New member Earl

[Rob3ddd]

Re: New member Earl

Thanks,
I made an appointment with vet and will go from there.

I thought vet would notice these things during blood tests but with the virus and all the changes everything is different.
Now going to the vet is like going through a drive through and owners are made to stay outside.
The doctor does come out at times but it’s never good news when doctor comes out.

[jesse girl]

Re: New member Earl

wonderful update

they can check the eyes for cataracts . The damage may have been done early in the diagnosis when sugar was high . Age can also play a factor . Dogs in general dont have great vision to begin with . Smell and sound plays a bigger role.

[Rob3ddd]

Re: New member Earl

I took Earl in and he has cataracts.
One eye is worse than the other and at night he has more problems seeing.

His blood sugar was higher than normal and I have noticed water intake increase for 2 weeks so doctor increased insulin to 7 units twice daily with meals.


I have been trying to remember when I noticed a change and it could be a prescription dry food called Metabolic by Hill’s or maybe it’s the Tyson packaged chicken?
I cook up a bunch of chicken thighs and breasts at once and then weigh out his food twice a day.
Up until a few months ago his water intake was normal and his 6 month blood sugar test was 130.

Is there any chew on type treats or rawhide type treats dogs can have that doesn’t create sugar spikes?

Good news is Earl still sees little tiny birds flying around in trees out the window and chases them around as they fly tree to tree. So he has some good sight left.
I guess I’ll start a savings account for cataract surgery if it gets too bad even one eye would be better than none.

[Rob3ddd]

Monitor blood sugar at home questions?

The vet said there are meters I can get and I asked if I could use a tester made for humans and he said I need one just for dogs.
Is there any certain types that are better than others and where do I draw the blood?
Vet tech said I need it from a vein but vet said clipping a nail,milking ears,gums,or a pure drop from any where will work.

Any suggestions would be helpful especially on where and how to get a good source of blood for testing.

[bgdavis]

Re: Monitor blood sugar at home questions?

There is a whole section here on meters and testing strips, off the front page of forum.

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Monitor blood sugar at home questions?

hey Rob

i used the human meter the Onetouch and the animal meter Alphatrack.

i pricked his upper lip, a good blood supply, then slipped in the glucose strips.

theres no drawing blood! or nail clipping!

a good lancet devise to use is the Genteel

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: New member Earl

let us know if you need any help learning to hometest Earl?

its always good to do a full curve , checking the lowest number the raising or decreasing his insulin.

i found chicken raised Riles bg, i bought a good quality food at my pet store and fed the recommended amount for his weight.

most or all rawhide treats raise blood sugar. you can google good treats to give, i gave cut up green beans.

[k9diabetes]

Re: New member Earl

Cataracts can cause inflammation and some drops include steroids, that also increase blood sugar. There's a tendency among vets to believe that steroids in eye drops don't raise blood sugar, but we have demonstrated it here in the past.

He should receive drops to control that inflammation, which could help control his blood sugar as well.

Our dog was blind four and a half of his five years with diabetes. He adjusted quickly and it didn't slow him down at all. Most dogs adjust well after a few weeks.

Natalie

I took Earl in and he has cataracts.
One eye is worse than the other and at night he has more problems seeing.

His blood sugar was higher than normal and I have noticed water intake increase for 2 weeks so doctor increased insulin to 7 units twice daily with meals.


I have been trying to remember when I noticed a change and it could be a prescription dry food called Metabolic by Hill’s or maybe it’s the Tyson packaged chicken?
I cook up a bunch of chicken thighs and breasts at once and then weigh out his food twice a day.
Up until a few months ago his water intake was normal and his 6 month blood sugar test was 130.

Is there any chew on type treats or rawhide type treats dogs can have that doesn’t create sugar spikes?

Good news is Earl still sees little tiny birds flying around in trees out the window and chases them around as they fly tree to tree. So he has some good sight left.
I guess I’ll start a savings account for cataract surgery if it gets too bad even one eye would be better than none.

[jesse girl]

Re: Monitor blood sugar at home questions?

