Diabetic Doggy..

motherbear

My 9(ish) year old German Shepherd !!!!! was diagnosed as having diabetes today.
She is going to spend the day at the vets tomorrow for a blood glucose curve.
Can anyone tell me what may happen next?

wannabepennypincher

Hi motherbear, sorry to hear about your dog. I have a diabetic cat, he was diagnosed about 6 months ago, he had a bad bout of pancreatatis (sp?) and has been diabetic ever since.

The glucose curve they vet will start him out with some insulin and track his blood sugar to see how he reacts. They usually start out with very small doses and increase them gradually until they find the correct amount as low blood sugar is just as bad as high blood sugar.

Before we brought him home my vet spent some time teaching us how to inject him, we practised with saline (I think it was saline something harmless anyway) until we felt comfortable doing it on our own. I never thought I'd get used to it and he hated it at first but now its routine, never had a problem with him hiding and not wanting his meds- he knows his dinner comes after the injection so I think that softens the blow somewhat! Having a routine seems to help- although if he ever gets an injection at the vets for whatever reason he always expects food when we get home as according to him a bowl of food is the price to pay for being a good boy for his needle- you wouldn't believe how upset he got until we figured this out.

For the first few weeks we found it helpful to have his injection site shaved as he is long haired and we didn't want to be giving him shots into his fur, it is daunting but you will quickly get used to it, as will your dog.

Hope that helped.

motherbear

Thanks for the reassurance wannabepennypincher, I've just dropped her off at the vet and am trying to read up as much as I can about diabetes. If anyone can point me in the right direction of any good websites or forums it would be much appreciated.

wannabepennypincher

I used to use a forum but it was mainly for diabetic cats but not so much anymore.

Maybe we should start up our own diabetic pets support thread for (non-medical) support, maybe with a link to what you should for a hypo.

Mayflower10cat

Dear Motherbear, just to say, please don't be scared and there are a lot of diabetic pet owners (past and present) on this board. I'm trying to recall another poster who's dear dog was only recently Dx'd - was it Buddysmum...??? I'll check back through my replies & let you know.

We cared for a diabetic cat sadly no longer with us (died of cancer) and yes, thank goodness for t'internet as we found several message boards (and many new friends) and so much help and support, really wonderful. The site below is great - so many links.
http://www.petdiabetes.com/

And this is a nice UK site set up by a dear friend, mainly for cat owners but much of the info applies to doggies too - here's my own sugarcat's page.. http://www.sugarpet.net/rocky.html

You are not alone and I wish you all the very best in learning the skills and techniques that will keep your beloved dog healthy and well.

Just checked back - this is the thread I was thinkking of
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2573695

buddys_mum

Hi Motherbear,

Buddy was diagnosied last December for diabeties, and i cant believe that almost a year has gone by. Wannabepennypincher has hit the nail on the head, and i cant say anything else than what she has. Try looking at www.diabeticpets.co.uk i found this to be very useful when we were just starting off.

You will get used to doing the injections, trust me. If she has long thick fur around her neck, it may be a good idea to trim it back slightly so you can see the needle clearly - ask your vets advice about this. I hope she is alright, and you will start to notice a difference in her very soon.I m just about to take Buddy out for his walk.

paddypaws101

Hi Motherbear,
Lots of good advice above....Don't be scared, dogs handle diabetes pretty well!
My cat Paddy was diagnose around a year ago and he is doing VERY well indeed.
I would strongly recommend learning how to do home tests as this puts you right in control and stops the danger of nasty hypos. The best and easiest meter to use is the Freedom Freestyle Lite...takes a tiny drop of blood and strip are available on Ebay much cheaper tah the local chemist

marshallka

motherbear wrote: »

My 9(ish) year old German Shepherd !!!!! was diagnosed as having diabetes today.
She is going to spend the day at the vets tomorrow for a blood glucose curve.
Can anyone tell me what may happen next?

Hi motherbear, sorry to hear this.

My 10 year old border was diagnosed last month with this.

We had to start giving insulin twice a day which is easier than you actually think once they get used to them.

Our dog can not stay in for a curve cause he is aggressive when at the vets (muzzle job) but they do a blood test that gives a reading over the previous two weeks and a glucose test weekly. As yet we have not got him stabilised and in fact his numbers have gone up but we have only last week upped the dosage of insulin once again. He got wobbly last night first time since giving insulin but he did not have any other symptoms and seemed fine today. Going again next thursday so hopefully he will be improving but if not they may start to look at insulin resistance or other things.

Hope your dog goes on OK and I realise how worrying this can be for any pet owner. I was frantic and still am at times but we just have to think, it can be treated but takes time.

As regards the jabs I first practised on an orange.
Keto sticks from boots are great to check for Ketones in urine..
Regularity/routine with everything from exercise to feeding times etc
Know what to look out for with Hyper/hypo symptoms and know the difference
Get a jar of honey just in case/also small mars bars (I realise chocie is bad for dogs but the harm that a hypo fit can do is much more than what a small mars can do - ask your vet as most actually recommend and simontheiceman from here does too)
Also no treats in between and of course no sugar whatsoever
Just a few things to get you started.

x

motherbear

I can't thank everyone enough for all their help and support, its great to talk to other folks who are or have been in a similar position.
Levi has been just fantastic, she doesn't move a muscle when i'm giving her her injection.

Buddys mum - i'm so glad to hear that your year with this has gone so quickly and that Buddy is doing well

Paddypaws101 - Great that your Paddy is doing so well I mentioned to my vet about doing home tests, he said that when we get Levis insulin dosage stabilised, we would talk about it again.

Marshallka - I hope things have improved for your boy when you go to the vet on Thursday. Levi and I are getting on really well with regards to injections. I am reading up on hyper/hypo sympoms, there's so much to take in so quickly, my head is spinning with everything (but i'll get there). I got honey today and always have a supply of mars bars in anyway

My main problems just now are :-

Feeding - Levi didn't used to eat till 6pm then again at 11pm - so trying to get her to eat in the morning (9.30am) has been a bit of a struggle, then she's looking for her evening meal at 6.30pm and i have to try to distract her for 3 hours!(i feel so guilty) I'm sure after a few days we'll get into the routine and it'll be fine though.

Snacks & treats - This is the worst thing. I have sugar free doggy choc drops for her bed-time treat (is that allowed?)
What do you all give for snacks? How much and how often? I keep reading conflicting views on what they can and can't have. I am thinking along the lines of carrots, green beans, cucumber & maybe boiled eggs?

Thanks again

marshallka

I give treats as carrots and also he has a rawhide (white ones) which he loves and our vet said it was OK once in while. I thought about the choccie drops with sugar free also but have not tied yet. Glad things are working out with you too. The meal times will be a change but he will get used to it. My Lhasa has also changed his to be in line with my border collies. It took time but he now waits the full 12 hours and both eat at the same time again.