Newly Diagnosed, having issues

[jesse girl]

All good news and making progress !

Usually a transition from vetsulin to relion n insulin from walmart sees a similar response for most dogs . So the transition is usually uneventful but some dogs came up with allergic issues with the human insulin but that seems to be very rare .

As far as dosing it works out to close the same in units between he 2 insulins . Now they use different types of syringes so actual volumes of insulin is different

My Jesse started on vetsulin over a decade ago and it was removed off the market at that time so she was not regulated on vetsulin because I Told the vet at the time that since vetsulin was coming off the market why regulate jesse on it . They told me they had plenty of vetsulin but I said we still have a problem with it coming off the market and they agreed to transition to relion N . She was the first to do it at that facility. Now a couple week latter I took over the management of her diabetes and have not had a vet involved with her diabetes since then .

I still have that original vial of vetsulin in the fridge . I thought they were going to pay me back for it but that never happened so it just sits there

[sibhus]

Neirracul, im also new on here as my 7yr husky was also diagnosed with diabetes. Ive gotten some great help here as well.

As to the insulin, I also was advised by my vet to use vetsulin but realized the Novolin n can be had for 24.88 at Walmart whom you can always count on to have on hand and never run into issues as to availability or price fluctuations. A lot of vets are trained by the pharmaceutical industry so will only endorse what the industry offer. Also the reli-on needles are about $12 and use the 30unit 8mm style needles.

I believe the profile curves are slightly different between vetsulin and Novolin n however, the dosing is similar.

[Neirracul]

We did a glucose curve today and her results were:
441
356
549
518
467
388

It looks rather suspicious when plotted out. Readings were taken every two hours, starting at 7 AM and ending at 5 PM. By 11 she was very sleepy and did not want to get up. I imagine this is what was happening all week, but I’ve been working so it’s hard to say. My partner said she was a lot less active during the late morning/ afternoon. It would explain why our 3 PM spot check are always in the 400s. What do you guys think?

[MikeMurphy]

Good morning. Not a bad looking curve there. You should be able to safely move up one unit and do another curve in one week. Once you start to get closer to the 150 - 250 range for most of the day, then you can increase in .5 unit increments.

Good work!

[Riliey and Mo]

good job this curve is good.
the lowest number is 388
your okay to up one unit to 11.
keep up the good work regulation is just around the corner.

[Neirracul]

Hi all,

We’ve been on 11 units twice daily for around 10 days now and we just finished another curve today. Actual numbers haven’t changed much but the S-shape of the last curve is replaced by a rather flat-ish one. It worries me that it looks like either a stuck in rebound curve or a resistant curve. Is it too early in regulation to tell? I assumed that when the vet had her hospitalized for several days they would have tested her for other issues since they couldn’t get her sugar to come down below 400, but maybe not? I kind of loathe the idea of taking her back there since they couldn’t even tell she was in rebound in the first place. She’s still on Vetsulin since we haven’t gotten any of the Relion yet.

1. 371 - fasting
2. 458
3. 446
4. 479
5. 436
6. 451
7. 416 - fasting again

[jesse girl]

Your still at around a starting dose for a 62 pound dog at 11 units . The curve is flat and shows no sign of rebound . You can move it a bit faster doing a curve once a week and adjust the dose if needed . You maybe able to go up another unit and do another curve next week . A flattened curve is easier to regulate and you have that within the last 2 curves that you posted . Good job

[Raysaint]

keep the process going, increase a unit for a week, do a curve, repeat.
It takes some time, don't expect quick results or changes. It'll get there.
Diabetes will throw you some curves, but stay the course, don't overthink something that defies your expectations or the textbook.

My 25 lb dog is on 9 units of Humulin, so 11 units is low as yet for your dog.

[Neirracul]

Thanks everyone! Feeling a lot better about things and just focusing on staying the course. Maura hasn't had any clinical signs of diabetes for weeks now which is great. She does get sleepy when her sugar goes too high, but she seems to have a little more energy every day and plays and gets the zoomies much like she used to.

We had a few bumps in the road recently since FedEx "lost" her food for over a week until we opened an investigation and then the next day it was unceremoniously dropped on our porch. We ran out for... 2 days? and had to feed her ground beef and veggies for those meals. Eventually we will switch her to home cooked meals/homecooked plus Dr. Harvey's but we currently don't have a big enough freezer for the meat and getting meat reliably will be very difficult for the next who knows how long because of COVID-19. Will be keeping her at 12 units for an extra week to restabilize.

Maura is currently eating Ketonatural's Chicken formula which is less than 10% carbs and so far is eating it reliably. The salmon gave her bad gas, horrible breath, and she actually started refusing it so we switched her and everything seems to have improved. She's getting 2.5 cups a day for a 60 lb dog and has even gained a few pounds (hopefully muscle) from more regular exercise. Her current dose is 12 units of Vetsulin in the morning and 12 units at night for a total of 24 units per day. We are on our last bottle of Vetsulin and I've purchased some Novolin N (ReliOn) to prepare for the switch. Vetsulin is $75 a vial from our vet and that's just way too unaffordable, so hoping she responds well to the Novolin N.

Raysaint- does your pup get 9 units total or is it 9 twice per day? I haven't figured out how the dosages really line up between dogs since it seems like some dogs only need one injection per day and others need two or more. Either way, you're right and Maura is still only around the starting dose. I'm /definitely more interested in taking things slower than trying to go too fast - especially since she started rebounding at 20 units. Her ideal dose is somewhere under 20 and we will get there soon enough.

As far as switching insulin goes, since she's only around the starting dose now I was going to switch directly to 12 units of Novolin N. Does that sound right? Even going to a 1/5 unit per pound starting dose on Novolin would be 13 units so it seems like it should be fine. Also where does everyone get their U100 syringes? I have an almost full box of U40 syringes left and would like to finish them off with a converted dosage of 4.8 units Novolin (I think). But after that we will need the U100s. The brand I currently get is vet prescription and I don't know how my vet will take the switch to Novolin so I was hoping to avoid that route if possible. (We recently moved and they are a new vet for us and we do not have any rapport). The syringes are over $30 a box from the vet, too. They love upcharging things here.

[jesse girl]

Walmart has u100 syringes under the relion name that I think are about $12 per box of a 100 . I get the 30 unit type with half unit markings . They have different lengths and gauge of the needle depending on how thick the skin and fur is .Glad things have settle down a bit and your getting into a new normal