Zeke the Diabetic Dog Continues to be Hypoglycemic

After Zekes hypoglocemic episode a few weeks ago our veterinarian lowered his NPH dosage to 13 units twice day.  He had previously been on 15 since January.  We  returned to his veterinarian last week to have his blood glucose checked.   It was 50 which is too low.   Incidentally it was also 50 when he was at 15 units after the major hypoglycemic incident a few weeks ago.  So she lowered his NPH dose to 11 units.  At 11 units Zeke was drinking too much water and waking me up at night to go outside. This reminded me of his early days of being diagnosed with dog diabetes when I was trying to get his blood glucose levels regulated.  So I increased his dose to 12 and he seems to be doing well  He will return to the veterinarian next week to have his blood sugar checked again.  Hopefully his blood glucose will be in a more normal range around 100 - 120.

Zeke Has Hypoglycemic Incident

Our diabetic dog Zeke has been doing well.  He turned 15 years old on Dec. 1 and when he was first diagnosed with dog diabetes I never dreamed that he would live to this age.  In January his vet increased his insulin to 15 units of NPH twice a day because his blood glucose test was high.  He had been doing well and I had not taken him back to the vet since early January.  Two nights ago we had a big scare.   Zeke started having some shaking, kind of like a big hiccup in his abdomen area.  These would happen 3 -4 times per minute. I thought it was strange but didn't think much of it.  Then when he jumped off my lap he landed on all fours but he could not stand and his legs buckled underneath him.

When my 15 year old German Shepherd dog died years ago his legs going out was the first indication that something was wrong.  My black lab Tiffany died in 2004 at age 13 and her legs went too and she died at the vets that evening.  So I was positive that this was the end and Zeke was dying.  I would say goodbye and he would be gone by morning.  After saying my good-byes I took him to my husband who also said his good-byes. Next I had a thought what if his blood sugar went too low so I went and got the Karo syrup.  I took a 10 ML syringe (with no needle) and put about 2ML of Karo syrup in it and shot it in Zekes mouth.  We also shot in some water to make sure the Karo went down.

Next I ran downstairs to my computer and looked up the symptoms of hypoglycemia in diabetic dogs and found Pet Diabetes Hypoglycemia.   Zeke had all of the symptoms listed (shaking, loss of balance/stability).  Next I ran back upstairs where Zeke was lying on the bed and gave him another dose of Karo and some water.  A few minutes later the shaking stopped and was acting normal.  I brought Zeke some fried chicken which he ate.   About 30 minutes later I put him on the floor and he walked perfectly.  I was so happy.  Zeke would live and he was not dying after all.

If you have not figured it out already you should always have a bottle of Karo syrup on hand if you have a diabetic pet.  This was Zekes first hypoglycemic incident and this July it will be 5 years since he was diagnosed with dog diabetes.

I took Zeke to his veterinarian the next evening to have his blood glucose level checked.  It was 50 which is low however Zeke was not having any hypoglycemic symptoms.   The vet had me lower Zekes dose of NPH to 13 units twice per day which could possibly be a little too low for him but as my vet explains it is much safer to give too little insulin than too much.

Can Diabetic Dogs Use Rimadyl?

Prior to Zekes cataract surgery he was laying around and acting depressed.  I thought it was because he had lost his eyesight.  Zeke's diabetes had made him blind due to cataracts almost immediately after he was diagnosed in July 2007.     Once Zeke had cataract surgery in January 2008 the veterinary opthamologist put him on Rimadyl to reduce swelling in his eyes.  He immediately started acting alot perkier and  I thought it was because he was so happy he got his eyesight back.  

Zeke had been on 25mg of Rimadyl twice a day.  Ten days 10 days after the surgery Zeke deveoped some stomach issues from the Rimadyl so the veterinarian took Zeke off of the Rimadyl and I noticed he was not as perky as he had been.  It was then that I realized that Zeke probably had arthritis and was benefitting from the Rimadyl.  After a few days the stomach problems resolved and we put Zeke back on 25mg once a day.  He did well on that dose and seemed perky and happy.  He has been on Rimadyl about 4 years now and is doing well.

Years ago I had an older arthritic dog that we had tried the Rimadyl on and it did not do anything at all for her.  After 3 or 4 months we discontinued it.   So every dog is different.

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Zeke The Diabetic Dog Turns 15 On Dec 1, 2011

I am so happy to report that Zeke turned 15 on Dec. 1, 2011. He is really doing well overall. We recently took Zeke to his vet for a routine glucose check.   He was high at 400 so we increased his NPH to 15 frm 14. A few weeks later his vet checked his glucose level.   It was 168 and his vet was happy with it so we will keep him at 15 units and check him in another month or so.

Zeke was diagnosed in July 2007.  At the time I was very worried and thought his lifespan would be shortened.  By with the excellent veterinary care and medications he has received he is living a full and normal life by dog standards.

Fans of the diabetic dog Zeke can purchase a button with his photo on it from Zazzle, check it out!  Zeke is a puggle which is a cross between a pug and a beagle.    All proceeds will go towards Zekes veterinary bills and his pet medications.   We will be adding more products with Zekes photo on them soon so please check back soon!

Puggle Button from Zazzle.com

Zeke Has Successfully Switched from Vetsulin to NPH Insulin

I'll write more later but just wanted to let everyone know that I have successfuly switched Zeke off of Vetsuilin and onto NPH or Humulin N.   I was really nervous about it as was my vet but it has basically been a non-event.  Zeke is doing well.  I will write more later about the process I went through to switch him off the Vetsuilin and onto NPH.  Now I only wish I had done it sooner.

I am purchasing the NPH at the Walmart pharmacy for about $25 per bottle without a prescription.  We switched Zekes insulin about 3 weeks ago and the bottle is about half gone so it looks like 6 weeks of insulin will cost me about $25 which is much less expensive than I was paying for the Vetsulin and that is not even counting the overnight shipping for the Vetsulin.

I took Zeke to his vet on Friday and his glucose was 148 which she was satisfied with for the time of day it was.  We will continue to monitor him but right now his dose seems to be 12 units in the morning and 12 in the evening.

We had been purchasing the Vetsulin from the Cross Border Pet Pharmacy in Toronto Canada.  John gave us outstanding service and shipped fast and always kept me updated.  But when he received word in early July that he was not going to be able to continue to get the Caninsulin (Canadian version of Vetsulin) I talked to my vet and we made the decision that it was time to switch Zeke to another insulin.

At the time I could get the Caninsulin from the UK but for a high cost and also higher shipping cost.  My vet suspected that the UK supplies would eventually dry up as well.

At this point I am glad we switched Zeke and only wish I had done it sooner.