Diabetic dog - 12 years old
Discussion
Hi all. Our rescue Jug is about 12 and is in the vet's today for a blood test curve to be done. The vet was 99% sure he is diabetic from a urine sample we took in with us.
Alf is a wonderful little dog and I'm worried about what is to come for him.
Up until the end of 2017 he's been perfectly healthy since we adopted him as a rescue dog about 11 years ago. He then had a bad bout of illness for about 6 months which was eventually diagnosed as pancreatitis - following help from bex vn on here - and which is controlled with low fat Hill's make food and restricted fats in everything he eats.
A few weeks ago I noticed a few drips after he had urinated and saw the vet who gave some antibiotics to sort out any infection but thought it was more probably just aging. He also has a painkiller/anti inflammatory each morning for arthritis in his back legs.That continued but last Wednesday he urinated while laying down/getting up one evening. Back to the vet who gave us a solution to give twice a day which strengthens the bladder muscles. All was ok but we noticed over the last few days that he was drinking and urinating more and sleeping heavily. The yesterday a repeat of the urinating on getting up incident and given that he appeared to have lost weight it was back to the vet this morning. He's lost about 700g from 13kg in the last week.
We are due to collect him later and I'm dreading what we will be told. He is a perfect little dog with a wonderful friendly personality despite a rubbish start to his life and I just want him to be comfortable and with as good a quality of life as possible for as long as possible.
Sorry for rambling but his illness has really got to me. Any advice/ words of encouragement would be very welcome.
Pic of Alf because he's great -
[pic]
alf may 19 by m s, on Flickr[/pic]
[pic]
alf 2019 by m s, on Flickr[/pic]
Alf is a wonderful little dog and I'm worried about what is to come for him.
Up until the end of 2017 he's been perfectly healthy since we adopted him as a rescue dog about 11 years ago. He then had a bad bout of illness for about 6 months which was eventually diagnosed as pancreatitis - following help from bex vn on here - and which is controlled with low fat Hill's make food and restricted fats in everything he eats.
A few weeks ago I noticed a few drips after he had urinated and saw the vet who gave some antibiotics to sort out any infection but thought it was more probably just aging. He also has a painkiller/anti inflammatory each morning for arthritis in his back legs.That continued but last Wednesday he urinated while laying down/getting up one evening. Back to the vet who gave us a solution to give twice a day which strengthens the bladder muscles. All was ok but we noticed over the last few days that he was drinking and urinating more and sleeping heavily. The yesterday a repeat of the urinating on getting up incident and given that he appeared to have lost weight it was back to the vet this morning. He's lost about 700g from 13kg in the last week.
We are due to collect him later and I'm dreading what we will be told. He is a perfect little dog with a wonderful friendly personality despite a rubbish start to his life and I just want him to be comfortable and with as good a quality of life as possible for as long as possible.
Sorry for rambling but his illness has really got to me. Any advice/ words of encouragement would be very welcome.
Pic of Alf because he's great -
[pic]
alf may 19 by m s, on Flickr[/pic][pic]
alf 2019 by m s, on Flickr[/pic]Edited by undred orse on Monday 22 July 14:36
Edited by undred orse on Monday 22 July 14:39
Edited by undred orse on Monday 22 July 14:39
Edited by undred orse on Monday 22 July 14:41
Hi, try not to worry too much (easier said than done, I know)
Diabetes is manageable with routine, stable diet and injections. It can take a while to stabilise and given his history of pancreatitis it could mean that adds a complication but give things time.
I am not entirely sure why the glucose curve at this stage unless they have started insulin? Though it could be helpful information to assess baselines etc.
Either way the general guide is insulin injections twice a day (usually given after they have eaten because you don't want to give insulin then they decide not to eat!) and daily monitoring using similar equipment to what humans used to use (and I assume some still do) but calibrated for dogs. This is usually done via a pin prick to the ear for a tiny drop of blood.
I'll be honest I haven't dealt with a diabetic patient for quite a long while so things may have changed but I think this is still fairly standard practice.
There are now pens available to help with ensuring accuracy of the injections which are being used more otherwise it is insulin syringes, your vets will show you how to use these and teach you how to inject etc...
Long term there will be blood samples taken to check how long term control is going (fructosamine the usual one, again I am not sure if the HbAC1 blood test is commonly used in animals yet)
The pancreatitis could be a problem if it flares up again but all you can do is continue with careful food management.
If things don't improve with treatment then they would have to investigate further incase the dianetes is secondary to another underlying condition bit these are far more uncommon.
Diabetes is manageable with routine, stable diet and injections. It can take a while to stabilise and given his history of pancreatitis it could mean that adds a complication but give things time.
I am not entirely sure why the glucose curve at this stage unless they have started insulin? Though it could be helpful information to assess baselines etc.
