Decker made his journey to the bridge Jan 26, 2013

[jesse girl]

Re: Decker

that is very good news dogs so enjoy doing the things dogs like to do and finding a time and amount with diabetes was my largest priority for jesse

her exercise has worked so well for her it really is the most consistent part of her diabetes and very thankful for that and i know she is also

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Decker

Oh, I am so happy to hear this. Especially losing his sight, what a grand thing sniffing around the park!

[Shellie]

Re: Decker

Yay! Decker had fun! Love to hear these stories! Hugs!

[momofdecker]

Re: Decker

Looks like I was a bit premature in my excitement. 1.5 hours after his play at the park Decker went from 401 to 510. This mornings fasting was 575 and he has drank three bowls of water in the last 20 minutes. This is coming off a 402 dinner fasting. There were no extra kitty snacks involved.

He didn't get a big drop with the exercise (436 to 401) and it was during a time that he normally rises. Does the big change mean he simply burned a lot of his insulin during the exercise?

He looked so happy that it was still worth it but looks like the park visits will be haulted until I am able to figure this out. Still plan to continue the 10-20min. slow paced walks.

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Decker

Don't get discouraged Holli.

If he is anything like my lab ( cat litter box, YUM) he may have picked up a snack at the park or this just may have been a fluke.

I so want this to work out for Decker... and YOU that I don't want to post any more success for Ruby until Decker comes along!

I know you just had an increase this past weekend was it? Do you have a plan for the next curve and increase.

My vet told me to start off at .78. But as Ruby is pretty sensitive I started her out on .5 on the 8th. After the first few days of getting a feel for it I went up to .6 which I think will be it for Ruby. Maybe a high fasting now and then due to the Levemir running out early.

As you started so low can you move any quicker on the increases?

[momofdecker]

Re: Decker

Don't get discouraged Holli.

If he is anything like my lab ( cat litter box, YUM) he may have picked up a snack at the park or this just may have been a fluke.

I so want this to work out for Decker... and YOU that I don't want to post any more success for Ruby until Decker comes along!

I know you just had an increase this past weekend was it? Do you have a plan for the next curve and increase.

My vet told me to start off at .78. But as Ruby is pretty sensitive I started her out on .5 on the 8th. After the first few days of getting a feel for it I went up to .6 which I think will be it for Ruby. Maybe a high fasting now and then due to the Levemir running out early.

As you started so low can you move any quicker on the increases?

Tara -
Success stories are what keep me going. Please don't hesitate to post them - Ruby is working hard and deserves her credit! Decker has marched to his own beat all his life - no reason this journey should be any different !

I still think the levemir is working well with Decker - just a slight set-back and another learning moment for us. I did look over the grassy area at the park pretty good before letting go of his leash. Didn't notice anything he could snack on. Wonder if, because his dose is still too low, he was not able to handle longer, more strenuous fun? Meter read 'HI' by 7a this morning. Walked him for about five minutes, then another walk at 8:10a - for about 15 minutes. Meter still read 'HI' before and after second walk. He must have gotten a heck of spike off his breakfast to still run over 600 after two short walks. Leaving work at noon to go home and test him, make sure he has water and give him a potty break. Hopefully he will have dipped under 600 by then. If not, I'll be calling the vet. He was negative for ketones this morning. Quite a price to pay for having fun?

Will curve on Sunday and plan to take Monday off from work to evaluate the new increase.

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Decker

Meter read 'HI' by 7a this morning. Walked him for about five minutes, then another walk at 8:10a - for about 15 minutes. Meter still read 'HI' before and after second walk. He must have gotten a heck of spike off his breakfast to still run over 600 after two short walks.

I think when they are already hi exercise can actually increase the numbers.
Do you have any trends for the past of exercise when hi bringing his numbers down?

I'll try to find the link a friend sent me that explains this well.

[momofdecker]

Re: Decker

Never seen exercise raise Decker but suppose it is possible. Typically his problem is that it often lowers him too much and he bounces back up from it. Trends from his typical morning walk drops him 70-95 points. As long as the drop stays under 100 he doesn't usually get a bounce back up from it. Found a great pattern walking him back and forth in front of the house daily in the mornings to get things moving - which always comes close to the 100 but stays just under. Meter read 'HI' before both walks. Read 'HI' after both walks. So I have no idea where he started or where he ended.

[eileen]

Re: Decker

Never seen exercise raise Decker but suppose it is possible. Typically his problem is that it often lowers him too much and he bounces back up from it. Trends from his typical morning walk drops him 70-95 points. As long as the drop stays under 100 he doesn't usually get a bounce back up from it. Found a great pattern walking him back and forth in front of the house daily in the mornings to get things moving - which always comes close to the 100 but stays just under. Meter read 'HI' before both walks. Read 'HI' after both walks. So I have no idea where he started or where he ended.

For human diabetics it is often suggested to NOT exercise if the blood sugar levels are over 250 as this means the insulin level may be dangerouly low which will cause the blood sugar to go even higher.

If you are seeing high glucose levels before exercise with even higher after then this may very well be the case for Decker.

This was the case with my Mildred if her glucose was in the mid to higher range.

