Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

[wmessin]

My 5 year old pug Rocky was diagnosed with diabetes about 9 months ago. We got him regulated and his water intake became normal within about a month of insulin treatment and adjustments with the levels based on the glucose curves. The vet also switched his dog food to the Hills W/D Low Fat Glucose Management dry dog food.

Rocky has since lost a ton of weight. Almost to the point that has me concerned. I brought this up with the vet who said we can increase the amount of dog food we are giving him.

Add to this, within the last 3-4 weeks we noticed his water intake was ramping up again. Right now it is at unbelievable levels. Constant. He's getting up every hour of the night and drinking a bowl of water and going outside to pee.

The vet continues to do glucose curves and sees no problems. He's checked for Cushings and says that the two tests he's run has shown mostly normal to only marginal results.

We don't know what to do and the vet has admitted he's about out of ideas. What on earth could be causing this????? His energy level is next to nothing compared to normal. We are worried his decline has been so rapid that he won't be with us much longer.

Any ideas?? This is the third vet he's seen. Very upsetting

Wayne

[CraigM]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

Welcome to you and Rocky.
The water drinking & urination sure sounds like an insulin imbalance, but I'm sure there are other possibilities. Do you have recent blood glucose (BG) readings you can post?

How much does Rocky weigh? Which insulin are you using? What was the starting and current insulin dosage? Any other medical conditions? Do you measure his food and feed twice a day with his insulin injection?

Craig

[wmessin]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

I do not have the BG levels handy. I will see if I can get that when I get home later. The vet has said that his glucose curves are "looking good". Should I test with a meter at home?

Rocky was tipping the scales at about 29 lbs when he was diagnosed. He is currently slightly under 21 lbs.

We feed him twice a day just before his insulin injections. Previously he was limited to a cup of dog food per meal (per vet's instructions). We've gone up to a cup and a half per meal.

Insulin brand is Humulin N.

Thanks,
Wayne

[CarolW]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

Hi Wayne and Rocky, and welcome!

Have any of the vets you've seen been specialists in Internal Medicine - board-certified? I'm curious. Such vets SHOULD be experts, but it turns out they aren't always.

Sorry I'm way out of practice, as my diabetic dog (Kumbi) died of cancer 3.5 years ago, but I'll be watching and cheering you on.

[CraigM]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

You will see that most of us on the forum do home test our pup's blood. At first it might seem difficult, but like with everything it becomes easier with experience. You get sooooo much info from home testing. If you are considering home testing remember prices online (Amazon is my friend) are usually much less than local stores. Same goes for the test strips you insert into the meter, much less expensive online. The exception would be either the ReliOn Prime or ReliOn Confirm meters from Walmart, they are inexpensive at Walmart.

One other possible money saving tip. Walmart sells Novolin-N for $25. Novolin-N and Humulin-N are both NPH insulins and are very similar in use. I've used both and really didn't see any difference, but every dog / situation is different. Syringes are also less expensive at Walmart.

Craig

[CraigM]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

Here's a good article that I review from time to time: http://www.2ndchance.info/diabetesdog.htm

Here is a link to the AlphaTrak meter. The AlphaTrak meter is a great meter, but can be expensive. I'm sending the link for the value of the information and videos. Just remember they are trying to sell their meter :-)
http://www.alphatrakmeter.com/index.html

Craig

[amydunn19]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

I agree with Craig - it certainly sounds like he is out of balance. Has the vet done actual curves(where he stays there all day) since the food increase? The thirst and lethargy certainly seem to point to high blood sugar.

I am a fan of the One touch ultra - it reads very close to the Alphatrack and you can get the strips on ebay. It does require a larger blood drop but I think that is the only drawback. I have a very mellow dog so she doesn't mind me testing.

[wmessin]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

An update on my Rocky - the vet did a good bit of blood work after consulting with an internist. the spot check showed blood glucose at 415 which has prompted a need for another curve next week.

They also noted that his sodium chloride level is non-existent. We're unsure as to why. They're having us sprinkle table salt on his food to try to raise those levels. He's also showing some mild pancreatic problems.

We'll know more next week.

I ordered the AlphaTrak 2 and it came in a couple of days ago. Despite the meter requiring a small blood sample, my Rocky hardly bleeds!!!! I've yet to be able to obtain a solid blood sample from him. The vet said they've had difficulties with him as well. I've tried his elbow, ear (multiple locations), base of the tail....nothing has been successful. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,
Wayne

[Judi]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

have you tried warming up the area where you are going to poke him for blood? that can make the blood flow. Some people use a warm washcloth and others get those little things you put in the microwave to heat up for arthritis relief.

We test Jenny's upper lip and only get blood near her canine tooth. if her blood is being stubborn I'll give her a tiny treat to chew to get the blood rolling.

hang in there and please keep us posted about his potassium.

[Auddog]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

Hi Wayne,

Another thing that you may want to look at is the size of lancet you're using. When I first got my AlphaTrak2 in the mail it came with a sample baggie of 30 gauge lancets, and for Bazz it was impossible to get enough blood to test. Once we switched to 26 gauge lancets we didn't have any problems at all. Bazz and I also test on the upper lip.

I wonder if the high spot check had something to do with the low sodium chloride or the mild pancreatic problems. Hope he gets feeling better soon, we'll be looking for your update,

Audrey & Bazzle

[wmessin]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

Thanks for the suggestions. we'll look into the lower gauge lancets. we've already tried using a very warm wet washcloth held to the test site for a short while with no real better result.

We understand ole Rocky's health issues is a marathon to deal with, not a sprint. We just hate to see him struggling. Hopefully we'll have him well balanced soon.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

How is Rocky doing?

Natalie

[montana800]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

If it helps any, I have found over the past year that if I hold the alpha trak 2 test strip just right with the center of the black spot on the side pointed just a tiny bit downward to the blood spot, it sucks the blood in with an amazingly small amount of blood.

Also, liver issues will cause your dog to drink excessively.

[heinzle]

Re: Rocky's Blood glucose level regulated - still drinking excessively!

Very low sodium in addition to high potassium can be a sign of Addison's Disease which is really hard to diagnose unless your vet is looking for it! Can you ask the vet if his potassium level was high in conjunction with his low sodium?