Miah diagnosed with Diabetes

[dawn27]

Miah has been diagnosed with Diabetes . .

She hadn't been acting normal for several weeks and than just recently we noticed she was getting thinner I though due to summer and her getting more exercise as usual. It started after she had been in a fight with our other female and had gotten her leg hurt. Wish some tlc it took her a couple weeks to heal from that but she never recovered mentally. I just thought she was depressed and would eventually bounce back but four weeks in she hadn't. Well she never did get back to her spunky self. Than we noticed more significant weight loss. I just wish I had seen it sooner but I had been so busy with home projects and improvements than now the new grand baby I just didn't.

So now that we know what the issue is it all makes scene after the vet explained it to me. I've never really knew what it was and what to watch for so it didn't dawn on me what could be wrong with her. Dr. Andrea has her on 2 shots a day for a week, back for a check up, a second round of blood work and than see where we go from there.

Has anyone ever had a diabetic pup before and if so what was your experience ?

After getting the initial round how often did insulin need to be administered ?

Any advise would be greatly appreciated . .

[lisaly]

I don't have any experience with diabetic pups, but I'm here offering my support and prayers.

[Russpilot]

Some good friends had a diabetic Jack Russell. He lived for several years getting a couple of insulin shots a day. The needle is so small, they don't even know they are getting a shot.

[anneclaire]

I have a little jack Russell I rescued 7 yrs ago that someone had just "dumped" The vet thought she was about a year old at the time. She has been diabetic for 3 years. I give her 2 shots a day and she has a blood curve every 6mo. After we finally got her regulated I have had no problems . Every now and again ( when I forget to put Spices ,my yorkie, food up after she eats and Sugar will come along and eat it! ( she will have a little ,what I call , episode . She will be kinda lethargic but I will give her a couple T of SD AD and she comes right out of it. She is blind now from diabetes but she handles it so well. She is what I call my perfect baby as she is about as perfect as any furbaby can be. She has been from day one. BIG difference in her and my little crazy Spice! LOL Spice keeps me on my toes for sure but I wouldnt part with that ornery little imp for anything. Sugar and Spice are day and night, I sure named them right too ! LOL
Anyway diabetes is a terrible thing but the shots are very important and the diet. After your little one gets regulated it will be easier for you and her too. Took Sugar about 6 mo. I joined a diabetic forum for dogs and I feel some go way too far , they will do blood checks and curves themselves and decide how much insulin to give, I do not agree with that. I feel I have a very good vet and I leave that in her hands as long as Sugar is doing well.

[Wylie's Mom]

I don't have experience w/ diabetes but MauiGirl did with her fur child who now has passed (not from diabetes).

I hope the insulin treatment goes smoothly!

[MauiGirl]

I am so sorry Miah has diabetes, and I know the shock of getting that diagnosis for your pup. What you need to know is that diabetes can be controlled in dogs, and with proper insulin dose and diet she can live a long life. Diabetes cannot be cured, but can be managed. It is important to establish the proper dose to prevent blindness and other complications.

Last year my Meika was diagnosed with diabetes after symptoms of excessive thirst and urination. The vet started her on a moderately low dose of insulin shots 2 x/day, rechecked every 2 weeks and had to increase the dose gradually trying to find the effective level.

The "glucose curve" testing is important to establish the correct level, but it is expensive (over $200) when you have to repeat it every 2 weeks. I bought the glucose meter and strips and learned how to do it myself. It was the hardest thing I ever did, having to prick her to get the drop of blood every hour over an 8 hr day, but I finally nailed it.

We were making progress in finding the proper insulin level, but about 3 months later, Meika was poisoned by a toad and died. The YT members were so supportive of me though all of that. Her story is here http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...-diabetes.html

Diabetes is not very common in Yorkies, and I had a hard time getting information. I only dealt with it for a few months, but found so much information on the internet.Here are a couple links I saved that were helpful:
Diabetes in Dogs: Learn to manage Your Dog's Diabetes - Insulin, Food, Monitoring, Testing - Forum
Diabetes In Your Dog

I wish you lots of luck in controlling Miah's diabetes. It is possible, so stick with it.

