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Forum for Type 1 diabetic dogs

Hi @TeslaJooni , and welcome to the forum!
I don't know about a forum but @Marie 2 has a diabetic dog and is very knowledgable on the subject. Perhaps she can help with your questions or she may know of a forum about diabetic pets.

Can you tell us some more about your dog?
 
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I used to use k9diabetes.com. it is a US site but members are worldwide. Where are you getting your insulin from?
 
Woof and a waggy tail to you and your dog from me and mine. He is not diabetic but get to be if I keep feeding him eggy bread...
Hope you find your site though I am sure many things that are good for humans are good for dogs too (healthy fats, good fresh meats/offal and some oily fish).
 
I lost mine last year. If I knew then what I know now I would have switched him straight on to raw feeding.

If you get your insulin on line, half the price of vets, check the carrier they use. I used to use violet then they changed their courier, disastrous. I found another firm that used DPD.
 
Antje77 said:
Hi @TeslaJooni , and welcome to the forum!
I don't know about a forum but @Marie 2 has a diabetic dog and is very knowledgable on the subject. Perhaps she can help with your questions or she may know of a forum about diabetic pets.

Can you tell us some more about your dog?
Click to expand...

Tesla is an 8 year old Maltese mix who was diagnosed with T1 diabetic after a severe ketoacidosis symptom that resulted in his staying in ICU for a few days to recover. He's been on insulin twice daily ever since. That was last year about this time.
In the meantime, he developed severe cataract a few months ago, and as a result of an unsuccessful surgery he lost his both beautiful eyes.
He has fully recovered from that loss too. He's a happy soul now but much more quiet than his previous way of enjoying life.
My concern at the moment is that in spite of the high dosage of insulin, his blood sugar is extremely high and his doctor doesn't seem to be able to reduce it. We use freestyle sensor to monitor his blood sugar level. I think he has developed type 2 as well.
I think I gave you more than enough of Tesla's sad story!
 
Approx 150 g of Beef or chicken twice daily. Plus 50g of green veg in the morning and 60 g of diet kibble in the evening. Plus mineral and omega3 supplements
 
@TeslaJooni
Hi! I actually use Humalog to lower my dogs when needed. But my dog is a larger dog so it's easier. (Doberman) And I'm a type 1 so I am familiar with insulin obviously. You have to be very careful about using Humalog and most vets aren't familiar with it. I put a Libre on her so I could keep track of her blood sugars easier.

She has always been very erratic and getting some bad teeth pulled did help a lot. But she still has days where she goes high and we have her on Novolin N but can't increase the daily dose because it's not an everyday thing. So the Humalog is extremely useful. I keep the Libre on my dog with Skin Tac.

I know some prefer Novolin N to Vetsulin.

There is a site that has some people very helpful with suggestions on Facebook called Diabetic Dog Owners. The moderators can be a little conservative on treatments, but many people will pipe in with experience or ideas usually. There are some very knowledgeable people there. It's where I found out people were putting Libres on their dog.

She was diagnosed in 2018 and had DKA and was hospitalized for several days. I actually asked to take her home so I could deal with figuring out the amounts needed and knew I could use Humalog to bring down her levels faster.
 
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TeslaJooni said:
My concern at the moment is that in spite of the high dosage of insulin, his blood sugar is extremely high and his doctor doesn't seem to be able to reduce it. We use freestyle sensor to monitor his blood sugar level. I think he has developed type 2 as well.
Click to expand...
Thanks for providing all the additional information. So sorry about Tesla's eyes but happy he's still a happy soul!
I don't have any experience with diabetic dogs but I know that in humans with type 1 insulin needs can vary as much as needing a couple of units a day to a couple of hundred units a day. To my thinking, if he doesn't eat much carbs he'll need as much insulin as makes his bg go down to reasonable numbers, just like in humans.
In T1 humans the way to find out the right dose of insulin is to up the doses until it works, but strategies depend on the kind of insulin(s) used.

All the best to Tesla and yourself!
 
Marie 2 said:
@TeslaJooni
Hi! I actually use Humalog to lower my dogs when needed. But my dog is a larger dog so it's easier. (Doberman) And I'm a type 1 so I am familiar with insulin obviously. You have to be very careful about using Humalog and most vets aren't familiar with it. I put a Libre on her so I could keep track of her blood sugars easier.

She has always been very erratic and getting some bad teeth pulled did help a lot. But she still has days where she goes high and we have her on Novolin N but can't increase the daily dose because it's not an everyday thing. So the Humalog is extremely useful. I keep the Libre on my dog with Skin Tac.

I know some prefer Novolin N to Vetsulin.

There is a site that has some people very helpful with suggestions on Facebook called Diabetic Dog Owners. The moderators can be a little conservative on treatments, but many people will pipe in with experience or ideas usually. There are some very knowledgeable people there. It's where I found out people were putting Libres on their dog.
Click to expand...
Marie 2 said:
@TeslaJooni
Hi! I actually use Humalog to lower my dogs when needed. But my dog is a larger dog so it's easier. (Doberman) And I'm a type 1 so I am familiar with insulin obviously. You have to be very careful about using Humalog and most vets aren't familiar with it. I put a Libre on her so I could keep track of her blood sugars easier.

