Diabetes in Dogs

So, I need some more information on diabetes in dogs.... so I'm making a thread about it. I'd like to get some background information before our next appt on Thursday so I can go in with worked out questions and not my random thoughts going everywhere. So if anyone can answer questions or better yet point out some reputable resources I'd be super happy. I would have normally had this done for today's appt but without getting too much into things... I'm just REALLY not having a good week.

Keeda was put on 8 units insulin BID, I picked up 10mL (100units/mL) insulin & 100 needles... it cost me $140! Which being an usually unemployed student is a little... :yikes: :yikes:

Here are my current questions:

1) In the dog dosage range where is she falling? Is that high or low?

2) Can dogs take metformin? It works great for T2 in humans and it has a super cheap generic.

3) How do dogs manage on dosing BID vs QD? With my work hours it would be MUCH easier for me to do QD... BID is going to take some creativity. Is the BID insulin cheaper though?

4) Does anyone have any leads on reputable places to buy the cheapest insulin? Right now my plan is Costco, but they're only like $7 cheaper than the pharmacy down the road. I am going to stop there to get a full price list for all the insulin types though.

5) How do I keep tabs on her levels at home?

6) Anyone with a Diabetic dog/cat... what is your vet schedule routine? Like how often do you have rechecks and what exactly do they check?

I had a diabetic cat growing up, so can answer some questions tomorrow when I'm on my desktop and not my phone.

I don't know the answer to most of your questions lol except maybe the last two. Where I work we actually encourage our owners with diabetic pets to do their own glucose curves at home. We just have a few that either say NO WAY and don't want to do that, or their pets are really just too uncooperative for them to be able to... but for most everyone else it works out fine, and the animal doesn't have to be stressed hanging out at the clinic all day. We use and recommend this glucometer: http://www.amazon.com/AlphaTRAK-Blood-Glucose-Monitoring-System/dp/B007Z0XULY

Rechecks would just be glucose curves and the frequency totally depends on how easy the pet is to regulate. We had someone who, for a while, seems like her cat was coming in for a curve every couple weeks because he wasn't regulating so we wanted to keep checking him often. Now that he IS regulated, I think it's been a few months since we've seen him for a curve. Most people just have to do curves every now and then and spot checks "as needed" if they feel like their pet is a little off or something.

I have a friend with a diabetic cat who would be a good resource, if you want me to put you in touch with her. I know it's a cat, not a dog, but she's done a lot of research as well.

Okay, I'm by no means an expert, but here is my take on things.

1.) Dose range really depends on the size of the animal, the type of insulin, and how often you give it. Best way to know if it is a "high" dose or not would be to ask your vet. 8 units doesn't sound off the wall crazy to me.

2.) I have no idea about metformin. Again, that'd be a vet question.

3.) I'm pretty sure you can give any insulin BID versus QD...it will just change your dose. And how frequently you give the insulin is so dependent on the pet's blood sugar levels. Most pets, when they get regulated, can be maintained on a twice daily injection. Rush, our diabetic cat, received insulin at 7am and 7pm every day, after a quick snack of canned food.

4.) For insulin, I am aware of a few different brands. Prozinc, Humalin-R, and Novlin-R. I think Prozinc is better used for cats? The Prozinc is much more pricey, too. I don't remember what we had Rush on, or how expensive it was. My dad is a pharmacist, so I'm pretty sure he was able to get things fairly inexpensive anyway.

5.) Like Southpaw said, you can purchase a glucometer and take her blood sugar levels at home. Only instead of a finger prick like it would be for a person, it's an ear prick. Very simple to do.

6.) And again, like Southpaw said, you may have a few glucose curves until the pet is regulated, and then you may just do a routine check every six or twelve months.

There are also special diets for diabetic pets to help maintain their blood sugar level. Basically, low carbs is best. If being overweight is an issue, high fiber and low fat content is also good.