Either way the general guide is insulin injections twice a day (usually given after they have eaten because you don't want to give insulin then they decide not to eat!) and daily monitoring using similar equipment to what humans used to use (and I assume some still do) but calibrated for dogs. This is usually done via a pin prick to the ear for a tiny drop of blood.
I'll be honest I haven't dealt with a diabetic patient for quite a long while so things may have changed but I think this is still fairly standard practice.
There are now pens available to help with ensuring accuracy of the injections which are being used more otherwise it is insulin syringes, your vets will show you how to use these and teach you how to inject etc...
Long term there will be blood samples taken to check how long term control is going (fructosamine the usual one, again I am not sure if the HbAC1 blood test is commonly used in animals yet)
The pancreatitis could be a problem if it flares up again but all you can do is continue with careful food management.
If things don't improve with treatment then they would have to investigate further incase the dianetes is secondary to another underlying condition bit these are far more uncommon.
Edited by bexVN on Monday 22 July 18:34
Thanks for the replies and thanks again to bex- your advice last year made all the difference.
The vet confirmed diabetes and he’s on 2 injections a day after food of 6 units. Back in a week for monitoring. His readings apparently went very high but came down quickly once he had some insulin
In a way I’m pleased it can be managed but at the same time very worried as we were warned about the probability of blindness which could come quickly.
We will just do whatever we can for him to have the best life possible.
He’s sitting on my lap having lots of attention as I type.
The vet confirmed diabetes and he’s on 2 injections a day after food of 6 units. Back in a week for monitoring. His readings apparently went very high but came down quickly once he had some insulin
In a way I’m pleased it can be managed but at the same time very worried as we were warned about the probability of blindness which could come quickly.
We will just do whatever we can for him to have the best life possible.
He’s sitting on my lap having lots of attention as I type.
If the diabetes is stabilised quickly the cataracts will not form as quickly.
Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
bexVN said:
If the diabetes is stabilised quickly the cataracts will not form as quickly.
Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
Chocolate isn't good for hypoglycaemia, the fats it takes too long to digest. Humans (I) use glucogel/hypostop, available OTC, absorbed quickly and very fast acting. If unconscious, smear around the gums. Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
bexVN said:
If the diabetes is stabilised quickly the cataracts will not form as quickly.
Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
Thanks again for the input and reassurance- it is much appreciated and we are lucky to have your contributions to this forum.Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
Mrs orse has told me all about the danger of hypoglycaemia and we have picked up some honey and ordered some dextrose gel tubes to keep with us.
Suppose I’ve just got to come to terms with it and do all we can for him.
Well so far so good. We tested his urine with a stick last night and it came back with some good results so that is progress from Monday. He also seems much brighter and is now drinking normally although not too happy that he is missing out on 2 snacks and being fed twice a day just before his injections. He was being fed more regularly small meals to keep the pancreatitis in control but so far that seems ok.
I even managed to inject him last night - first one ever but thankfully I didn't cause a problem.
Alf is back to the vet on Tuesday for monitoring/review but I think that we seem to be on the right track.
Thanks for all the advice.
I even managed to inject him last night - first one ever but thankfully I didn't cause a problem.
Alf is back to the vet on Tuesday for monitoring/review but I think that we seem to be on the right track.
Thanks for all the advice.
PositronicRay said:
bexVN said:
If the diabetes is stabilised quickly the cataracts will not form as quickly.
Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
Chocolate isn't good for hypoglycaemia, the fats it takes too long to digest. Humans (I) use glucogel/hypostop, available OTC, absorbed quickly and very fast acting. If unconscious, smear around the gums. Even if they do dogs adjust very well especially as the blindness isn't immediate, as long as there is no build up of ocular pressure they don't cause major concern.
Surgery is sometimes possible if cataracts do occur and can be very successful for the right candidate but that is something to think about down the road if needed.
Have a good read up about hypoglycaemia symptoms, they are more serious in the short term so good to know the signs and always have something sweet on standby just incase he has an episode.
Some people carry dextrose sweets with them because they dissolve quickly in the mouth and absorb quickly and are easy to carry around when out and about for their dogs. Some use honey anything sweet really, even some white chocolate and if really desperate, milk chocolate (just a couple of pieces obviously!)
undred orse said:
Well so far so good. We tested his urine with a stick last night and it came back with some good results so that is progress from Monday. He also seems much brighter and is now drinking normally although not too happy that he is missing out on 2 snacks and being fed twice a day just before his injections. He was being fed more regularly small meals to keep the pancreatitis in control but so far that seems ok.
I even managed to inject him last night - first one ever but thankfully I didn't cause a problem.
Alf is back to the vet on Tuesday for monitoring/review but I think that we seem to be on the right track.
Thanks for all the advice.
Good start I even managed to inject him last night - first one ever but thankfully I didn't cause a problem.
Alf is back to the vet on Tuesday for monitoring/review but I think that we seem to be on the right track.
Thanks for all the advice.
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