High Blood Sugar - Be steady on the insulin levels!

It's been a bit since the last time I posted anything. I had a bit of an issue with my glucose, it was getting high. My humans adjusted my insulin, but went too high. What happened is that my body reacted and instead of the insulin lowering my blood sugar it actually spiked. After consulting my Vet, my humans are now keeping me on a consistent insulin dosage. This has worked. My blood sugar levels are leveling off and I am getting back to normal. I had no signs of the higher blood sugar and my humans only knew about it as they test me regularly. It is important to test. My humans are now using my new AlphaTrak 2 meter. It requires a lot less blood and logs all my readings. Below are some pictures of my humans testing me:

My humans shaved my elbow for easy testing.

After a small stick with my lancing device, there is a bit of blood.

 This is my old meter, my humans now use the new AlphaTrak 2 meter.

I now take between 5 and 6 units of insulin.

Foxy and Walter - A New Friendship

My humans recently rescued a puppy. They named him Walter. He was dumped from a car in a neighborhood. Luckily, someone saw this happen. They took him to my Vet. He had a note tied to his collar that said his current owners could no longer care for him, and that he had his shots and was a mini Pekingese. Well, my humans think he looks more like a Shih Tzu. Long story short, my humans took him into our home on a trial basis to see if I would be okay with him. Well as you can see from the video, we are pals. I think he knows I am blind, as he can be very quiet as I am looking for him. Sometimes I walk right by without knowing he is there. Since I went blind, I tend to bark a bit more. This is my way of saying "hey, I am here!". Enjoy my video.

New AlphaTRAK 2 Purchase Required

Last week my humans had to order some more testing supplies. They like American Diabetes Wholesale. http://www.americandiabeteswholesale.com/?gclid=CMD-jZXhhbECFUEGRQod3FJeJw

When the shipment arrived, it had a note that the AlphaTRAK we used to monitor my blood glucose was being discontinued and we would have to order the new AlphaTRAK 2. My humans hate when companies do this, as it is just forcing you to buy a new product. The note stated that you could continue to use the old AlphaTRAK, but my humans felt that the margins of error when reading the blood glucose were too high. At least American Diabetes Wholesale offered a substantial discount to upgrade.

This is a picture of my old AlphaTRAK and the journal my humans keep on my blood glucose readings, how much insulin they give me, my weight and appetite.

Know The Signs of Diabetes

The summer of 2011, I did show some signs of my diabetes.  My humans had never had an animal, or family member who had diabetes.  It was not something they had ever thought about.  They attributed my excessive drinking and peeing to the heat of the Arizona summer and my Prednisone.  I want pet owners to know what the symptoms are of diabetes, so that if your pet has any of these symptoms you can get your pet checked out quickly.

From: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/diabetes-dogs-symptoms-treatments-dietary-management

... the signs of early diabetes are frequent urination, drinking lots of water, a large appetite, and unexplained loss of weight.  In more advanced cases there is lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, dehydration, weakness, and coma.

In my case, my eyesight was affected. Currently I am stable with my blood sugar and my weight.  I am grateful to my humans and my Vet who are taking good care of me. 

Lovin Life!

One of my favorite spots, my bed on the patio.  I just love it!  I wanted to tell you all that my Vet is not sure that the Prednisone had anything to do with my diabetes.  Prednisone is a wonderful medicine and it did help a lot with my auto immune disease.  My skin healed and the sores went away.  Who knows why I developed diabetes, but I am doing just fine today.  My blood sugar is in check, my appetite is back, my weight is steady and I am loving life!

After eating the Hills W/D dog food for a while, I got bored. At first my humans thought something was wrong, so I was put on some antibiotics. Really, the food was just a bit bland. So my humans did some research and found some yummy recipes. Of course they spoke with my Vet and she approved. This morning I had my turkey meatloaf (turkey, oatmeal, peas, carrots, W/D dog food, Italian seasoning, fake salt, egg and pinto beans). They also threw in a little sliced turkey and cottage cheese! I ate the whole thing.

So, last August when my humans found out I was blind and had diabetes they went shopping! They bought food (wet and dry Prescription Diet®w/d® Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal). They bought insulin and needles. They bought new meds (Atopica and Genesis spray). I had eye drops (neo/poly/dex opth susp and Tacrolimus). We were all set to tackle this illness and get me back to health.

At first my humans were very upset, but I was okay.  I knew things were different but it only took me a while to get the hang of being blind and the new meds.  I ran into a few things, the bar stool hurt the worst.  After a few weeks, I had the lay of the house and a part of the backyard down.  Best of all, my humans would give me treats after I got my shots (healthy treats of course).

I know it sounds like a lot, but my humans love me and I love them.