I want to thank everyone that responded to my thread. It's so hard when you find out you have to deal with something new, so thank you for taking the time to answer my questions or even give any little input. I have been researching like mad and I was able to answer my questions so I'm actually going to post the answers to them in case anyone else on here also gets my unfortunate surprise.

Also, I found a website called K9Diabetes.com which has a lot of great links to all sorts of resources.

I answered all my questions in blue above.

Haley, my APBT, became diabetic at around 14 months old, so we did the diabetic management thing for about 10 years.

Walmart will definitely be your cheapest bet for insulin, they may sell Humulin for $25, or only Novalin (our was selling their reli on branded Humulin, but then stopped and switched to Novalin instead- many dogs will do equally well on either, but some (mine and I've known a few others) don't seem to do as well on Novalin. They sell needles as well, and will probably be cheaper than your vet for those as well.

I mostly monitored Haley's BG at home, and used a meter for people, though I would occasionally spot check her at work with the Alphatrax meter, and results were similar with either- you really just need to know if the glucose is excessively high or excessively low, so IME it's not vital that the meter measure precisely as long as it's close. I tried sticking her ear, but found that the inside of her lip actually worked better for us. How often you will need to recheck with the vet will depend on how comfortable your vet is (and you are) with you testing at home and them altering the dose based on that. Keep in mind that stress can alter glucose levels in dogs as well (moreso with cats, but still), so you may get a more accurate picture of her general glucose levels doing it at home where she's most comfortable, but that's something to discuss with your vet and go from there. I was lucky that in working for her vet, if something was off with her BG, I could just ask them and go from there, so she never really needed "examined" for her diabetes beyond the initial diagnosis, though she was seen regularly for general bloodwork and other health issues. Clients that we have with "regulated" diabetic dogs come anywhere from monthly to yearly, depending on whether they're testing at home, how the dog is looking physically, etc- though I think people who test regularly either at home of with the vet have dogs that tend to do better long term- they catch trends in the BG faster and can adjust before the dog starts to manifest the physical signs of being too high or too low. When getting the glucose regulated, most clients are in at least weekly, up to 3-4 times a week, but most of them aren't testing at home. You will see changes in her physical symptoms as well as she becomes regulated, the thirst and excessive peeing will decrease, so if she's doing well and those spike back up again, that should be a red flag that she needs to be checked. Likewise, familiarize yourself with signs of hypoglycemia and keep a sharp eye out for it. The BG being too high for a short period is not nearly as bad as too low!

My 45-60 lb dog was on 10-13 units of Humulin N BID, but I've seen dogs 1/2 her size on higher doses, and larger dogs on lower doses, so it really depends on the individual dog.

I can't think of any dogs that I know of that are currently on once daily insulin, and in my experience and talking to our vets, it's pretty uncommon, as the duration of effect for most dogs with the common types of insulin is about 8-10 hours- so dosing twice daily only has a small window where the BG can rise uninhibited, whereas once daily leaves a much greater period of uncontrolled glucose. As an older (and eventually sick) dog, Haley could be a picky eater, and even if she skipped a meal, by a few hours after her insulin dose was due, her BG would be high, so I don't know that there's much way around that. Sometimes she would get her doses off the normal 12 hour spacing though- there were times when we'd have to do it a few hours early or late, so talk to your vet and see what they recommend. If not, if she's cooperative, you may be able to convince someone to help you out on days that you're not able to get home to do it. After a while, it will become second nature to you, and her- I could wake up from a dead sleep, stumble out to the fridge to get the insulin, give the shot and be back asleep inside of 5 minutes, less time than a bathroom break!

Good luck to both of you, it's really not too hard once you get used to it

Your dog has been diagnosed with diabetes, so now it’s time to learn how to care for your diabetic pet.pet shop online

Actually,diet plays a vital role in helping to keep your dog’s diabetes regulated. Ideally, your dog should be fed exactly the same diet every day.