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Forum THE LOUNGE Diabetic Pets?

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    • Andi
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        Just wondering if anyone else has a pet that is diabetic?

        My 12 yr old 70lbs mix dog was diagnosed 2 years ago with Diabetes, and pancreatitis at the same time. We had one heck of a fight with it in the begining b/c of the pancreatitis and the fact she ended up immune to Canine insulin. The last year and a half has been fine, though she has always lived with a high glucose level, and a high dosage of insulin. Last week though we had trouble where two days in a row before 8am she went into a diabetic seizure for low glucose levels. It was so scarey, she also had a panic attack two days before that where she was sceraming and running, blindly into the fence and our shed  
        There were some changes in her does and after some blood work today, the Dr. belives she is suffering from “Somogyi Effect” and we’ve had to change around a few things with her diet and timing with injections. Next week she get’s another blood tests done, and if things have not changed we get a whole pannel run again.
        Because of this she’ s not  eating well, and has lost a bit of weight.

        I have a friend who’s cat in insulin dependent as well, and I’ve heard even hamsters being diabetic though there was is settled by diet. It seems to me other people I have talked to with diabetic pets have had less issues then we have gone though though.

         


      • Sonn
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          Aw that’s so sad =(

          I have a diabetic dog and a diabetic ferret . Both are on insulin plus I have to closely monitor what types of food they eat keep their weights in check and keep a chart of glucose levels and what causes what to go up or down.

          My ferret will occasionally have a hypoglycemia issue (low blood sugar) when his glucose levels bottom out and I live quite far from the vet so I was instructed to rub Karo syrup on his gums and rush him into the vet. Then the insulin levels have to be adjusted.

          My dog on the other hand has hyperglycemia issues (high blood sugar) when she gets excited or stressed. Which is really difficult to prevent since she is my dog who is terrified of every person and every dog that she doesn’t know. She has thankfully not become insulin resistant like a lot of dogs.

          With my dog the higher her protein levels the less issues and vet visits I have to make. So now she is on a raw diet and has a strict exercise routine which she hates (couch potato) and so far her glucose levels are staying within the normal range.

          I actually know quite a few dogs and cats who have experienced Somogyi Rebound or Somogyi’s phenomenon due to an overdose of insulin or a highly inappropriate diet (usually the 2 culprits but sometimes other things). Which essentially causes an overflow of glucose and epinephrine which begins the breakdown of glycogen (found in the liver). It usually has temporary effects unless it happens a lot.

          When my dog first started on insulin she has quite a few rebounds but I have since learned with the help of my vet what dosage to give when her meter readings are certain numbers.

          There are a lot of websites that can help as well as groups with lots and lots of people with diabetic pets. I took my dog to one vet who had never heard of the Somogyi rebound or the insulin my dog was on so safe to say we did not return lol.


        • Andi
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            Wow two in one household! Are they both on 2 injections a day?
            How do you keep the ferrets diet? How much does your dog weight and how much insulin does she get a day?

            Our problem was Whizz’s curve for the last year+ would hover between 18-20, it never went lower, but her liver enzymes were up to, and sometimes there would be underlying infection, which we pretty much went back to the pancrease issues, it’s next to the liver and causes the liver to get inflamed sometimes (Big time when she had full out pancreatitis).
            She put on weight and kept it on (She dropped when she was diagnosed) and was very healthy even with the high level of glucose. So this episode really through us off b/c it wasn’t like her.
            When she had the episode I syringed sugar water into her, and then fed her dog cookies, 30 mins she was well again. The one Dr. said we could put icing sugar on her lips as well.
            Her diet is high fibre, minimal fat. Vet Rx kibble, and a canned vegetarian brand to entice her to eat, b/c of the low level now though she’s not eating My understanding was fiber takes a long time to digest, and so that helps from glucose levels from jumping up and down. I’m kind of interested in the amount of protine you are feeding, since your dog is also hyperglycemic like mine. What do you think the protine % is? I know when I was researching food i was looking for high fiber then protine and minimal fat.

            I know it is more common for dogs to become immune to the Human insulin, it was so odd when she was the other way around. b/c of this set back she went blind. Though she is coping well, I wish she would be more careful sometimes, she likes to just take off when she’s excited.

