Dog Diabetes - Buster had his cataract surgery Wednesday

[CajunMama]

I just spoke with my vet and found out my 7 year old poodle, Buster, has diabetes. In the last month he has gone from 16 lbs. down to 10 lbs. We did blood tests yesterday (i feared he had cancer) and i talked to the vet today and told me he has diabetes. I'll eventually have to learn to give him 2 shots of insulin a day and put him on a special diet. I'm so relieved that it's something that is treatable.

[Miss Mary]

I'm also relieved it is something treatable Kathy. We have a dog and she is a full fledged family member. You worry about them as much as you do your own children! (and they don't talk back, much!)....

Here's to better days Buster!

[andrewsmith1]

Good luck to you and Buster. I just recently found out that I am diabetic and I am having a heck of a time figuring out a diet that will keep everything under control. I have found that my sugars are bouncing all over the place. I imagine it would be a lot simpler to manage in a dog that eats the same thing most of the time than it is in a human who varies their diet daily.

[CajunMama]

I've gotten really good at giving buster his shots. The only problem is my life revolves around them right now. I don't know what i'll do if we choose to go out of town or want to go out in the evening.

Andrew, i hope you get your levels stabilized.

[Stephanie]

My cat, Mac has had diabetes for about 3 years now. There was a gradual weight loss and he was drinking more water, but not to the point where I was getting alarmed. I finally brought him in to get tested when he began walking on his hocks. That's a classic sign.

Giving him the insulin is easy - I give it to him while he's eating so he's distracted. It is a very treatable disease and you'll need to bring him back for more blood tests to make sure his blood sugar is regulated.

I'm glad that Buster wasn't diagnosed with anything more serious, though diabetes is pretty serious, but treatable.

[CajunMama]

Funny you should mention about bringing him in to monitor his blood sugar. We did that today. His #'s were at 350 and the vet wants his #'s down to 250. He's put on a couple of pounds and is only eating twice a day and not drinking the water he'd been drinking before. And he's not peeing like he used to.

[Miss Mary]

Here's a water trick - I take away our dog's ceramic/pottery bowl to wash it, rinse it well and fill it with fresh cold water. By the time I am done doing all of this, she's chomping at the bit, can't wait to take a long drink. We talk it up too - hubby gets in on the act and says - wait, Mommy's washing your water bowl....LOL

All that waiting (3 minutes at most), makes her want to take a long drink.

I started doing this in 2007 when we had a severe drought going with weeks of upper 90s to low 100s. She was walking around panting, moving from place to place on our kitchen tiled floor, just to keep cool.

I hope you can find a neighbor whom you trust and you can show how to administer these shots Kathy, should you want to leave home longer than for a few short hours. Maybe you could invite her over and just show her how you do it? Just in case you ever need someone.....

[Stephanie]

Funny you should mention about bringing him in to monitor his blood sugar. We did that today. His #'s were at 350 and the vet wants his #'s down to 250. He's put on a couple of pounds and is only eating twice a day and not drinking the water he'd been drinking before. And he's not peeing like he used to.

His sugar must've been pretty darn high originally. The vet may want to increase his insulin a little bit. My vet actually had us get Mac's teeth cleaned because the plaque can also help the sugar stay high. It really did work.

However, it does seem like Buster is getting better, which I'm glad to hear.

[CajunMama]

Buster and i went to the lsu small animal vet clinic today. He's an excellent candidate for cataract surgery! His surgery is scheduled for Aug. 4. It's more than i thought it would be but my heart breaks when he gets disoriented and can't figure out what room he's in, trying to chase his ball, looking for his doggy door and missing it. Poor guy The vet said he will wake up from his surgery being able to see. He'll have to wear a cone for 4-6 weeks and 4 or 5 different eyedrops 4 times a day.

[Stephanie]

Don't you just hate it when your pets gets these diseases and conditions?

I'm glad that they feel he's an excellent candidate for the surgery. How's his diabetes?

[CajunMama]

We've got it under control He gets 7 units twice a day and is on prescribed food. I still can't believe i'm able to inject him. I didn't think i'd be able to.

[brunota2003]

A friend of mine is at risk for getting diabetes...she does the blood tests twice a day and is on a healthy food diet now (plus I did encourage her to do that and take up exercising). She has lost a few pounds, but hopefully it is stable now...I dont want her losing more, even if she is 5 foot even, I think 107 is pretty good for an 18 year old that height (on the low end, imo, but considering diabetes and her height, pretty good).

Certainly am glad your dog is treatable though, hopefully it'll help a lot!

[AJC3]

Sounds a lot like what I went through with my miniature schnauzer several years ago.

http://www.caninediabetes.org/julius.html

I hope that story gives you some insight as to what it's like to have a puppy that has both type 1 diabetes and EPI. Essentially he had a non-functional pancreas. He had to undergo cataract surgery when he was LESS THAN one year old! Talk about having it hard.

Unfortunately, Juliis was given an insulin overdose by a caretaker and died while my ex and I were out of town for my 40th b-day in 2003.

Always remember, too high of a blood glucose level is a helluva lot better than too low for ANY amount of time. If you mess up a shot and some leaks out, don't dry to readminister. Keep a bottle of Karo corn syrup at close hand at all times!

[CajunMama]

I have caninediabetes.org bookmarked! I've had to give Buster corn syrup one time. My daughter and her friend over-exercised him. He was sluggish for awhile but the corn syrup and rest worked.

What a touching story Tony. You're right, it is an expensive venture but in the end it will be well worth it to have my Buster's vision restored.

I found out that my neighbor right across the street had a dog with diabetes (recently put to sleep) and she's helped me with the insulin shots if i wasn't able to be home to feed and medicate him. She's been a godsend.

[Stephanie]

We've got it under control He gets 7 units twice a day and is on prescribed food. I still can't believe i'm able to inject him. I didn't think i'd be able to.

It's amazing what you can do when it for someone or something you love.

I'm sorry about Julius AJC3.

My cat Mac is just burning through the insulin. We've been tinkering with the dosages and his diet under the vet's guidance. I can't go through losing another cat or pet for that matter after losing 2 last August.

[CajunMama]

Buster had his cataract surgery yesterday and i was able to bring him home today. Bless his little heart...he doesn't look too good. They shaved 1/2 of his head and he's got a cone on.

Buster has 6 different eyedrops. 4 are prescribed 4 times a day, 1 is 3 times a day and the last is 2 times a day...with a 5 minute wait between each prescription. It takes at least 30 minutes to administer all the drops. I'm so ready to go to bed right now but i have to wait until midnight to do his drops again. We have to do this for a month. But it's worth it for him to be able to see.

[Stephanie]

Good luck with Buster, the surgery and drops. His fur will fill in again. How long does he have to wear the cone? Rudy had cataracts removed and we went through the same thing with the cone and drops. I forget how long we had to use the cone - maybe a week?

[Pburgh]

Buster has a great Mommy. Hope all goes well.
((HUGS)) to you and gentle (hugs) for Buster.

[southerngale]

Awww.... I hope the little guy starts feeling better soon. I agree with Karan... a great Mommy. That takes a lot of time to keep up with that many drops, daily, for a month. Good job!

[CajunMama]

He's supposed to wear the cone for 4-6 weeks. He's such a trooper (except for squeezing his eyes shut when you're trying to put the drops in). He's getting used to the cone, it's not stopping him from doing anything now. We sure feel alot better with him able to see. It broke our heart everytime he used to bump into things or get disoriented when he couldn't figure out where he was. It was worth every penny we spent.