I used a budget human meter for jesses 11 years being diabetic

No meter is perfect including dog specific but it will give you an overall trend in blood sugar and it will tell you if you dogs sugar is low

For me I tried several human meters and compari8ng them they were close to about the same . Getting the correct amount of blood on a strip I think was more important than the manufacturer.

Sometimes diabetes is more of an art than science and you have to use a bit of human intuition to make decisions

[Rob3ddd]

Cataracts and how to treat?

Earl is getting cataracts at a fast rate.
I took him to vet and Earl blood sugar was high but it was under control for 6 months prior and is under control now.

I’m not real satisfied with my current vet.The office is set up like a drive through money making machine especially with virus they are making more now by eliminating waiting rooms.

Earl right eye is the worst and I noticed yesterday he is squinting,eye is a bit irritated,watery, and I noticed he bumped into a table leg with his eye.
It’s been cold and heated dries out air but it’s time I go back to vet and see what is happening.
I can tell these past few days his eye is uncomfortable.It could be dry eyes but what type of drops are safe?
I have noticed going outside and getting some good fresh air makes his eye look much better.
My heater in the cold weather may not be helpful.

I’ll make an appointment ASAP and I better get an appointment to an eye doctor for dogs.

I don’t know about cataract surgery for dogs and it’s about 2000 per eye.
Do they use an artificial lens ?

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Cataracts and how to treat?

hi Rob

i am running 2 humidifiers to keep the furnace heat from drying out the air too much.
with this cold its hard to stay warm.

getting a portable humidifier will help. set it up close your heat source
can you get a cone, collar to put on earl to protect his eyes and try and get an appointment with an eye doctor to put drops in his eyes and check for infection.

somebody should be in to answer your lens question

take care

[Rob3ddd]

Re: Cataracts and how to treat?

There are drops with a product called lanosterel that many are having positive results with.
I don’t know if it’s an eye injury but he is squinting and his fur is wet under his right eye.
There’s a convenient care clinic but they are not very good and it’s a real gamble.
I think he may have scratched his eye.
I took a look and I think I seen a scratch or a hair.
It’s not infected but it’s definitely doctor time.

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Cataracts and how to treat?

lanosteril i havent heard of these drops.

the thing is he needs to be seen by a qualified vet.

[Rob3ddd]

Re: Cataracts and how to treat?

Earl is getting cataracts at a fast rate.
I took him to vet and Earl blood sugar was high but it was under control for 6 months prior and is under control now.

I’m not real satisfied with my current vet.The office is set up like a drive through money making machine especially with virus they are making more now by eliminating waiting rooms.

Earl right eye is the worst and I noticed yesterday he is squinting,eye is a bit irritated,watery, and I noticed he bumped into a table leg with his eye.
It’s been cold and heated dries out air but it’s time I go back to vet and see what is happening.
I can tell these past few days his eye is uncomfortable.It could be dry eyes but what type of drops are safe?
I have noticed going outside and getting some good fresh air makes his eye look much better.
My heater in the cold weather may not be helpful.

I’ll make an appointment ASAP and I better get an appointment to an eye doctor for dogs.

I don’t know about cataract surgery for dogs and it’s about 2000 per eye.
Do they use an artificial lens ?

I think he scratched or bumped his eye but good news it’s gotten much better after he napped half the day away.
It stopped watering and he isn’t squinting as much so I’m a bit less stressed.
Still going to vet and see what he thinks about the eye drops with Ianosteril.
There’s some studies done using it on dogs and had some success with cataracts plus the reviews are better than I expected.
There’s a few vets on YouTube who claim there’s other methods of slowing down cataracts from diabetes but it must be caught early enough.Whether it’s the eye drops I don’t know but it’s worth looking into.

[Rob3ddd]

Re: Cataracts and how to treat?

Earl is much much better.
The redness is gone and I’m almost positive I seen a hair or a scratch but he is doing great and was rolling around in the snow and chasing birds.
I didn’t see any discharge during the whole ordeal so that’s a plus.

He sees much much better in the day time but I think the lights at night makes it harder for him to see out of the eye most effected.

He sees the vet this week and although his eye is okay it may be time to see a specialist?
I will also ask doctor about those eye drops.
I’ll post a link later but it was from a medical journal.