[momofdecker]

Re: Decker

I have to say that you all are great and I am fortunate to have wonderful co-workers too! One asked me how I was this morning and I lost it as I told her I tried to kill Decker last night because I let him be a dog and have some fun. I thought I was doing him some good and it completely backfired! Good news is that I did not succeed in killing him and his bg is down to 458 as of 1:30p this afternoon.

I always thought excersie, if done right, was helpful to diabetics in general, dogs included. This whole debacle has come out of left field for me. I'm so desperate to find a way to make the exercise work. Decker's walks have been key in helping John & I evalute how he is doing. When he nose planted on one of his walks because the grass was uneven, despite getting around the house just fine, we knew his vision was worse than we thought. When other people and dogs walked right by and he had no clue, we knew his vision was gone. A short while later when people and dogs walked by and he started to react - look in their direction and bark - we knew his other senses were kicking in. Not to mention that he still gets himself all worked up and overly excited when you ask him if he wants to go on a walk. So my thoughts on uncontrolled diabetes - it pretty much sucks! Not only does it cause a dog to lose its sight, but it seems to restrict a dog from being able to enjoy what it may out of life. Not to worry - Decker will reach regulation, God help me, I will find a way to make that happen for him! In the mean time I will try to stop sabotaging his progress.

[Judi]

Re: Decker

you are not sabotaging anything! You have earned about 15 of Carol's patience hats!

I know you will find a way to make the exercise work for Decker. Look how creative JesseGirl had to be with Jesse the Rabbit Slayer.

hang in there Holli. I wish I could help you but your issues are so far beyond anything I know. hugs, Judi

[jesse girl]

Re: Decker

decker has rose on many different occasions doing something he loves to do is not a bad thing you just have to find an approach that will work

during jesse high impact exercise in the afternoon she would rise quite substantially actually i started giving her micro doses of fast acting before her walk worked very well she had to be above a certain number for me to be willing to do it and we did this for some time and then it changed i noticed her numbers were lower before walk consistently so no fast acting i gave her some with nph and meal after walk so she would not rise to much before onset of nph and then that changed and there are times she needs no fast acting just the nph

this is how things can evolve over time fast acting is rare for us to use before walk unless she is high and i dont want her to be even higher and most time we barely use it but early in jesses diagnosis i may have used four times a day i just would not let her stay high all day even if she only stayed in good numbers for a couple hours and then bounced back up i second guess myself many time am i doing the wright thing will she just balance herself on nph over time

the point i am making is focus on one thing you would like to do for me i really focused on exercise just because it was a quality of life issue it was brutal at the beginning jesse was so sick but her desire to go was so strong so we kept experimenting it was risky trying different things that may have been way outside of the box but we did focus on just one thing we wanted to accomplish maybe stopping an early drop if i seen some positive results we would continue maybe months on end just on that one thing

jesse diabetes is always changing we are seeing more of a lower fasting changed her snack around a bit and very focused on this which could lead to ideal regulation but with diabetes it does what it wants to do maybe we can bend it to are way of thinking for a bit but it is notorious for bending wright back

jesse was as out of control as any diabetic could be if i could say what helped her the most was the fast acting giving us time to develop a routine that her body would except if not we would not have been able to spend the time focusing on one thing it took 2 years and feel good we can handle most things that come along

your fighting spirit for decker is very impressive and that can do spirit is such an inspiration for anyone who reads your thread me and jesse so hope you find success for your decker

[Rubytuesday]

Re: Decker

I lost it as I told her I tried to kill Decker last night because I let him be a dog and have some fun. I thought I was doing him some good and it completely backfired! Good news is that I did not succeed in killing him and his bg is down to 458 as of 1:30p this afternoon.

In the mean time I will try to stop sabotaging his progress.

Oh my goodness, where would Decker be without you? Don't be hard on yourself. You have been at this for so long I daresay in your shoes I would absolutely be weighing the benefit of a sniff around the park. May not have helped numbers, but if you asked Decker I feel sure he would have said "PARK!".

[jim maceri]

Re: Decker

The only thing I can add is that Decker is one lucky dog to have such a caring and committed human. Many would have never gone to the lengths you have to understand this disease and try, try, try....YOU ARE WONDERFUL!!! I've been trying to make sure I let spirit be a dog...and that can be tough with this disease. I must admit, sometimes I throw caution to the wind to let spirit do what he loves...wander thru the park. I'm sure it has caused him some lows but I'm equally sure that he was one happy dog when he gets to do what he loves.
Jim

[momofdecker]

Re: Decker

Looks like all is well that ends well. I don't mind flexing some to provife life quality. But I suspect this mistake was a dangerous one. Deckers body is used to 400 to 600. His water consumption is normal in that range. For him to drink like he did his bg must have been 700 or more. Coupled with him not dropping on his walk...I fear he may have been higher. That is not a risk I care to take...even though it was not intentional.

Fasting tonight was 414. He spent much of the afternoon laying on the deck in the sun. Hopefully back on track now. Will still do the short morning and night walks but no more parks till we know his insulin is at maintenance for him. By then we will probably be worrying about lows.