Scooter's cataract

[Raysaint]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

Only ever had one, and not even sure he was hypo. Tested his sugar and it was 4.0 (70). I panicked.

[MikeMurphy]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

Only ever had one, and not even sure he was hypo. Tested his sugar and it was 4.0 (70). I panicked.

Lily's never had a hypo event, but she's dropped below 70 a few times after her walks and each time I've given her Karo syrup. Now, whenever we go for a walk, I give her 5 or 6 mini milk bones along the way, and that keeps her BG stable. She's caught on to my strategy and stops every 5 minutes or so and waits for her treat

[Scooterspal]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

Lily's never had a hypo event, but she's dropped below 70 a few times after her walks...

This makes me think I should test Scooter after one of his walks to see what his level is. Last evening, after a good walk, he seemed a bit sleepy in the van on the way home. No shaking or trembling. He did get a treat after the walk, as usual though. I now carry corn syrup and his meter when we go for a drive away from home base.

How long after a treat would you see a change in the BG level if you retest?

[amydunn19]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

It depends on the treat. Most give a quick sugar fix(honey) but you need to follow up with a biscuit or two. They need a carb to raise it until the next meal. If you just give honey, it has no staying power so the raise will be short lived.

[Scooterspal]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

What a frustrating day. After a week of near "perfect" levels according to my internist Scooter tested 240 when he woke up. He refused to eat his breakfast so we walked first. Testing him after the walk and the level read HIGH, meaning over 600 on this ReliOn meter.

I was devastated. Thought we were on the right track. His level at 5:30 after evening walk was 181... His "normal" range.

I have some questions I hope someone will answer.

I may not be giving his shots exactly right and this may be the cause of higher AM levels. The vet said anywhere on his back area is fine. He showed me how you pinch some skin up then stick the needle. Release the pinch and inject.

Is this how you folks do it and do you inject slowly or just push it in all at once. Maybe I'm injecting too fast and some is oozing back out the injection site? Also, where do you inject?

Second question. This whole BC levels thing has me confused. I assumed that excersize will cause a lowering of the BC level and giving treats or food will raise those levels. Am I wrong on this?

Thanks.

[jesse girl]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

i pinch/pull the skin but i do not release the skin when i inject

as for the second question you are correct for the most part but with exercising and insulin has completely run out you could see numbers rise .sometimes treats can stabilize sugar so you may not see a rise all the time and some treats may not affect an individual dog at all

you will see ups and downs for your dogs complete life with diabetes . its a disease thats rooted in frustration

thats why not much is set in stone and why we always say it depends on your individual dog

[Raysaint]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

When you pinch up some skin, don't release until after injecting. Inject slowly. I don't inject at the top of the pulled up skin, I go down the tent a bit and at a 45 degree angle.
I use the scruff area on the back of his neck. Once in awhile below the shoulder blades a couple inches away from the spine, kind of where the top of his leg meets his body. Link below shows areas.

Exercise usually lowers blood sugar, but it can rise a bit if the dog hasn't eaten in awhile. His body needs energy, so the liver might release glucose.
Test him before a walk, and then half hour later to see how much it lowers. Don't test right after because a body has residual metabolism/energy burn for a bit.
Based on how much he comes down, he may not need a carb treat.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=dog+i...0msKvIjxBG0UM:

[Scooterspal]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

I need some guidance, I cannot speak with Scooters internist until the end of this week, when he is back in the office.

Scooters numbers have started to increase and I do not know why. After a full week of levels averaging lower than 200 and as low as 122, 129, 139, I am now seeing levels in the mid to high 200's and a few over 400. I always test twice when I get "off" numbers to confirm. Usually in two different spots no where near each other.

I did alter his dosage, on my own, to where he is getting 4.5 units for both injections. I did this before the increase when he was still under 200 to try and get them a tad lower. That did seem to work. He was getting his lowest numbers after that.

Any suggestions what would account for this?

Thanks!

[jesse girl]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

for my jesse if her fasting rises i usually reduce the dose as the first thing to try

[Raysaint]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

Because your dog was recently diagnosed, they can still be producing a bit of insulin on their own, which contributes to lower sugar. As the pancreas completely stops producing, sugars rise a bit more, and more bottled insulin is needed.

[Scooterspal]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

My internist wants me to up the dosage to 5 units twice a day from the 4 he was getting.

That's 10 for a small 20lb. dog. It that unusual? This appears way higher than what you folks are giving for your pets.

[MikeMurphy]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

My internist wants me to up the dosage to 5 units twice a day from the 4 he was getting.

That's 10 for a small 20lb. dog. It that unusual? This appears way higher than what you folks are giving for your pets.

Good morning. A conservative starting dose for a 20 lb dog would be 20 x .2 = 4 units every 12 hours, so there is plenty of room for small increases.

Hang in there. You're doing great.

[Raysaint]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

5 units would be OK. My dog is about 25 lbs. and he's getting 8 units twice daily.

[Scooterspal]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

I feel like I'm losing Scooter.

Upped the dosage to 5.5 (since I was at 4.5 before vet told me to go one) and still he is in the high 400's to mid 500's.

According to what I read on dosage-to-levels for a human, each unit added should cause a decrease of 50mg/dl

[Judi]

Re: Is there a number that equals "stabilized"?

it's way too early to think that and that was a very general statement for your vet to make. Dogs aren't considered "insulin resistant" until they are getting a unit per pound. Scooter isn't even close to that high of a dose yet.

With some dogs, whether it is their breed, infection, high cholesterol, or they just didn't read the manual telling them how they are supposed to respond, they won't respond at all till you get closer to their dose.

My dog was an 8 pound poodle. Turns out she had another medical condition and I was screwing up and feeding her too much. For over 2 months we had no movement. Her curves were in the 500-600 range and I took her to the vet at least every other week as we slowly increased her dose from 2 units.

In the beginning her blood sugar didn't start to move till we hit about 6 units.
Lucky for me she liked hanging out at the vet's office. My wallet didn't but she did.

So try try try to be patient. It's hard. You probably aren't close to the dose Scooter needs yet. I know they are sleepy and thirsty at higher blood sugar levels.

This will get better.

hang in there. Judi