[dawn27]

Thank you ladies for your support !!

Originally Posted by lisaly

I don't have any experience with diabetic pups, but I'm here offering my support and prayers.

Thank you that is very much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Russpilot

Some good friends had a diabetic Jack Russell. He lived for several years getting a couple of insulin shots a day. The needle is so small, they don't even know they are getting a shot.

Yes it is ... vey tiny and she doesn't even know that I've pricked her.

Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom

I don't have experience w/ diabetes but MauiGirl did with her fur child who now has passed (not from diabetes).

I hope the insulin treatment goes smoothly!

We'll see once we go back for her follow up on Tues.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by anneclaire

I have a little jack Russell I rescued 7 yrs ago that someone had just "dumped" The vet thought she was about a year old at the time. She has been diabetic for 3 years. I give her 2 shots a day and she has a blood curve every 6mo. After we finally got her regulated I have had no problems . Every now and again ( when I forget to put Spices ,my yorkie, food up after she eats and Sugar will come along and eat it! ( she will have a little ,what I call , episode . She will be kinda lethargic but I will give her a couple T of SD AD and she comes right out of it. She is blind now from diabetes but she handles it so well. She is what I call my perfect baby as she is about as perfect as any furbaby can be. She has been from day one. BIG difference in her and my little crazy Spice! LOL Spice keeps me on my toes for sure but I wouldnt part with that ornery little imp for anything. Sugar and Spice are day and night, I sure named them right too ! LOL

Anyway diabetes is a terrible thing but the shots are very important and the diet. After your little one gets regulated it will be easier for you and her too. Took Sugar about 6 mo. I joined a diabetic forum for dogs and I feel some go way too far , they will do blood checks and curves themselves and decide how much insulin to give, I do not agree with that. I feel I have a very good vet and I leave that in her hands as long as Sugar is doing well.

Thank you for your input, I am glad that your pup is doing well with her diabetes, its so sad thou that not only do they have this horrible disease that it can take their sight as well. I do not look forward to that at all.

What do the initials mean in the highlighted sentence ?

Right now she is on her regular diet. I give her her shots at 9am & 9pm with a tiny portion of can puppy and her regular kibble. Just enough so she has something in her tummy which the doc says is Very important. I too have a very good vet. She's the best and cares for my babies very well.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by MauiGirl

I am so sorry Miah has diabetes, and I know the shock of getting that diagnosis for your pup. What you need to know is that diabetes can be controlled in dogs, and with proper insulin dose and diet she can live a long life. Diabetes cannot be cured, but can be managed. It is important to establish the proper dose to prevent blindness and other complications.

Last year my Meika was diagnosed with diabetes after symptoms of excessive thirst and urination. The vet started her on a moderately low dose of insulin shots 2 x/day, rechecked every 2 weeks and had to increase the dose gradually trying to find the effective level.

The "glucose curve" testing is important to establish the correct level, but it is expensive (over $200) when you have to repeat it every 2 weeks. I bought the glucose meter and strips and learned how to do it myself. It was the hardest thing I ever did, having to prick her to get the drop of blood every hour over an 8 hr day, but I finally nailed it.

Wow, good for you. That takes some commitments and Im sure it wasn't an easy process.

We were making progress in finding the proper insulin level, but about 3 months later, Meika was poisoned by a toad and died. The YT members were so supportive of me though all of that. Her story is here

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...-diabetes.html

Diabetes is not very common in Yorkies, and I had a hard time getting information. I only dealt with it for a few months, but found so much information on the internet.Here are a couple links I saved that were helpful:

Diabetes in Dogs: Learn to manage Your Dog's Diabetes - Insulin, Food, Monitoring, Testing - Forum
Diabetes In Your Dog

I wish you lots of luck in controlling Miah's diabetes. It is possible, so stick with it.

