Who took their dog to a specialist? Advice?

[Daisydog10]

I use the Advocate PetTest meter and strips are pretty cheap compared to the AlphaTrak. Another option is the Onetouch Ultra, a human meter, but measures very close to the Alphatrak and PetTest. The strips on Ebay are very reasonable.

I test Daisy before every injection and also spot check and run curves.

[Lchow022]

In canada they are selling them for 100$ Canadian..so its 2$ a piece. I don't think you can get them anywhere cheaper than on ebay and on amazon in the states...

[anotherk9lover]

Firstly, how do i respond to a specific person, I'm not sure i'm doing it right? Is it the last icon next to the quote thing? Right now i'm attempting to respond to jesse girl.
What kind of strips are you using that are so cheap? With what meter, and are they accurate?

[anotherk9lover]

That's very conflicting information then, because from my research I found that the diet needs to be mostly protein and no carbs, because carbs turn into sugars. So I'm not sure how are you guys giving pumpkin and fruits to your diabetic dogs etc, I feel like her sugars would be through the roof then! Do you feed your dogs homemade meals, or do you use kibble?

[jesse girl]

I use prodigy autocode and got the meter and strips off ebay . As I said I buy in bulk so I will spend $50 to $ 60 to get 6 months of strips . There are other discount strips on ebay but I have been satisfied with the consistency of these strips for jesse . I dont know of any other dog using them but i did compare to the one touch ultra and they were close to them

Over the 10 years buying strips off ebay I only had one batch which i was reimbursed

Dogs are not the same as human diabetics . The prescription food for diabetic dogs is filled with carbs . The reason is Insulin works fairly hard and fast for dogs . Its probably not completely appropriate and most of us use human insulin . So you need those carbs to tame that strength of insulin. If not injected insulin has no sugar to work with dropping sugar and the body responding with dumping sugar into the system to preserve life and you get these wild swings going low then high . Now some dogs do ok on a protein diet but thats not common . A balanced food with carbs seem to do best for most . Your dog seems to display the big swings in sugar possible showing the need for some carbs to balance injected insulin

Just press the quote button to respond to an individual post . To get good regulation takes time and effort . Making small steps to see how blood sugar is affected and only one step at a time . It took jesse 6 months to settle her down and a year to fine tune her routine

[Raysaint]

The internet is full of wrong information. I'm also diabetic myself, for 30 years, and I know that carbs are important whether you're diabetic or not. It's what fuels the body.

Protein can be hard on the kidneys. Moderate protein is the norm.

Yes carbs turn into sugar, that's what they're supposed to do. The body and it's cells run on blood sugar.

Jesse explained it, injected insulin doesn't adjust on its own based on the body's carb intake. So we have to give the right amount of carbs to work with the insulin.
It's natural to fear carbs because we think all sugar is bad. But the body needs sugar, we just match the right amount of insulin to work with the carbs we put in.
Little additions of fruit/veggies only might raise the sugar level a bit, but base your insulin dose on everything the dog eats. And you do that by doing curves.
Time and patience is key to regulating a dog.

[anotherk9lover]

I was reading a lot of reviews on the Ketona food brand, and many people said they put their diabetic dogs on that diet and it made it easier to regulate their sugar ever since. The prescription diet like Hill's I hear is a terrible brand filled with sugars and carbs and very little actual protein, so I stay away from that.
What do you guys feed your dogs, do you make home made food each time or do you use kibble?

I wouldn't say that Daisy ever had big highs and low's swings in one day. Typically she just doesn't go low enough. Or if she started off fairly low before first insulin dose, that's when it goes low at the peak. But we don't check her sugar every day, that would just be incredibly high maintenance. According to my vet most diabetic pet owners don't even check sugars ever, they just take them in to the vet for curves. Many people are uncomfortable with checking sugars themselves at home.
Fortunately we can do the sugar checks, but it has to be once in a while, daily isn't possible. Also, I'm the one who is most comfortable with checking it in the family, but I'm not currently living at home with Daisy. So it makes this bit more challenging.

We have been occasionally adding some veg to her kibble, like cucumbers, beans, etc, as well as some eggs. But mostly we try to stick to protein.

[Jamongi2018]

Can I ask what is in your homemade meal?

[jesse girl]

Jesse gets boneless chicken( cooked in a pressure cooker ) ,Mackerel ,hard boiled eggs ,pinto beans( cooked in a pressure cooker ),yams,Vegetables grind down in a food processor ( kale ,red char broccoli ,collard greens ,kale, beets ,carrots ,tomatoes ,cauliflower, Italian squash . I dont use all these at one time but mix and match ) . I add grind up to a powder egg shells for calcium . I also give her milk thistle to help with liver support .

I was told from the original vet when jesse became diabetic that she could live another 3 years at best and go blind . I decided I would put effort into making her life better with the disease and we were rewarded with that effort as she has kept her site and has lived almost 10 years with disease . She has a normal beagle life chasing rabbits with some limitations . She has never had a hypoglycemic event ( close but we caught it by testing her sugar )

Jesse is now over 15 and still doing well . Her seizures from epilepsy ( had since a puppy ) disappeared 4 years ago never was on medication

Most think its hard and inconvenient and some vets go along with that and thats fine but outcomes will be reduced. Its just common sense . To me It doesnt seem like work . Its just part of a daily routine and no big deal .

[Raysaint]

I read Ketona is high protein low carb, not the norm for diabetic dogs. That's not to say it doesn't work for some dogs.

Regulation is one thing, but be aware of other potential effects in the future with high protein. That's what the science to date tells us.

This article sums up a lot of what I've researched. Science tells us dogs are omnivores, not carnivores, and a balanced diet does them well.

https://www.petmd.com/dog/centers/nu...tein_dog_foods

The old saying, "everything in moderation" is usually good advice.