Maggie at the Rainbow Bridge 6/2/17

[maggiegirl]

My dog Maggie has just been diagnosed as well. The high numbers are scary.

I have been giving Maggie egg.ground chicken,a little barley and chicken broth. She is now down in the 200-350 range. My vet started her on 4 units 2x times a day.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

From Maggie's mom,

New to forum so don't know all the info I need to get yet. Maggie isn't drinking very much and I thought we were starting to get a handle on readings but just got a 518 surprise.

I Know you all have a lot of experience to tap into but I need to know how to post to get Some responses to help me help her. I feel like she can't handle this and losing her Eyesight so quickly and is giving up.Please help!!!Thank you.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

High reading(s) can mean a lot of different things - most of them not anything to really worry about.

I know you are terrified about her losing her sight, but trying to drop her blood sugar down very quickly can backfire and actually slow down the process of good regulation.

In truth, you may not be able to prevent the development of cataracts at this point. Most diabetic dogs wind up losing their vision - not all, but most.

I've watched a lot of families go through this with their dogs over the years and I know that nearly all dogs adjust well to being blind.

I know it doesn't seem possible that she can adjust at first. And it can take a few weeks for them to adjust. But dogs are amazing creatures who don't think about these things the way we do.

They also rely much more on their sense of smell than on their vision. If you think about their sense of smell being like our vision and our sense of smell being like their vision, you get a sense of the relative loss for them.

Our dog lost his vision to cataracts about 10-11 months after he was diagnosed (and he only had it as long as he did because he honeymooned with normal blood sugar for a while). Blindness changed his life very little. He went on walks every day like he always had, combed the riverbank for dried stinky fish carcasses and even waded in the shallow part of the river on a long lead, traveled with us 2,400 miles round trip from California to Montana, and navigated his way around the house when he felt like it and pinballed off of things when he didn't.

Maggie will be okay.

And it's important for you to try to be calm and happy with her instead of worrying all the time. Worrying won't do either one of you any good! It will upset you both. If Maggie hears you telling her she's fine and will adjust and live a full life (and mean it), she will feel it.

Severe ketoacidosis and very low blood sugar are really the only two serious, life-threatening issues with diabetes. All the rest is manageable.

I see you give four units twice a day - how much does Maggie weigh?

Are you testing her blood sugar at home?
Are you testing urine for ketones?

If she is obviously feeling poorly physically, please take her to the vet.

Natalie

[maggiegirl]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

Maggie is 11 lb. Now. Was about 13+. She is going to be 10 in Nov. I am testing twice per day with
The alpha trak 2. I do have the urine test strips for ketones. She is getting 4 units of insulin 2x a day.
She is eating well but not drinking as much as before. Her eyes are very cloudy and that happened almost as soon as the diagnosis. I got her from a puppy mill type of breeder(didn't know what that was at the time) she has always been timid, afraid insecure so this is a lot for her to deal with. I will
Do anything for her so she can adjust but I am just concerned that she may not have it in her to cope.
I pray I am wrong. I praise her for everything she does and tries to do. She is still full of kisses and
Goes out for small walks but is really confused outside. Both she and Taz are potty box trained so we
May have to work just with that.(Taz has a congenial birth defect with his front legs and luxating back
Legs.(same breeder; he gave me Maggie as a replacement for Taz and I would not give Taz back. We
Decided to love him and give him a great life for as long as possible!)they are both very loved!

[k9diabetes]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

How is she with testing? Could you spend a day doing a full curve? It would be good to know how her blood sugar is throughout the day in case it is much higher or lower at some point than the twice daily tests.

[amydunn19]

My Maggie went blind and she was not going to adjust. Hers was practically overnight and she absolutely panicked every time I put her down. She had successful surgery but if she was older and had showed any comfort level with it, I wouldn't have done it but she was only 7 at the time. She had her sight restored for 4 1/2 -5 years but ironically corneal ulcers caused her to lose vision again and she dealt with it completely differently. I think she still could see some light and shadows so she was content to wander around.

[maggiegirl]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

Maggie isn't thrilled with the testing but she will let me do it at the base of tail. Tried the pads but not getting enough blood. I thought her sugar was starting to regulate yesterday but then the 518 out
Of nowhere. Today is much better both times. I am using alpha trak. I just got my second advocate
Meter (replacement for first) the first one was all over the place and this new one read 342 when the alpha trak read 193 so they are both going back and I am going to stick with the alpha trak. It would have saved some money if it had been even close but it isn't so not worth the risk. They ship it so
Cheaply maybe they get damaged during shipping. I also got an aloe plant so I could put some
Near her eyes to maybe relieve some irritation. She is drinking water again. I put it in a smaller
Custard cup with a little broth in it and that is working. I also taped her dog tags so they wouldn't
Clink on her bowl and scare her. She is so bewildered by this bad vision but we will get through
It if she is able. She has always been frightened about a lot of things and liked to curl up under my recliner by herself.(known as her girl cave. She feels safe there.). When the footrest is up.
I know she may be really terrified now. She is my angel and I will do whatever I can for her.
Fingers crossed that 190 looked pretty good to me as well as her drinking enough again.

[Judi]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

this is encouraging. fingers crossed big time.

my jenny's eye doctor had suggested we might want to put some baby lights down at floor level. Even with her cataracts I think Jenny could see shadows and differences in light.

