B with diabetes

[Suzanjg]

My 11 yr old basenji Jaberi has been diagnosed with diabetes. I had taken him to a vet in Stockton for health certificate to fly. I thought while I'm here I'll get his senior check up. They drew blood a couple of days later vet calls says everything is fine Cholesterol was slightly elevated. Nothing to worry about that was in May. I moved to Houston in mid June and because of temperatures being above 86 I couldn't fly him. I finally had to have a service that transports animal bring. Long story short it about a month before I got him back. He was so skinny I cried I thought somebody was not feeding him. My son assured me he was well taken care of. So I thought maybe he was stressed out he's never away from me this long. Well took him to a vet out her. She got his records his blood sugar was 400 back in May. I have to give him 2 shots a day and he now getting cataracts.
Does anyone experience this or have any advice? He has never been sick ever in 11 yrs.

[DebraDownSouth]

I am so sorry about Jaberi. I am really confused that the didn't tell you that 400 bs in May was far from normal. Would getting him on insulin have slowed the cataracts? I don't know. But sadly, both cataracts and blindness are not uncommon with diabetic dogs.

You say you are giving him 2 shots a day. Are you testing his sugar each time to make sure the dosage is bringing it down far enough? Sometimes it takes many months or longer to find a stable dosage to food level. Exercise effect needed insulin. There are diabetic dog boards that might give you more support but managing diabetes isn't easy with dogs.

[flbasenji]

We've had a couple of diabetic basenjis come into rescue. One was around nine years old. Odd case - she never spilled more than a trace of glucose (and is also Fanconi DNA affected), yet her blood glucose when she arrived was 467! She was pretty obese. Not only is she not spilling glucose now, her blood glucose is now normal without insulin and her weight has been healthy for years. We put her on a very rigid diet (Wellness CORE weight management - no change from day to day) and a small amount of exercise (any increase bottomed her blood glucose level while we were stabilizing her). The amount of insulin needed had to be tapered back until we finally had to stop it. Unfortunately, changes had already been significant in her eyes prior to arrival, so cataracts were removed to avoid future complications. She arrived more than three years ago. Was off insulin within half a year.

[Dagodingo]

I had a dog diagnosed with diabetes when he was five, managed it for six years and he passed of cancer when he was eleven. Not much I don’t know about it and each dog is different, mine was a very fickle diabetic and I had to test him several times a day with a special dog diabetic meter called an AlphaTrak. What insulin are you using? They used to have a good one specially for dogs but they discontinued it when mine was diabetic. It’s a tough disease to manage in a dog but you can do it. You have to balance food, excercise and insulin carefully.

[Suzanjg]

@debradownsouth
I'm really confused too how could you not notice 400 bs. I notice when they weighed him he had lost
like 4 lbs. He's always been 32 lb, he was the biggest in his litter. But he acted the same playful ,ate normal.

[Suzanjg]

@dagodingo
They have him right now on Novolin 5ml x twice a day. They don't want me testing him yet. His vet is keeping him overnight next week to monitor glucose & do this every 3 months over the next 9 months. I feed Jaberi Fromm gold right now he's getting a cup with a topper of Turkey,carrots,peas, pumpkin, zucchini,chicken hearts, bone broth, pinto beans &turmeric. He is weighing in at 23lbs he has always weighed 32/33 lbs. All he does is lay around. I tried to take him for a walk only took him couple of blocks. He seemed shaky when we got back. I just hope I can just get him regulated. I'm looking into the cataract surgery but I hear it's quiet expensive..

[DonC]

So sorry to hear about this most unfortunate development. Is this Type One or Type II? I don't think there is a lot of difference in treatment initially. My guess would be it's Type One, which is really an autoimmune disease.

[Redial]

I have a bitch, who today, 17Sep18, is having her diabetes cataracts done at a specialist canine ophthalmologist (eye doctor), who charges $3 500 for one eye, and $5 000 for two. We are having two. Because we are on fixed income, we are paying it off.

Her diet has changed, and her body weight has stabilised at around 11Kg (about 24 lb). Every couple of months she spends the day at the local vet to measure her BG levels. We have found her BG levels to bottom out about 2pm each day with her insulin being given at 0700 and 1900 (7 pm), followed by her meal 1 hour later. It is a chore, as the others get demanding earlier, and she gets something with the others at the earlier time so there is something to keep her going. Her diet is kangaroo mince (low fat) with some dry, senior grade, and augmented with an occasional RBBB (Raw Beef Brisket Bone). The others have been introduced to this regime of food as well.

They still get their daily walks, with her getting hers as well. She is paired with a five year old, and she has returned to playfulness, wanting to play with the boy, and although her sight is limited, she has been seen to initiate the game and the odd body slam is dished out to him. She has got her zoom back, and although she likes to sleep, (it is the end of winter here), she likes to go outside for piddles and will sunbathe if the sun comes out and the temp is above 15c. She has adapted to her changed life very well.

Do not hesitate to contact me if you need more questions answered/replied to address a diabetes action plan. Good luck.

[DebraDownSouth]

@donc said in B with diabetes:

So sorry to hear about this most unfortunate development. Is this Type One or Type II? I don't think there is a lot of difference in treatment initially. My guess would be it's Type One, which is really an autoimmune disease.

Dogs get type 1, cats generally get type 2.

[DebraDownSouth]

@suzanjg said in B with diabetes:

@dagodingo
They have him right now on Novolin 5ml x twice a day.... All he does is lay around. I tried to take him for a walk only took him couple of blocks. He seemed shaky when we got back. I just hope I can just get him regulated. I'm looking into the cataract surgery but I hear it's quiet expensive..

I am not a vet, but I do find your vet setting a 5 mg and not having you test to be very strange. Being tired and being shakey are signs of blood sugar being too high or low. Talk to a dog diabetes specialist. Testing really is critical.

[Dagodingo]

@suzanjg my dog initially was on vetsulin and did very well (https://www.vetsulin.com/dogs/vetsulin.aspx) it is available again now I think. Around 2009 they stopped producing it so we had to switch to Humulin, which is the same as Novolin I believe. The vet should have done an initial test to set his dosage? They then calculate how much insulin he needs, however even small changes in excercise and diet will change that. Only home testing will tell you if his sugar is correct. A simpler and less accurate way is to test with Diastix which will let you know if he is too high, test him twice a day and if they change color, then take him back to the vet. Vets are not diabetes specialists and it is a complicated disease. The Diastix will only tell you if his sugar is way too high, I presume the vet told you to load up syringes of syrup in case of him going low? My dog only went low once at night in the whole six years but it is an emergency if they do. The key is to stick to a routine that works and don’t change anything, weigh his food so there is consistency, excercise consistently, check his sugar regularly. No regular dog treats as most will spike his sugar, fresh unprocessed chicken is ok in moderation etc.

[DonC]

@debradownsouth said in B with diabetes:

Dogs get type 1, cats generally get type 2.

While you're correct that dogs usually get Type One and cats Type 2, either can get either. Bummer regardless.