When Bella was diagnosed last Saturday with diabetes mellitus, it wasn't a big surprise. My 10 yr old mini schnauzer has been tested for both diabetes and cushing's about 11 months ago with negative results. Her prior history with bouts of pancreatitis (not acute), liver inflammation, and low grade heart murmur (1 on a scale from 1-5) has kept me on my toes. In August, she had her annual cardio work up & geriatric blood work done. Every thing came back normal. 8 weeks later, a rush to the emergency clinic, and it was confirmed. She had developed diabetes mellitus. The good news is that there were no ketones in her urine, the upsetting news, the emergency vet strongly recommended testing for cushing's asap. Bella spent 4 days at the regular vet clinic for the sugar curve test and was put on insulin (2x's daily). We are waiting for her to regulate/stabilize b/f testing for cushing's.
So now that our journey has begun, I'm not as prepared as I thought I would be. My hopes and prayers were for her to live out her golden years without having to go through this. Bella is hanging in there like a trooper. As for me, I'm a total mess. Between the nervous breakdowns, sleepless nights, worrying, and tears, its a wonder I can even get my thoughts together to administer the right dosage of insulin.
Here are some questions I have.
-Bella has been on Hill's RX W/D diet for the last 2 years. Her treats were apples, bananas, carrots, and milkbones. I have changed over to veggies because of the sugar content in these fruits. She now gets romaine lettuce, peeled cucumbers, celery, and raw string beans. How much can I give her for snacks during the day? She struggles during the 12 hr span between breakfast and dinner (7am-7pm).
-Will waiting a month b/f testing for cushing's going to cause more damage to her? (not that we have a choice, just trying to prepare).
-How manageable are both diseases?
I could call my vet again & ask, but I'm trying to save my phone calls for emergency situations. I believe I've talked to him about 50 times in the last week.
Thanks for the advice and support.
So now that our journey has begun, I'm not as prepared as I thought I would be. My hopes and prayers were for her to live out her golden years without having to go through this. Bella is hanging in there like a trooper. As for me, I'm a total mess. Between the nervous breakdowns, sleepless nights, worrying, and tears, its a wonder I can even get my thoughts together to administer the right dosage of insulin.
Here are some questions I have.
-Bella has been on Hill's RX W/D diet for the last 2 years. Her treats were apples, bananas, carrots, and milkbones. I have changed over to veggies because of the sugar content in these fruits. She now gets romaine lettuce, peeled cucumbers, celery, and raw string beans. How much can I give her for snacks during the day? She struggles during the 12 hr span between breakfast and dinner (7am-7pm).
-Will waiting a month b/f testing for cushing's going to cause more damage to her? (not that we have a choice, just trying to prepare).
-How manageable are both diseases?
I could call my vet again & ask, but I'm trying to save my phone calls for emergency situations. I believe I've talked to him about 50 times in the last week.
Thanks for the advice and support.
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