Her first month of blindness was awful. I think worse for me than for her. Jenny loved hanging on the couch barking at the birds, squirrels and chipmunks all day and suddenly that was gone and she was bumping into things and acting hesitant.

she adapted really well. everyone kept reminding me that dogs live in the moment, they dont' dwell on what they can't do any more. And Jenny had a great nose and learned her boundaries.

We eventually travelled a few times with her and she'd put her nose down and figure out what she needed to figure out. I have a little fenced in doggy area in my backyard that is a chipmunk/squirrel highway this time of year as they grab acorns. Jenny's nose would lead her to our rain gutter where the chipmunks would run to hide from her. Even blind one Saturday she spent 45 minutes out there with her nose in the gutter blocking the chipmunk in.

my long winded point is that my girl found new ways to enjoy her life. If money was no object and she'd been younger I'd have done the cataract surgery but for us it just wasn't an option.

hang in there. Judi

[Eddie]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

There are quite a few things you can do to help them adjust to losing their sight. our dog hasn't been able to see for about five years (well before he got diabetes - from an unrelated issue).

There is a useful book called Living with Blind Dogs by Caroline Levin which has a lot of good ideas. things we do include
- bubble wrap around table legs or other things he tends to bump into eg on his way to the back door
- wearing little cat bells that jingle on my shoes so he can follow the noise and know where I am
- teaching a word like "bump" when he is about to collide with something. He learnt to stop and wait for re-direction when we said that, and it means you can just shout it to them and it doesn't matter if you aren't within grabbing distance.
- using different surfaces eg a bit of old carpet near the back door outside so he can tell when he is near the door or near the corner of an outbuilding that he otherwise kept walking into.
- lots of talking to them to reassure them that you are there (or fooling them with leaving a radio on if you aren't there).
- leave furniture etc in the same place and don't leave stuff around in unusual places so that they learn which places are always clear and where the obstacles are (makes us very tidy!).

They do mostly seem to adjust quite well though it is heart-wrenching to watch at first.

Antonia

[Magoo's Mom]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

So sorry to hear about Maggie. It is so hard to watch. Magoo went blind in June and seems to have adapted well. He can still get down off the bed, goes on his walks and leads like he always did, can still steal things out of the wastebasket and laundry so he can trade for a cookie, and loves to sit on the lanai (screened) and bark at the birds. I was terrified when I first found out but the vet reassured me he would be fine and, actually that has been the easiest thing we have had to deal with. I try to always speak to him before I pet him, never carry him from place to place as he loses his position. If Maggie does seem to get lost, try carrying her to her food dish. They can usually navigate from there. Try to reassure her as often as you can. My vet said that hearing "good boy" when he does navigate something tough is great for him.
Just love her a lot and all will be well. They are sometimes tougher than we are! Best of luck.

[maggiegirl]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

Maggie's mom here. Her numbers are coming down again, she is drinking water again(a bit of broth in it in a less noisy bowl) and finding her potty box so things are good. Thanks aloe has really helped her eyes( not so irritated). Thank you for all the suggestions and empathy. I know we will get through this because we must. She will do the best that she can and I have her back always. The book you are talking about living with a blind dog sounds really interesting. Is that still in print? Who
Is the author and the exact title. I have been picking her up when I shouldn't have. I can't leave her
Food bowl down because Taz (my baby boy thinks his name is HOOVER where food is concerned) would never leave it in the same place twice. I think he thinks things grow in there! Thanks for all of the concern. Best wishes for you all in this journey as well.

[stylynjm]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

Hi,
The book is living with a blind dog, by caroline levine.it is out of print but I just found it on amazon..

[maggiegirl]

Re: Questions about my Maggie Girl

Maggie's mom here. I found a book with the same title at the library and have it on request. I will have to check the author. Looking forward to reading it. Thanks again for the info. Maggie was below 200 today and I am so excited. Maybe starting to regulate a little bit. Thanks to everyone for your good advice and good thoughts. I think I will stick with the alpha trak meter because the replacement advocate was off by 125 points and not worth sticking her the extra time. Sending it back for refund.
I would be wary of trusting it. Best wishes to all.

[maggiegirl]

is this getting regulated? need help

Maggie tested 128 at 10:48 am and 165 at 10:21pm. She is getting just past the 4 mark twice a day(Walmart insulin). She weighs about 11-12 lbs. She is also getting a bite of ground turkey with each test and shot. Each meal is 1 egg, 1 t. Each Of ground turkey,b down rice, and broth, as well as 1/4 t. Of brewers yeast with each meal.
Thursday she was at 261 am and 301 pm.
Wednesday she was 322am and 298 pm. Meals are all pretty close as well as snacks.

7 day. 245
14 day. 316
30 day. 340.

Should I worry about her going too low overnight? I am excited about the good readings today but unsure about going too low. Please help. We started out high and even above 600 when first diagnosed the first of September.
Many thanks!

[jesse girl]

Re: is this getting regulated? need help

Not enough information to draw any real conclusions with just a couple tests in a day

a complete curve is needed and if concerned of overnight numbers a 24 hour curve may help to comfort you

the reason for fear and worry is not knowing

so you might want to do a curve and you can post those numbers after its completed