Winnie

[Suzanne123]

My Dog: Winnie (Female, 12 year old, shih-tzu mix)
Weight: 25 pounds
Just diagnosed
Just switched to Blue Buffalo Adult Chicken
use Advocate pet test meter
Her blood sugar was between 640 and 450 when first diagnosed last week
It has gone down to 450 to 350 but all of the sudden she won't eat
Her kidneys are good according to blood test
Need any help anyone can give me or advice
She is on Vetsulin once a day/6 units (starting dose)

[CraigM]

Welcome to the forum😀

Sorry Winnie has diabetes, but congratulations to you for learning to blood test so quickly!

Many vets will try to make a single injection of Vetsulin work, but I don’t think there is a single member of the forum that has been able to make that work. Vetsulin just doesn’t seem to last much longer than 12 hours, so everyone(?) finally goes to twice a day injections; 12 hours apart after breakfast / dinner. Who knows, Winnie might be the one to make one injection work, but don’t be surprised if she needs two injections.

Craig

[Raysaint]

I agree with Craig, get her on a schedule of eating and insulin twice a day, 12 hours apart.
Not eating could be pancreatitis, which is very common with diabetes, especially when first diagnosed. Have your vet, sorry, demand your vet do the quick blood test for pancreatitis. If she has it, it needs treatment asap.

[Suzanne123]

Thank you very much for your good advice. I will do a glucose curve test on her next weekend and give the results to my vet, and she did say that at that time we would probably have to increase her insulin. I'm used to checking blood glucose because I am diabetic myself.

[Suzanne123]

Thank you for your advice. Thankfully, Winnie started eating again (I mixed her food half dry and half wet Blue Buffalo Adult Chicken). I am sure the vet will increase her dose to twice a day next Monday. I'm doing a blood glucose curve test (myself) this weekend on her and will give the results to the vet then.

[Raysaint]

From one diabetic to another, my advice is to not set expectations for the curve, her sugar will probably run high for a bit and then slowly come down over time. And you'll get many surprises.
But dogs can handle high sugars over time better than we. There's no immediate dangers other than ketones.

The biggest mistake I made, as a diabetic, was to try and manage and regulate my dog like I do myself. I got focused on numbers, and was always trying to correct, and I just kept making it worse and delaying his progress. I'm 9 months in and just now getting some regulation. I was his worst enemy.

Be methodical and patient. Incremental and consistent doses and increases will win the battle.

[Suzanne123]

Thank you for your wise advice. I think you are correct, I am expecting instant and perfect blood glucose readings because once I was diagnosed and medicated my numbers came into line pretty quickly. Her vet is starting her twice daily instead of one daily and at a reduced dose. If I could even get her to consistently in the 300's I'd be happy but I will be patient. It's good to know dogs can run higher sugars than people can. I keep expecting to wake up and find that she has gone blind overnight. She (my Winnie) certainly seems to e handling this better than I am

[Suzanne123]

Vet has switched Winnie to Vetsulin x2 a day now, beginning with 3 units morning and 3 units at night, she said we will probably up it to 4 units morning and night. Her blood sugar is running over 500 in the morning and only gets down to about 350 late in the day. She's having some diarrhea but I think it is her adjusting to the new food. She isn't vomiting and is playful but still drinks tons of water and soaks her wee-wee pads in the middle of the night.

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by Suzanne123

Vet has switched Winnie to Vetsulin x2 a day now, beginning with 3 units morning and 3 units at night, she said we will probably up it to 4 units morning and night. Her blood sugar is running over 500 in the morning and only gets down to about 350 late in the day. She's having some diarrhea but I think it is her adjusting to the new food. She isn't vomiting and is playful but still drinks tons of water and soaks her wee-wee pads in the middle of the night.

Every dog / situation is different, but a general starting dosage (Vetsulin or Novolin-N) has been 0.2 units per pound (twice a day). So, many would start a 25 pound pup at around 5 units twice a day. I realize this is more than the Vetsulin website suggests, but seems to work better as a starting dosage.

Annie was 18-20 pounds when diagnosed and spent most of her diabetic life around 9 units. Again, every pup is different: food, activity, other medicines, etc. can make a difference.

Craig

[CraigM]

Oops, I forgot to ask the question that was on my mind. Are you using U-40 syringes, generally bought from your vet? Vetsulin is a U-40 insulin and needs the fairly special U-40 syringe for proper dosing.

U-40 syringes are different than the common U-100 syringes that most human style insulins use.

Craig