I had high hopes for February. Number one, it wasn’t January.
On February 1st we found out Moose now has diabetes most likely due to the prednisone that he’s been on for over 6 mths. We had been weaning him off the pred when we got this new diagnosis and have started him on 2 other meds since.
The first few days were a nightmare. He drank buckets of water and peed buckets too, often not being able to hold it. I can’t tell you how many times I have steam mopped my kitchen floor in the past 2 weeks, but lets just say, more than once a day on average.
We have to take his blood glucose every 4 hours, which means drawing blood. No fun. We also give him insulin every 8hrs, which means setting the alarm to get up at midnight to give him a dose, and letting him out again for the 12th time of the day, then getting a few more hours of sleep before he wakes us back up at 3am or 4am to pee again. We haven’t been getting much sleep.
The first few days of trying to get blood had me in tears. In desperation, I finally went on YouTube of all places and typed in “taking a blood sample from your dog” and lo and behold, I found lots and lots of videos and a new way to draw blood that is painless for Moose, which makes Mama very, very happy. We take his blood samples from inside his front lip and he doesn’t even flinch. I’m tellin’ ya, I have the most wonderful dog in the world. He’s been through so much and he’s still such a trooper.
So his glucose levels are finally coming down. We are breathing a huge sigh of relief.
This is going to be a lifestyle change for all of us, but we would do anything for our precious baby.
If you have a dog with diabetes, I'd love to hear from you. Any tips, suggestions, or just a few words to let me know it's going to be ok will really boost my spirits.
12 comments:
Poor puppy! I hope everything works out Lee.
No helpful advice, unfortunately, but I am sending prayers and love for you and for Moose. *Big hug*
oh dear, I will keep you all in my thoughts. Waves of positive coming your way. There is nothing as pure as the heart of a pooch.
thunja
feel better moose!
I have to test myself, since I'm the diabetic so I can't be of much help. I'm sorry to hear about your baby, but I do understand the TLC that our animals deserve. Best wishes for Moose and your family.
I did not have a dog with diabetes, I had a cat and he was the best. He let me do everything, drawing blood to check his levels and give him 2 times a day his shots. I did it because I wanted to give him a chance, but honestly I will never do it again, it was very stressful, 3 1/2 years, I couldn't go anywhere, and it was very expensive, first we tried the human insulin, did not work and then we had to go to the special insulin for animals and the bottle was almost $100.00 and lasted only about 6 weeks. He was the best animal ever, but he had complications and we had to put him to sleep. Just hang in there, there will be ups and downs, you have to be 100 percent committed. Ask your Vet if you should keep a bottle of syrup on hand, I forgot the name, it is the one you bake with, it comes in clear and dark, I had the clear at home, because his sugar levels fell several times very low and I had to give him real quick something sweet to get the levels up. Good luck,I wish you all the best!
Oh, I'm sorry you are going through this but I'm glad that Moose is taking it well and responding.
One thing I learned (from a family friend who was diabetic) was to break the testing site down into sections. Then to rotate a section each time. In that way I would be sure that my mom didn't develop any super sore fingers.
Same thing for injections sites. The friend said he breaks his arm and belly down into imaginary rows and columns for the month - then he never gets too sore.
Now, I've never tested or given shots to a dog. But, if you find Moose starts to flinch when you go for his lip, you might want to consider moving the test location a teensy bit each time.
Hope that helps.
(((hugs)))
Oh gosh. I wish I had some advice or encouraging words. My heart aches for you, honey. My two dogs are almost 13 years old and just watching them gray and need to pee all the time makes me worry. Hang in there. ((((hugs))))
Hi Lisa, several years ago, we had a dog who developed diabetes. We loved her so much and took it in stride when we began giving her 2 insulin injections each day. She was already 12 years old and lived for 2 more years. We figured, in dog years, that was 14 more years we gave her. Hang in there with your beloved Moose, you'll get into a routine.
So sorry to hear about Moose. I went through quite a bit with my dog, but not diabetes. He's a lucky dog to have such loving family.
Just curious...is there a diabetic dog food you can give Moose to help him? Years ago I had 2 Shih Tzu brothers with elevated kidney functions. Found a diet for them and they lived to the ripe old age of 17. Will keep your baby in my prayers...
I stumbled on to your site from your Asian noodle recipe. I plan to make it, or a variation of it tonight.
Mostly, I wanted to e-mail you to say that my 13+ year old, 120 lb. dog was just diagnosed with diabetes a week and a half ago. A couple weeks before that he began seriously drinking water and had blood in his urine. He is somewhat stablized now but is dribbling on the floor almost constantly. He's at the vet now for an ultrasound. In addition to the diabetes, he may have an obstruction, tumor, or kidney stones. Cosmo, that's my boy's name, is spending the night at our vet tonight, and will have the ultrasound tomorrow. I will keep you posted. The ultrasound at least will determine what he "doesn't have," and will help eliminate potential problems.
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