Need help with Ben

[jesse girl]

Well when jesse struggled in the beginning I used r in conjunction with nph

So what i did i would give jesse nph insulin twice a day 12 hour apart and if she was high i would add a dose of r then 6 hours later if high i would give just a dose of r . So jesse revolved around a 6 hour pattern of testing and correcting higher sugar if needed . Now i did not consider this regulation just buying time

We did discover what worked for her and got her regulated as far as jesses world .

It appears you did have good numbers at one time . Maybe something changed medically and there was conversation of cushings which can make a dog insulin resistant

[MikeMurphy]

To add on to what jesse girl has said... Ben’s BG numbers looked pretty good back in 2016. Has something changed medically that would be causing high BG?

Any dental problems, urinary tract infections, ear infections, skin problems?

Do you have any recent curves that you could share so that we could see any trends?

[Daisydog10]

A word of caution on the rapid acting insulin- .25 units brought my 20 lb Schnauzer down to 40 in a matter of an hour. I keep it on hand in case of an emergency but I haven't used it in over a year. I guess you never know how they're going to react.

[Raysaint]

What do you mean by sugar never been under control?
Have you done the standard dose increases, and if so, what was the result.
Has he had a dose higher than 5 for a few weeks to see what happens.

Another thing that can make numbers erratic is changing food portions. Giving him more sometimes if he’s hungry can spike his numbers and it may take days to self correct. It doesn’t take much extra food to affect a 15 lb dog. I learned that with my 25 lb dog.

You may just have to tighten the regimen, and be really consistent. Get back to basics. Keep food portions the same, increase the nph dose, test for a while and see if there is any changes. That would at least indicate that the insulin can affect his numbers. If you see numbers change, increase again.

I’d try getting back to basics before experimenting with insulins.

[Vanessa]

Dear all,

Thank you for your very good advice which I’ve been reading very carefully, especially about not rushing to change the type of insulin.
We are now following a very strict food regime, though I have to admit that it pains us to see that Ben is still hungry after his meals.
Vet is now treating Ben with antibiotics for any potential infections, though it isn’t a urinary one, as we tested for the latter and the results were negative.
I cannot say for sure what triggered this, but sugar levels are normal now (I’ve rarely seen such figures) - probably there was a latent infection somewhere.
Ben is happy again, enjoying life and jumping in the fields.
Thank you very much for all your help!
Vanessa

[jesse girl]

My jesse runs into ear problems from time to time when she shakes her head her numbers go up and we need to treat them and numbers go back to normal

glad things got better and hope they stay that way but it is the ups and downs of the disease

[Judi]

that is excellent news! That happened to us once too. The vet was sure there was no ear infection but she wound up taking antibiotics, her hearing got better and so did her blood sugar. yay!

Originally Posted by Vanessa

Dear all,

Thank you for your very good advice which I’ve been reading very carefully, especially about not rushing to change the type of insulin.
We are now following a very strict food regime, though I have to admit that it pains us to see that Ben is still hungry after his meals.
Vet is now treating Ben with antibiotics for any potential infections, though it isn’t a urinary one, as we tested for the latter and the results were negative.
I cannot say for sure what triggered this, but sugar levels are normal now (I’ve rarely seen such figures) - probably there was a latent infection somewhere.
Ben is happy again, enjoying life and jumping in the fields.
Thank you very much for all your help!
Vanessa

[Vanessa]

Unfortunately, we’re back to square one again. Things changed as from yesterday afternoon

Ben has vomited twice this morning and also during the night. He’s unstable when he walks (just got up to pee, otherwise he’s sleeping all the time).

We’re fearing the worse 😢

[jesse girl]

Ben might have pancreatitis which is a complication of the disease and is life threatening . A vet visit maybe a good idea . You might want to look up symptoms of pancreatitis and see if it might apply to Ben . Either way you may want to fast ben for 24 hours and would not recommend force feeding .

hope been feels better soon

[Raysaint]

Yes, please don't wait on the pancreatitis test, get it done now. The vet can do it in his office and know the result on the spot.