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Hi everyone,
I have been a lurker for awhile and always check here first if I have any questions. My dog Nibbles (16yo beagle mix) was diagnosed in February with diabetes and cushings. I just wanted to introduce myself and thank everyone for there helpful posts.
I have had a very stressful and sad 2 years. I had 2 dogs for 14 years. Casey, a black lab mix, and Nibbles, a beagle mix. They were bosom buddies. Always playing and fighting. My boyfriend and I are have also been together for 16 years (I'm 32 yo) no kids, so are dogs are definitely our babies. In 2006, Casey was diagnosed with metastatic mammary cancer. She underwent and partial mastectomy and the doctor said she may only last a few months. Well she did great for 3 years. In 2009, she had more nodules so in June so underwent another mastectomy. She rebounded quickly and was doing great. Until the end of September, that's when everything went downhill. We woke up one morning and her head was tilted and she couldn't walk straight. We rushed her to the vet and he said it was vestibular disease. He put her on prednisone and she did very well and it passed. Her head still stayed a little tilted but not bad. Then at the end of November she got this cough and terrible congestion so I brought her back to the vet and he gave her antibiotics and told me to hold her in bathroom with the shower on hot so the steam helps her. She was always a horribly picky eater and would go days without eating if it was up to her. She didn't like anything! It got to the point where she wouldn't eat anything at all and just layed on her blanket and drink water occasionally. I ground up her dog food and mixed it warm water and used and medicine syringe to squirt it in her mouth twice a day so she would eat. She couldn't walk without getting out of breath. I really thought it was just some type of cold and it would go away. She always bounced right back from everything. I slept with her on the couch every night from when she had the vestibular disease but on December 8, my boyfriend came home from work (2nd shift) and I decided to sleep in bed. He woke me up at 3:46 am and told me "it happened" , Casey passed away at the age of 14. We were so devastated. The doctor did say that we always had watch for coughing because with that type on cancer it travels to the chest first. I was also worried that Nibbles wouldn't be ok because they were together for 13 years. Nibbles did great. He didn't have to share attention and was loving it he could finally lay on the couch without her chasing him off. Then in February 2010, I came home from work and he was sitting on the floor like he was hurt. He wouldn't eat (he LOVED food, any kind) and was acting mushy so we took him to the vet and he took xrays and we got an ultrasound. Turns out he had a large tumor on his spleen. We had it and his spleen removed and he did great, until September. He woke up in the middle of the night with a head tilt. Took him back to the vet and it was of course vestibular disease. The vet took xrays while we were there and said he saw a large shadow on his trecia. If it was a tumor it was inoperable and he would more then likely starve to death. We took him for another ultrasound and astonishingly nothing was there. The doctor said because he is a barreled chested dog it is hard to determine but everything was fine. We were ecstatic! Everything was going great until February 2011. I noticed he was drinking an awful lot and peeing alot so we took him back and the vet said he was diabetic and had cushings. He put him on humulin and vetoryl His sugar was over 800. I was so nervous about everything and really didn't think I could do it. Well I did. But in April my worst fear happened, I woke up to let him out and he was running into walls. He went blind. Now 7 months later we live in a house full of pillows. He's doing really well. I don't test his sugar at home and just rely on the urine strips and his behavior. The only thing is he mostly walks in right circles. I read that he was mapping the area but he's been doing it for 4 months.
Ever since Casey passed, he has become a picky eater and the only was he eats is when i sit on the floor and hold the bowl at an angle while he lays there. He's so lazy! I have been getting very worn out lately with the worrying all the time. Every day at 8:30am and 8:30pm is battle time. I have to start the feeding process at 7:30 to ensure he eats enough to give him his needle and I can't do anything or go anywhere that would interfere with those times and I have been sleeping on the couch with him for over a year. Now he gets up all night long and runs around being all happy and wanting to play at 4:00am (he's such a brat!).
Sorry for the long story but I needed to talk to people who understand. And thank everyone for all the insight these past few months.
