From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

[Tikobird]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Dozer gets his shot 30 minutes AFTER eating & he is fed every 12 hours. He has always been a big snacker but I now use chicken as well. I boil a cutlet once a week & cut it up so it lasts just about 1 week - he gets little pieces but it seems to keep him happy without messing up his sugar.

[Patty]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Hi Patty and thanks! My dog weighs 28 pounds and he eats Blue dog food I just switched him to that.

Julie,
A few questions:

How long has he been on the new food?

The last curve your vet did, was that on this food or the old food?

Did he get the snack you usually feed him while at the vet during his curve?

Can you get a copy of the curve results to post here?

Patty

[frajul93@verizo]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Well I give him a snack because it is a habit everyday at that time he begs me for food. I really think he is hungry!! I mean think about it he has not eaten until 7 am! So he usually wants something around that time and It usually helps with holding him over until 7PM for his next dose of insuline. I could try a snack earlier in the day and feed him the chicken like was suggested like around 3. I will try that. As far as what I give him now for a snack he usually gets like 1/4 of a cup of his regular food at like 4ish. Also I think his other problems like Cushions can mess with his hunger. Thanks again!

[eileen]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Julie,

Uncontrolled diabetes can cause a ravenous appetite. Or, it is as you said...habit.
I don't know how Cushings affects the appetite.

Any snack such as his regular food WILL cause an increase in glucose levels. Better to snack with chicken cubes or a healthy veggie.

Mildred has never been in the habit of getting snacks, she eats only at 6 a/m and 6 p/m. IF for some reasong I do snack her it is only a very small piece of turkey deli meat.

A very strict diet/snack schedule is the best way to reach regulation. Keeping any snacks light and such that there is no affect on the bgs.

[Patty]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Julie,
A few questions:

How long has he been on the new food?

The last curve your vet did, was that on this food or the old food?

Did he get the snack you usually feed him while at the vet during his curve?

Can you get a copy of the curve results to post here?

Patty

Julie,
If you can answer the other questions listed above as well, that may help with the snack issue. I wouldn't go changing a lot of things all at once. The snack may be causing problems or it may not. I'd like to know how the current picture of everything is matching up first.
Patty

[ladysmom06]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Hi Julie,

Welcome. You mentioned that your dog also has cushing's - I have a few questions concerning that.

How long has your dog had cushing's? What are you using to treat it? When was the last ACTH test done and what were the results? Is the cushing's under control?

We dealt with both diabetes and cushing's and had a hard time getting the bg's regulated until we started treating the cushing's. Cushing's does play a big part in getting the diabetes regulated.

[frajul93@verizo]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Ok I got Oscar's results for his curve this was done about a week and a half ago. After giving him 7 units of NPH his levels were 484 - 8:52am 445-11:34 382-3:00 340-4:00 342-4:55. Today after giving him 12 units at 7:30am his level was 257 at 3:15. They want me to increase to 13 units and bring him back again for another insuline check. I pay 23.oo each time for this apt. Do you think that testing him at home is much cheaper? And if so what is a good brand to get. They told me it would be alot more money to test at home because the kits are so expensive. I have not checked into them yet so was wondering if you could give me some ideas. Also his cushions is pretty much under control he takes Lysodren 1/2 tablet every 5 days which would be 250 mg. Thanks again!!!! Julie

[CarolW]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

"They" who told you it's more expensive to test at home are apparently unaware of how that all works out. I don't know what they believe.

You can pay a lot for an animal-validated meter - the only one I'd consider out of those commonly available is the AlphaTrak. Or you can pay a lot less, and likely, even get a free meter, if you use a good-quality human meter. By good quality, I mean known to be consistent and reliable - on humans. There are a couple you could consider; the Freestyle Lite, or the OneTouch Ultra2. I'd go for the OneTouch Ultra2 meter, which is apparently second-in-line to the AlphaTrak for consistency and reliability. There are threads on the forum about meters; you might go looking around.

Somewhere, Eileen reported she got a free OneTouch Ultra2 meter by talking to their Customer Service - on the phone, I think. When they said they didn't have free meters, and she sounded disappointed, they then sent her a free meter.

You would also need to buy test strips (expensive, ranging from, say,
50-cents to a dollar per strip - but people here can help you find the cheaper ones). And you would need to buy lancets - the little things you use to prick with for blood samples.

It's usually MUCH cheaper to test at home than to have the vet do it in the clinic. At least half the cost if you do it yourself.

You can look here for how the testing goes:

http://www.coherentdog.org/vek/bgtest.php

Also, ylu can look here:

http://k9diabetes.com/monitoring.html

Ask any questions you might have!

Wed, 12 May 2010 14:53:49 (PDT) (fell asleep at the keyboard again!)

[eileen]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Ok I got Oscar's results for his curve this was done about a week and a half ago. After giving him 7 units of NPH his levels were 484 - 8:52am 445-11:34 382-3:00 340-4:00 342-4:55. Today after giving him 12 units at 7:30am his level was 257 at 3:15. They want me to increase to 13 units and bring him back again for another insuline check. I pay 23.oo each time for this apt. Do you think that testing him at home is much cheaper? And if so what is a good brand to get. They told me it would be alot more money to test at home because the kits are so expensive. I have not checked into them yet so was wondering if you could give me some ideas. Also his cushions is pretty much under control he takes Lysodren 1/2 tablet every 5 days which would be 250 mg. Thanks again!!!! Julie

Julie,

Being able to test at home is not only a WHOLE lot cheaper but in my opinion and most importantly THE best way to keep them safe as you can check their glucose levels at any given hour of the day.
I think much better control can be obtained from those tested at home.

I began learning to home test on the day that Mildred was diagnosed, 6 years ago. I started with the One Touch Ultra that a diabetic friend had given me. Over the years I've used the Contour (ack! in my opinion, way off from lab values), The Accu Chek Aviva, the Freestyle and now the Alpha Trak.

I would suggest to someone starting out to use The One Touch Ultra 2. There are cheap on line sources.

By the way....in all of these years I have only had 2 curves run in office. The first when Mildred was diagnosed and the second about a year later when she was at U C Davis following the removal of her gall bladder.

I run my own daily tests as well as any curves. If I need my vet's input we will go over my records together. Occasionally my vet checks her glucose levels whenever he needs to do bloodwork.
I also do not have fructosamine tests run as there is no need because of my very close monitoring.

[peggy0]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Testing at home is not only cheaper in the long run but its peace of mind. Did your vet increase the dosage from 7 to 12? That's a pretty big leap. I'm not sure why they increased to 13 immediately after raising it to 12. I may not be reading this correctly. i would definately get a monitor and home test. If they went from 7 to 12 in a week and then to 13 after 1 day on 12, that's very irratic. We won't suggest increases beyond 2 units at a given time. It takes about 4 or 5 days for a change to stabilize and to know what impact it really had on the BG. You've gotten some good suggestions on monitors. I'd get one so you can closely monitor. You will get alot of good advise here on how to continue to regulate.

[frajul93@verizo]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

No NO! 7 units is what we were doing the time of the curve! He increased the units each day and now we are up to 13.

[frajul93@verizo]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

So about everyother day we went up 1 unit. thanks

[peggy0]

Re: From Frajul93 - help re dose on NPH

Ok. Sorry I understand now. Adjustments to insulin take 4-5 days to show impact. I would not change his insulin every other day. Let's see the curve for 13 and we'll go from there ok?