Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

[judy56]

Hello, my name is Judy and I have a chocolate lab named Tess. She was diagnosted last June with diabetes. To this day her bs are totally uncontrolled and I am at a loss. Tess weighs 92 lbs, 7 years old. She eats OM dog food both canned and dry. We mix the two. She gets 2 to 2.5 cups of dry with a spoonful of canned twice daily. She is on 30 units of Novilin N twice a day. We can always tell when her bs are high or low. She whines. She has developed cataracts, worse in left than right but there just the same. Her blood sugars are usually over 250 she has had several curves. She has a very tight curve anything could set her off. I am at a loss and could use some advice.

[Cara Sandler]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

Hello, and welcome to you and Tess. I'm sorry to hear that she's having trouble. Can you post some of her curves so we can get a better idea of what they look like?

[judy56]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

Unfortunately they were done at the vets and i don't have them. I am new to this so i am not even sure what to ask them. The vet told me she has a very tight curve and anything could set it off. Her Bs have been down to 63 and as high as mid 300. I was adjusting on my own for awhile but nothing i do seems to control her. One question i do have. I give her insulin about a 1/2 hour before she eats, i was told (by a pediatric diabetes nurse) that by doing that her bs would be more evened out. Isulin would kick in about the same time as her blood sugars would spike, which made sense to me. What do you think of that?

[Cara Sandler]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

Without seeing her curves, it will be difficult to tell whether the timing of food/insulin is correct.

You should just be able to ask the vet for the results of her curves.

[judy56]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

I will call them on monday and see if they will fax them to me and get back to you. Thank you

[jesse girl]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

to make assumptions about this disease can be counter productive . most do not do an early shot and the reason is the potential of a dog that may not want to eat but has been given a whole dose of insulin

now if the vet made this judgement based on curves with large early spike upward after feeding then maybe the risk maybe worth a try but for me i would rather use a fast acting insulin given with normal insulin wright after the meal . the fast acting works much faster . onset can begin 15 minutes to a half hour after shot where your normal insulin takes around 1.5 hours

adjusting insulin without curves is not a good way to go . did you adjust based off home testing blood sugar or just symptoms ?

numbers from 63 to 300 is not all that bad but its just 2 numbers and tells very little. the 63 is a bit low so you maybe seeing some large swings in blood sugar which can point to an overdose of insulin but 30 units is not a large dose for a 92 pound dog

not sure what your vet is describing a tight curve . i may contemplate very stable blood sugar where you see small swings up or down for the day less than a 100 points but i am just guessing

you may want to ask your vet for the curves they have given and post them to see actually what is going on . amount of insulin given should be included to show how things progressed from the beginning

details and specifics is what determines how to move forward . just a miss on one thing as far as dosing can disrupt the whole process

if you aren't home testing i would suggest it especially the symptoms you posted and the lower numbers . its very possible you past the dose that was needed

education is the key understanding your pups blood sugar and its definitely something you can do most of us have become experts of our own pups diabetes

post anything large or small and dont worry about what you ask you will learn quick as most of us have

[judy56]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

I never have problem with her not wanting to eat she acts like she is starving. I do home testing that is how i know where her bs are. But have never done the curve at home.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

Definitely ask the vet for the exact readings from her curves and please post them here.

Dogs process insulins somewhat differently than people - usually somewhat faster - and don't necessarily digest their food very quickly so you may not need to be injecting the insulin prior to her meal.

The ideal way to answer this question is to do a curve at home and post the results. We can review it with you to see whether she seems to be getting sugar from her food and insulin from her injection into her blood at about the same time - which produces a nice flat curve.

Not sure what the vet means by "tight" so would really like to see those results.

You can find a great deal of general information on diabetes in dogs at the main website, www.k9diabetes.com.

Natalie

[amydunn19]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

Welcome - if you are home testing, just take a day and do a curve. Post it here and we can see if anything jumps out.

Are you doing two meals, 12 hours apart ? Are there any snacks or treats except meals? Are there any other medical conditions that Tess takes medicine for or has had in the past? Has the vet done any other testing like thyroid or any other tests to rule out issues?

The swing from 63 to 300's is concerning but I wouldn't want to jump to any conclusions until I see more information and the actual curves.

[judy56]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

Yes she eats 12 hour's apart sometimes a little less like 11.5 hours apart. She gets chicken as a snack and chicken jerky but not more than that. Her thyroid is fine. She does not have any medical conditions. I was not very clear on her bs. They have been as low as 63 and as high as >300. Totally uncontrolled. Her blood sugars about an hour ago were 256 which js better today. I will try and do a curve next weekend i work during the day and am unable to during the week

[amydunn19]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

How often do you test a day ? If you could get some readings at different times of the day that might signal a pattern. I am concerned if she drops to 63 at times without you being home but you won't know until you get the curve done.

[judy56]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

I test one time daily while she is high. Usually at night. Although she is excellent about letting me test her, i feel her mouth might get kind of sore. I cannot get anything out I f her ear. Just the lip. I am kind of wondering about meters too. I use a nova max, don't know if i should change. Bs at 9:30pm 309, ketone negative.

[amydunn19]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

I have always tested at the base of the tail to the side. Maggie barely realizes she is being tested. You may have to shave some hair and you might need a thicker lancet. I am not familiar with your meter but I would think it is ok.

Do you have any idea what time of day her sugar is low from tests the vet has done? That is the time I would test for sure and before meals.

[judy56]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

Ok tess ate at 6am, received 30units of insulin at 630
8:30 bs 366
1030-318
1230 132
130 1 small biscuit, chicken throughout the day
220 130
430 128
6pm dinner
630 insulin bs 515

I think i will go back to insulin 1st and feed 1/2 later. I want her insulin to be there when she spikes.
i don't like the 515 reading before insulin.
called vet- they will get back to me tomorrow.

Good half the day.

amy i see that your dog had catact surgery, did they come back?

[jesse girl]

Re: Tess uncontrolled blood sugars

it would have been nice to know what blood sugar was wright before breakfast and shot (fasting) to determine how large the spike was

i dont think the spike is completely explained by just food in the evening