I also wanted to add that after 8 months the urine tests are negative for glucose. They were always on the darkest square. That was a very happy day for us
I have been a lurker for awhile and always check here first if I have any questions. My dog Nibbles (16yo beagle mix) was diagnosed in February with diabetes and cushings. I just wanted to introduce myself and thank everyone for there helpful posts.
I have had a very stressful and sad 2 years. I had 2 dogs for 14 years. Casey, a black lab mix, and Nibbles, a beagle mix. They were bosom buddies. Always playing and fighting. My boyfriend and I are have also been together for 16 years (I'm 32 yo) no kids, so are dogs are definitely our babies. In 2006, Casey was diagnosed with metastatic mammary cancer. She underwent and partial mastectomy and the doctor said she may only last a few months. Well she did great for 3 years. In 2009, she had more nodules so in June so underwent another mastectomy. She rebounded quickly and was doing great. Until the end of September, that's when everything went downhill. We woke up one morning and her head was tilted and she couldn't walk straight. We rushed her to the vet and he said it was vestibular disease. He put her on prednisone and she did very well and it passed. Her head still stayed a little tilted but not bad. Then at the end of November she got this cough and terrible congestion so I brought her back to the vet and he gave her antibiotics and told me to hold her in bathroom with the shower on hot so the steam helps her. She was always a horribly picky eater and would go days without eating if it was up to her. She didn't like anything! It got to the point where she wouldn't eat anything at all and just layed on her blanket and drink water occasionally. I ground up her dog food and mixed it warm water and used and medicine syringe to squirt it in her mouth twice a day so she would eat. She couldn't walk without getting out of breath. I really thought it was just some type of cold and it would go away. She always bounced right back from everything. I slept with her on the couch every night from when she had the vestibular disease but on December 8, my boyfriend came home from work (2nd shift) and I decided to sleep in bed. He woke me up at 3:46 am and told me "it happened" , Casey passed away at the age of 14. We were so devastated. The doctor did say that we always had watch for coughing because with that type on cancer it travels to the chest first. I was also worried that Nibbles wouldn't be ok because they were together for 13 years. Nibbles did great. He didn't have to share attention and was loving it he could finally lay on the couch without her chasing him off. Then in February 2010, I came home from work and he was sitting on the floor like he was hurt. He wouldn't eat (he LOVED food, any kind) and was acting mushy so we took him to the vet and he took xrays and we got an ultrasound. Turns out he had a large tumor on his spleen. We had it and his spleen removed and he did great, until September. He woke up in the middle of the night with a head tilt. Took him back to the vet and it was of course vestibular disease. The vet took xrays while we were there and said he saw a large shadow on his trecia. If it was a tumor it was inoperable and he would more then likely starve to death. We took him for another ultrasound and astonishingly nothing was there. The doctor said because he is a barreled chested dog it is hard to determine but everything was fine. We were ecstatic! Everything was going great until February 2011. I noticed he was drinking an awful lot and peeing alot so we took him back and the vet said he was diabetic and had cushings. He put him on humulin and vetoryl His sugar was over 800. I was so nervous about everything and really didn't think I could do it. Well I did. But in April my worst fear happened, I woke up to let him out and he was running into walls. He went blind. Now 7 months later we live in a house full of pillows. He's doing really well. I don't test his sugar at home and just rely on the urine strips and his behavior. The only thing is he mostly walks in right circles. I read that he was mapping the area but he's been doing it for 4 months.
Ever since Casey passed, he has become a picky eater and the only was he eats is when i sit on the floor and hold the bowl at an angle while he lays there. He's so lazy! I have been getting very worn out lately with the worrying all the time. Every day at 8:30am and 8:30pm is battle time. I have to start the feeding process at 7:30 to ensure he eats enough to give him his needle and I can't do anything or go anywhere that would interfere with those times and I have been sleeping on the couch with him for over a year. Now he gets up all night long and runs around being all happy and wanting to play at 4:00am (he's such a brat!).
Sorry for the long story but I needed to talk to people who understand. And thank everyone for all the insight these past few months.
I also wanted to add that after 8 months the urine tests are negative for glucose. They were always on the darkest square. That was a very happy day for us
. But home testing is an INVALUABLE TOOL!
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