Advise on Diabetic dog

jryan044

Hi all,

My 14 year old border collie has just been diagnosed with diabetes.

Basically 2 years ago he started drinking a lot of water and urinating a lot. I took him to the vet who said his kidneys were deteriorating with age and put him on a monthly injection. This gave him a stroke after about a year so he was taken off it. He was fine after the stroke and has been in good form since. He then started showing cuts and scrapes all over his legs that wouldn't seem to heal. Again I took him to the vet who said it was hook worm, after treating him with several doses of the strongest medication available the vet stuck with this diagnosis even though I explained to him that the other two dogs had nothing like this as you would expect with something so contagious.

He has poor control over his kidneys and frequently wets himself as he's lying down, this has led to scald marks on his legs. Putting after sun lotion on his legs eases this (though he hates to see me coming with the bottle).

So yesterday when his cuts seemed to be getting worse and he suddenly had no energy I took him to a different vet and he took one look and said it was diabetes. He said the only options were insulin injections twice a day or putting him down. I don't want him to suffer but the thought of putting him down is terrible. He is a lovely gentle dog.

I was wondering if anyone has experience of managing a dog with diabetes? Will his quality of life improve on insulin, or is it risky with a possibility of a diabetic coma?

Aru

Has he had full bloods taken yet?

Diabetes in dogs is often manageable if the work up and proper dose needed for the dog( each are individuals) is found.
The problem is this can take a lot of time commitment and can be expensive as it will require a lot of trips in and out to the vets until his correct dose rate is found.

Full bloods are a must to ensure there are no other underlying issues present are a must.Underlying issues can prevent the insulin injections from being effective and lead to long term issues with regulation.

Insulin injections either once or twice a day depending on the dog and their numbers are the treatment. Diabetic comas will only be an issue if the bloods are unregulated or there are problems with the dose rates.
Most vets will start the dog on a set dose and see how they get along with it...then bring them in for one all day glucose tesing to make sure they are not getting spikes of high or low during the day on that dose.
food and diet is also important.They should be fed at set times during the day(either once or twice a day) and treats are a no-no as they can lead to glucose spikes.

this a good link explaining how to manage a diabetic and more detail on the disease.http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=631

jryan044

Hi Aru,

Thanks for the advise.

He is going back to the vets tomorrow for full blood work. The vet said he wouldn't be comfortable putting him on insulin until he knows how far the disease had gone and what damage has already been done.

misschoo

Hi my dog was diagnosed with diabetes last August. She is doing very well and on insulin injections twice a day. I also had to change her diet and put her on a high fibre one specific for diabetic dogs. It took about 6-8 weeks to get her glucose levels regulated. Thankfully I have insurance for her so 65% of her insulin & syringes & needles are covered. It's a big commitment but it's a disease that the dog can live with so I certainly wouldn't recommend putting the dog to sleep because of it, but depending on what else is going on with your dog it's a decision you'll have to make on the vets advice. My dog also developed diabetic related cataracts in December & started to go blind but she had cataract surgery in January and thankfully all is well now. If you need any information you can PM me. I also found a great forum specific to diabetic dogs - it's based in the States but I got great non-judgemental advice there & they have been a wealth of knowledge & support for me. The site is www.k9diabetes.com Good luck!

boomerang

Also please don't be put off by the idea of giving your dog an injection twice a day. The needle on an insulin syringe is teeny tiny so the dog honestly hardly feels it at all. Plus they quickly begin to associate getting the injection with getting their dinner and rarely have a problem with it.

jryan044

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the advise.

I'm not at all put off by the thoughts of the needle, I was just worried that it would be very difficult to get the levels correct and the risk of putting him in a coma. He's a very gentle dog anyway, he hates the cleaning of his cuts and getting eye drops but he never snarls or growls (he just tries to hide when he sees them coming).

The vet has said he will see when the bloods come back about a care plan, and if it has caused too much internal damage already. Then we could try him on the insulin for a week and bring him back for a full day glucose curve test. I know he is old and his health is not great but I want to give him the best chance possible.

I don't have insurance but I will pay if it helps him. All in all how much were you're vet and medication fees to begin with (so I can budget!).

