My Libby

[Pati]

Re: My Libby

I forgot to mention that she's taking amoxicillin and mirtazapine which is antidepressant and it also stimulates the appetite. Doesn't seem to be working. Worried about giving the amoxicillin on an empty stomach.
My neighbor gave me the Ultra Touch meter and lance device. Test strips are indeed expensive. Went to Walmart for the reliOn, but they didn't have the tool. I've got to study the tutorials before I try this.
Thanx again everyone.

[Charlie's mom]

Re: My Libby

As she starts to feel better her appetite will pick up too. She may be a wee bit miffed that she was gone from her family and needs some extra cuddles

[CraigM]

Re: My Libby

I forgot to mention that she's taking amoxicillin and mirtazapine which is antidepressant and it also stimulates the appetite. Doesn't seem to be working. Worried about giving the amoxicillin on an empty stomach.
My neighbor gave me the Ultra Touch meter and lance device. Test strips are indeed expensive. Went to Walmart for the reliOn, but they didn't have the tool. I've got to study the tutorials before I try this.
Thanx again everyone.

Amazon is our friend! Meters, test strips, etc. are usually much cheaper online (exception are the ReliOn stuff at Walmart which is cheap at Walmart). Some also buy from Ebay.

Many don't use the lancing tool at all, just hold the lancet between the fingers and poke. I didn't use the tool for several years.

Craig

[Pati]

Re: My Libby

I got a 130 bg this morning. She took about 4 bites of canned dog food. Using gravy to encourage her. She's starting to back away when she knows I'm going to try and make her eat.

[momofdecker]

Re: My Libby

Quick question...is she spayed?

Jackie, mom to Sissy, is a current levemir user. She has experience using smaller doses of levemir. I don't see her post a lot these days but if you private message her she may be able to give you some tips as how best to micro dose using levemir. Here is a link to Sissy's thread: http://k9diabetes.com/forum/showthre...ighlight=Sissy

We used it in my boy too but never had to give him low doses consistently.

Not sure if the vet or anyone else has mentioned that exercise will also impact a diabetic dog. For some dogs it will lower their blood glucse (bg). For some it will have no impact. For some their bg will raise. My boy started on humulin N and we tried to exercise him when his insulin was running out. When he was switched to levemir we found we had to exercise him when his insulin was active, because if we waited until it was running out his bg would raise quite a bit once the insulin ran out. It also helps if you can keep the timing of the exercise consistent from day to day. Congrats on working towards testing bg at home! The best way to figure out how exercise impacts your pup is to test just before and just after. Once you get comfortable, give it a try, post the numbers here and folks can offer some advice.

Welcome aboard!

Holli

[amydunn19]

Re: My Libby

Which meter was that reading from?

Does she appear to feel bad at all? Like in pain? If you press gently on her belly, is she sensitive or painful?

What was her appetite like before the diagnosis?

[jesse girl]

Re: My Libby

the 130 is a very good number but its just one number and only reflects what blood sugar is doing at that time . it can be quite different a few hours from now

i would not expect for you to see any ketones at these levels . its possible the medication could be upsetting the belly

keep an eye on blood sugar even though that number is good it could be going much lower and you just didnt know but since your testing that will be a big help

congrats on getting a test so quickly

[CraigM]

Re: My Libby

Great work Libby! Make sure mom gives you a lot of praise after your blood test, or do something fun, like a few minutes of ball playing. Gotta make blood testing and injections something to look forward to.

Craig

[JoJo's mom]

Re: My Libby

Glad that you were able to check Libby's blood. Sorry you are having so much trouble getting her to eat!!!
I agree with amydunn to check her over to see if she is having any stomach problems.
Hang in there. It does get better.
Mary

[stylynjm]

Re: My Libby

Hello to you,
I was just rading your thread. Yes, I do use levemir. Sissy is only 13 lbs and I do have to microdose, but have good luck with it.
I have a magnifying lamp that clips on the table(got it at Staples office supply).
It was a big help as I use 1/4 units!!!! If you watch the end of the plunger on the syringe, you can judge pretty closely between the 1/2 and 1 unit. That way you can get 1/4, or 3/4. Right now Sissy is on 1.5 Units, lol, so that's easy. Just for info, Sissy does much better on levemir than she did on NPH.
Feel free to message me if you have any questions.... good luck.
Also, I use the pen, because of cost. It is cheaper where it doesn't last until it's gone. I get 55-58 days out of 1 pen, kept in frige.

[Pati]

Re: My Libby

I couldn't get enough blood this afternoon. I can't keep pricking her so I stopped. She hasn't eaten but 2 or 3 bites of food all day. I had to go to work today and I was hoping she would eat when I got home. She seems interested but then just looks away.
She is spayed and I used the Ultra Touch. Is that more reliable than the reliOn?
It's raining really hard today so we can't play ball.
She didn't seem to mind me massaging her belly. She doesn't seem to be depressed to me. She was happy to see me and ready to go out until she saw the rain. At least there were no accidents in the house!

[JoJo's mom]

Re: My Libby

You might want to try testing her on the inside of her upper lip. Most dogs (including my jojo) don't mind it at all and there is usually more than enough blood.
Mary

[momofdecker]

Re: My Libby

A few random thoughts...

Is it possible she might have a problem in her mouth - cracked tooth or abscess? Something that is making it painful for her to eat? Maybe a problem with her ears - so when she bends down she is experiencing pain?

In case it is her tummy that is bothering her - dogs can have pepcid ac. Not sure if giving her that 20 min or so before she is scheduled to eat might help?

Did the vet talk about giving her any supplements to help with the high liver and kidney values? There are some supplements out there that are suppose to help with high liver values (can't remember off the top of my head but will try to look it up and come back and post more).

[Judi]

Re: My Libby

how are her teeth? could she have a tooth infection?

Other dogs have had acid in their tummies or ulcers that made them not want to eat.

We are using 3 or 4 different varieties as my aging Jenny can be fussy now. I give her 2 choices of food. If she turns her nose up at both I drop her insulin and don't press it.

and yay for no accidents!

[Pati]

Re: My Libby

I just tried again and got a 79. Is that too low? She won't get the insulin for another couple hours. The vet didn't really tell us much about her liver and kidneys except to say the "values" were still elevated. They also did not want me to test her at home. She had her teeth done last summer and is scheduled to have them done again in October. We've been taking our pets to Banfield for years but they really let us down when we needed them the most.