            How often do you do your own tests at home? And where do you find is the best palce to take blood? Do you have a ‘pricker’? what brand is it and how did you get it?
            We’ve tried the lip, the ear, the paw pad… and she does not bleed it’s so frustrating. Vet didn’t believe us and tried herself… I felt a ‘i told ya so” after LOL

            I once read of a women who didn’t want to pay for insulin for her dog so she thought she would just try to do it with diet needless to say the dog did not live a very happy last days of his life.


          • Sonn
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              Both of them get insulin injections twice a day.

              My ferret is fed raw as well lots of protein very little carbs. It took forever for him to see raw meat as food but once he took to it he will now not eat kibble unless you trick him to think it is a treat. He is also fed lots of “duck soup” which he loves. He gets that after the shot because he hates the shots.

              My dog weighs 45 lbs and she gets 10IU of Vetsulin twice a day. At first she was getting only 6IU but it wasn’t working so they upped it to the .5IU/kg of body weight.

              I had a lot of issues with her Pancreas and Liver for awhile from various things (infections, too much insulin, not enough insulin, too many carbs, too much sugar, etc.) but with my vet we took EVERYTHING into account and she sat down with me and it took nearly a month to get everything in place and got the right dosage of insulin and kept on top of her tests everything started working out. Then I did a complete overhaul on her diet and exercise and that helped a whole lot.

              Karo syrup, treats, cookies, sugar water (or paste not as watery), Nutrical (works amazingly fast) help when sugar bottoms out.

              The higher the protein levels the better. She gets 1.35 lbs of meat per day based on her body weight and 3% of it. She is fed 100% raw she gets meat, organs and bone only 5 days a week and then I add things like vegetables, salmon oil, and plain yogurt 2 days a week. I am not sure of the % of protein.

              You can read a lot about RAW diet by typing in “Canine Raw diet” or pet raw diet into google. There are a ton of sites. Or I can give you the one’s I researched with. I can’t guarantee it will work with your dog since not all dogs are the same. But with my dog it is working extremely well that if it keeps going the vet thinks it could possibly be controlled with diet and exercise.

              You can also google raw diet and dogs with diabetes lots of people use it to maintain glucose levels.

              My aunts dog went blind from diabetes not being diagnosed it was awful.

              My dog is on Vetsulin not a human insulin.

              I test before the injection and right before the first meal and then after the meal. If I am getting a curve I test before the injection and right before the first meal and then every hour until the next injection and after the last meal.

              I use the inside of the upper lip (the closer you get to the nose on the inside the more blood you can get) and at the base of the tail (you have to shave there so I don’t do it often). You can also do between the toes that works well but it is harder to do.

              The meter I use is called Glucopet my vet ordered it for me but you can also buy it online.

              I don’t think anyone should try to maintain diabetes without the help of a vet. My vet is the one who suggested the raw diets for both my ferret and my dog along with the insulin. My ferret will probably always be on insulin but my dog has a possibility for it to be controlled by her diet.


            • LittlePuffyTail
              Moderator
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                I’m sorry to hear that your dog has been unwell. I’m not sure about the similarities but I had a cat with diabetes. We had problems with Ash right from the start. He was on 2x daily insulin and special food but he just wasn’t thriving. Always drinking and losing weight despite his good appetite. We had him spend several days at the vet to monitor his glucose curve and repeated insulin checks but he kept having problems. He developed two really bad abscesses that required surgery and became very depressed and withdrawn. He no longer wanted attention from us or the other cats. After about 6 months we started thinking about putting him down, he clearly was not enjoying life despite all our efforts. He made the decision for us, he went into a diabetic coma and we put him down. I still miss him every day. I wish now that I would have brought him to see another vet, maybe they could have done more than my vet was doing. That’s the problem with vets, you assume they know their stuff and you want to trust them but I think maybe they could have done more. Run more test or something.

                Although my experience was very negative I know people who’s diabetic cats have lived full healthy lives. I don’t know any dogs with diabetes but my horse has an equine form of diabetes called Equine Metabolic Syndrome. Horses don’t get insulin shots, however, just a very strict diet.

                It’s so much work to have a pet with diabetes, but I never complained a day when I was caring for Ash and I would gladly still be doing it if I could have him back!


              • KatnipCrzy
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                  I have a diabetic cat that gets insulin (Lantus) injections twice a day.  This seems to regulate him very well- and he is much happier and social now. 

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              Forum THE LOUNGE Diabetic Pets?