labels and journaling her food and insulin. My closest ophthalmologist is UT Knoxville. I have been told she's a good candidate for surgery but I don't have the funds unfortunately. What drops does she need? I will write that down as well!
Thanks so much!

[Auddog]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

We're a bit late, but Bazzle & I wanted to welcome you to the forum as well

Bazz has been dealing with his cataracts getting worse since his diagnosis. When he started bumping into things more often then not, we asked our vet if there was anything we could do and were told he is a good candidate for surgery (but we can't afford it either).

I also asked about eye drops because of the research I did online, and what I had read here, to which our vet said that he didn't really need eye drops because he's not showing any signs of glaucoma, or other eye problems that can come with cataracts; and really the only reason we should start worrying is if he starts showing any signs of pain or irritation. It wouldn't hurt to get checked out by an ophthalmologist, but I guess all I'm trying to say is that just because she's been loosing her sight doesn't necessarily mean she's going to end up on eye drops.

Bazzle also used to be on the Purina Chow food, started with puppy chow, then graduated to dog chow, then again graduated to Purina Senior 7+ Chow. We ended up switching to Hill's WD when Bazz was first showing signs of becoming diabetic on the recommendation of our vet (that was before we found this forum, and took the word of our vet as doggy-care-law )

So again Welcome to the forum, and hope to hear from you soon

Audrey & Bazzle

[SchnauzerMomOf4]

Re: Dottie just diagnosed

Update on Dottie. Her levels are all over the place but never lower than 323 with the curve test that was just completed. She has gained 2lbs!!! Yay! She is adjusting to her loss of vision and I think I am too (maybe). We are now testing for Cushing's Disease because she has several of the symptoms and is now on 10u of insulin 2x a day and nothings regulating her
I have adjusted her diet to 1/2 can wet food and 1/2 cup dry food per vets suggestion so that she would gain weight but also so she would EAT. She is on eye drops now as well because of the worry I have of other problems she may begin to have and because her eyes were beginning to hurt her
I'm one heck of a helicopter mom when it comes to this baby girl. I hope to hear the results of the Cushing's test tomorrow or Monday and then we can go to there *finger's crossed.*
I am looking into changing the food that I feed her and her siblings as I feel she needs a better product with better proteins/fiber for her. Any suggestions? I'm looking at Blue Buffalo..anyone used that?