Oh I will Sandy. . that's the plan !! Yes, I realize this will be a long process and something that both she and I and my family will need to be on top of for the rest of her life . . . hoping for a long life to come. I just need to get my son and husband on board with helping with her care. Both of them are SCARED to death of needles. My husband freaked when I just showed him the needle. They help with their care in some way but I am the pups primary care taker since I am a stay at home mom and child care provider. So until now I've been able to do it ALL and of course will more than likely continue but now I need their help. Lets face it, I cant' be here 24/7. They have to learn the signs and know exactly how to respond as I do and together will be stay on top of this as a family.

Thank you for taking the time to post and for the links. I will read your thread and will most defiantly save the links. I can not get enough information on this horrible disease and want to read as much as I can, which I hadn't found much.

I am so sorry about your pup, I remember that. How horrible !

[anneclaire]

The initials in my post are Science Diet canned food AD , Sugar eats SD WD dry and a little ID twice a day, after her shots . I make her treats to make sure there is nothing she cant have in them . She also has several allergies. Right now is the worse time for her too.

[dawn27]

Originally Posted by anneclaire

The initials in my post are Science Diet canned food AD , Sugar eats SD WD dry and a little ID twice a day, after her shots . I make her treats to make sure there is nothing she cant have in them . She also has several allergies. Right now is the worse time for her too.

Oh ok, no special diet for Miah for now but I am sure that is something that we will need to look in to. Thank goodness she doesn't have any allergies unlike the other two pups.

[chestermama]

sending prayers

[dawn27]

Miah is doing really great with her shots, so simple to do and we've got our routine down. I've got my son on board with administering her insulin shots . . Yay ! Now to work on my husband, it's got to be done, there's no avoiding it simply because I can not be here every minute of every day. Her check up is Tues. so we'll see how things are progressing and it her sugar levels are down. Hoping that we've made some progress in the right direction.

[dawn27]

Our visit went ok , not great but its a step in the right direction. Her sugar levels are 450 which is still very high but there has been some improvement from 532. Unfortunately she has lost about a pound in the past week. So, insulin level has been raised to 2 units and we are doing anything we can to encourage her to eat more. Preferably not poop but her regular dog food. We are trying puppy food mixed with her regular kibble. I chose to add it to all three pups food instead of keeping it separate from the other two pups and when they saw that new bag of food come in and when I started mixed it 50/50 they all got pretty excited. Quincy wasted no time separating his favorite from the rest, Ruby dug right in and Miah decided that she was going to pick out the ones she didn't want and toss them aside. So I had dog food piled up all over the kitchen and living room that eventually got picked over and gobbled up by one of the other pups. . . LOL Geesh !

Out overall goal is to get her sugar level down and her weight up. We need to do something to get her weight up. She's such a finicky eater and other than upping her food intake I am at a loss of what I can do. I am open to suggestions. Anything other than cooking for her which is something I have no interest in doing.

I am just so not familiar with this diabetic stuff I don't know how to quite handle the food part of it and don't want to do something that would hurt her. What is Safe and what is NOT? Please Help . .

Doc said it would hurt to give her some treats in between meals. Does anyone know a high calorie, diabetic safe Dog or Human treat that I could give her ?

[dawn27]

This is what I found in the info from Sally:

The ideal diet for a dog with diabetes

After a meal is digested glucose is released into the bloodstream. The type of food that your diabetic dog eats can have a significant effect on this:
A meal full of sugar causes a sudden increase in blood glucose.
If a meal is high in complex carbohydrates (starch and fiber) glucose is released over a longer period in a more controlled way.
An ideal diabetes diet is usually:
restricted in fat content
has a high complex carbohydrate content
is high in fiber
This is helpful, Thank you !
I still have so much more to learn.