She has always been very erratic and getting some bad teeth pulled did help a lot. But she still has days where she goes high and we have her on Novolin N but can't increase the daily dose because it's not an everyday thing. So the Humalog is extremely useful. I keep the Libre on my dog with Skin Tac.

I know some prefer Novolin N to Vetsulin.

There is a site that has some people very helpful with suggestions on Facebook called Diabetic Dog Owners. The moderators can be a little conservative on treatments, but many people will pipe in with experience or ideas usually. There are some very knowledgeable people there. It's where I found out people were putting Libres on their dog.

She was diagnosed in 2018 and had DKA and was hospitalized for several days. I actually asked to take her home so I could deal with figuring out the amounts needed and knew I could use Humalog to bring down her levels faster.
Click to expand...
xfieldok said:
I used to use k9diabetes.com. it is a US site but members are worldwide. Where are you getting your insulin from?
Click to expand...
Marie 2 said:
@TeslaJooni
Hi! I actually use Humalog to lower my dogs when needed. But my dog is a larger dog so it's easier. (Doberman) And I'm a type 1 so I am familiar with insulin obviously. You have to be very careful about using Humalog and most vets aren't familiar with it. I put a Libre on her so I could keep track of her blood sugars easier.

She has always been very erratic and getting some bad teeth pulled did help a lot. But she still has days where she goes high and we have her on Novolin N but can't increase the daily dose because it's not an everyday thing. So the Humalog is extremely useful. I keep the Libre on my dog with Skin Tac.

I know some prefer Novolin N to Vetsulin.

There is a site that has some people very helpful with suggestions on Facebook called Diabetic Dog Owners. The moderators can be a little conservative on treatments, but many people will pipe in with experience or ideas usually. There are some very knowledgeable people there. It's where I found out people were putting Libres on their dog.

She was diagnosed in 2018 and had DKA and was hospitalized for several days. I actually asked to take her home so I could deal with figuring out the amounts needed and knew I could use Humalog to bring down her levels faster.
Click to expand...

I use Caninsulin. This is per his doctor's instruction. His glucose is around 25 mmol which is around 500%. When I tell his doctor that this will cause a lot of internal damage to various organs, she says that it will take time to do the damage, and since he's not going to live long, so it's ok for him to keep having that high a glucose level. This is something that I have not been able to accept for the past year.
What sort of average do you get for your dog with the
Antje77 said:
Thanks for providing all the additional information. So sorry about Tesla's eyes but happy he's still a happy soul!
I don't have any experience with diabetic dogs but I know that in humans with type 1 insulin needs can vary as much as needing a couple of units a day to a couple of hundred units a day. To my thinking, if he doesn't eat much carbs he'll need as much insulin as makes his bg go down to reasonable numbers, just like in humans.
In T1 humans the way to find out the right dose of insulin is to up the doses until it works, but strategies depend on the kind of insulin(s) used.

All the best to Tesla and yourself!
Click to expand...
Thanks
 
TeslaJooni said:
I use Caninsulin. This is per his doctor's instruction. His glucose is around 25 mmol which is around 500%. When I tell his doctor that this will cause a lot of internal damage to various organs, she says that it will take time to do the damage, and since he's not going to live long, so it's ok for him to keep having that high a glucose level. This is something that I have not been able to accept for the past year.
What sort of average do you get for your dog with the
Click to expand...
Not levels I would be happy with. Did the vet give a reason not to up the insulin?
 
Marie 2 said:
@TeslaJooni
Hi! I actually use Humalog to lower my dogs when needed. But my dog is a larger dog so it's easier. (Doberman) And I'm a type 1 so I am familiar with insulin obviously. You have to be very careful about using Humalog and most vets aren't familiar with it. I put a Libre on her so I could keep track of her blood sugars easier.

She has always been very erratic and getting some bad teeth pulled did help a lot. But she still has days where she goes high and we have her on Novolin N but can't increase the daily dose because it's not an everyday thing. So the Humalog is extremely useful. I keep the Libre on my dog with Skin Tac.

I know some prefer Novolin N to Vetsulin.

There is a site that has some people very helpful with suggestions on Facebook called Diabetic Dog Owners. The moderators can be a little conservative on treatments, but many people will pipe in with experience or ideas usually. There are some very knowledgeable people there. It's where I found out people were putting Libres on their dog.

She was diagnosed in 2018 and had DKA and was hospitalized for several days. I actually asked to take her home so I could deal with figuring out the amounts needed and knew I could use Humalog to bring down her levels faster.
Click to expand...

I use Caninsulin. This is per his doctor's instruction. His glucose is around 25 mmol which is around 500%. When I tell his doctor that this will cause a lot of internal damage to various organs, she says that it will take time to do the damage, and since he's not going to live long, so it's ok for him to keep having that high a glucose level. This is something that I have not been able to accept for the past year.
What sort of average do you get for your dog with the Freestyle sensor. Is what you get has any resemblance to what I get in the attachment?
 

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Antje77 said:
Not levels I would be happy with. Did the vet give a reason not to up the insulin?
Click to expand...

The Vet, who is an internal specialist, says that, first of all, the dosage, 9 units of U40 twice daily, is the maximum for the weight; secondly, she says it's better to be high than low, as low would be dangerous because it may go too low.
 
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