I'm so angry at the original vet, he saw him several times over the last year for what are all symptoms of his diabetes and misdiagnosed everyone, meaning not only has the diabetes been doing damage internally for so long when we could have been treating him but I've also been giving him other medicines for things he never had in the first place.

anniehoo

jryan044 wrote: »

He then started showing cuts and scrapes all over his legs that wouldn't seem to heal. Again I took him to the vet who said it was hook worm,

That is the oddest diagnosis for hookworm I've ever heard. Did they do a faecal analysis? Hookworm causes anaemia and weakness via intestinal blood loss. I've never heard of non healing wounds as a result of an infection.

I had a cat many years ago with diabetes. It's a bit of an adjustment to get into a routine as injections had to be given at timed intervals eg. 8am and 8pm every day. She also wasn't allowed eat outside of these scheduled times to avoid glucose peaks. Her fructosamine levels were measured a couple of times too. Fructosamine is basically an average of glucose levels over a 2 to 4 week period.This was virtually impossible to maintain as she was an indoor/outdoor cat and she was constantly hungry. She ended up with nephropathy (kidney damage) and neuropathy (her back legs started to weaken). But in dogs once you get into a routine and are strict with their food it is much easier to regulate. It may take a few weeks of trialling caninsulin levels to stabilise though. Good luck!

jryan044

Hi anniehoo,

No he did not do a faecal analysis, even after several doses of the strongest worm tablet available did nothing and I explained that as that is contagious and the other 2 dogs have no symptoms I didn't really think it could be that. He said there would be no point doing a blood test as it would only tell him what he already knew. This is one of the reason I changed vet.

He already has kidney damage (previous vet said was just age related) and weakened back legs (previous vet said he had arthritis and treated for that). We are now just waiting for the blood tests to see how bad this is.

misschoo

Hi - I pay approx €50 for her insulin & syringes - the insulin lasts me about 3 weeks & the syringes 30 days. I also feed her the Hills WD wet food - a tray of 12 cans costs me about €30 & this lasts me about 16/17 days. I mix this with the WD dry food. I buy a large bag (about €70) but I get 5 months out of it. I think my vet charged me €60 for her bloods. So it can be pricey. I think I've averaged it at €120 a month for food & insulin.

cocker5

misschoo wrote: »

Hi - I pay approx €50 for her insulin & syringes - the insulin lasts me about 3 weeks & the syringes 30 days. I also feed her the Hills WD wet food - a tray of 12 cans costs me about €30 & this lasts me about 16/17 days. I mix this with the WD dry food. I buy a large bag (about €70) but I get 5 months out of it. I think my vet charged me €60 for her bloods. So it can be pricey. I think I've averaged it at €120 a month for food & insulin.

Do you have pet insurance?

misschoo

Hi yes I do. It only covers the cost of the insulin & syringes though & not the food unfortunately. Because she is over 8 years they'll only cover 65% of the cost. With insulin it's states in the policy to claim for it at the end of each policy year. At least I get something back - I wish it covered her food too though.

cocker5

misschoo wrote: »

Hi yes I do. It only covers the cost of the insulin & syringes though & not the food unfortunately. Because she is over 8 years they'll only cover 65% of the cost. With insulin it's states in the policy to claim for it at the end of each policy year. At least I get something back - I wish it covered her food too though.

Thats a pity, my guy is over 7 too and they only cover 70% of his cover plus with teh excess of €100 per claim it all adds up

misschoo

cocker5 wrote: »

Thats a pity, my guy is over 7 too and they only cover 70% of his cover plus with teh excess of €100 per claim it all adds up

I hear ya - and mine had to have cataract surgery in January as she was going blind. Total cost came to €3300 so I had to fork out 35% of that. Not a nice bill to be faced with but at least I had the insurance to cover the rest otherwise I couldn't have afforded it. Thankfully the vet wasn't looking for it upfront either. When I see her bounding around the place now though with her restored vision it was worth every penny! I think it's ****ty that you pay insurance all those years & then when you have to actually start using it when the dog gets older they start to reduce their cover! This is my first claim ever so I await with a baited breath to see how much they're going to charge me when her police is up for renewal - they have me by the balls now!!