Don't Get Discouraged With Your Diabetic Dog
Today we talk about not losing hope when you hear the words, “Your dog has Diabetes”. Sadly, we have all been there and likely had similar immediate reactions. Mine was shock and disbelief. My brain stopped functioning in that moment until I realized that the vet was still talking and I hadn’t heard a word that he said after his opening statement.
Now we find ourselves in a whole new place with our pup. I’m hopeful that you have mastered the twice a day injections and feel confident in your technique when it comes to injecting your pup. I am even more hopeful that you are testing your pup at home at least twice a day. I know that I am a broken record when it comes to home testing, probably because for the first 3 months, I didn’t have any idea that it was an option. I didn’t sleep, I didn’t ever let Max out of my sight, and I was worried every minute of every day of those 3 months.
I was on my own in a strange place, with a strange vet, blaming myself that I had somehow caused this condition in my Max. My other little one Finn wasn’t sure what was happening and became even needier and more of a diva than he already was! Lol Suffice it to say that it was not a good time for my little family of 3. I was such a mess and felt like this vet didn’t have a clue about how to treat my Max. I’ll share with you now that his initial diagnosis was that Max had pharyngitis. Ummmmmmm… No. I asked him to please do blood work as I knew my dogs and was fairly certain that a sore throat was not the culprit here.
I called my vet at home in TX and shared that I was beside myself and feeling lost about how to manage this disease. He said the magic words, “You know Nancy, you can test him at home.” I CAN?!?!?! How? Where do I get the stuff?! Why didn’t the vet here tell me that?! I had spent almost $6,000.00 on vet run curves 3 times a week, overpaying for supplies, buying every book, gadget, treat and “prescription” food that was suggested or mentioned. Let’s just cut to the chase and say that I had become a “cash cow” for this vet where I was visiting and there was no end in sight. That phone conversation with my vet in TX was a total game changer for me!
I was not a Facebook person at the time, but went on and found a Westie Health group and posted. An amazing woman named Linda shared that there was a group for owners of Canine Diabetics. I joined that group and every other group that I could find and my journey of starting to manage this disease correctly began. The vet run curves were a thing of the past as soon as my meter arrived. I took over the management of Max’s diabetes and had a sit down with the vet where I was visiting to agree to disagree on his methods and protocols. I asked if he would be willing to treat my boys for anything that came up while I was getting Max stable enough for the road trip back home. I would handle the diabetes and he and his staff would handle anything else that was needed. If not, I would find another vet locally to do just that until I could go back home. He reluctantly agreed.
Why do I tell you all of this? I share it because I don’t want you to lose hope and think that you can’t handle this diagnosis. You can, you will. Find a community that is living with this disease 24/7 that can support you and teach you the fundamentals of the disease so that once you understand those, you can move on to learn the nuances. When choosing a group, I want to caution you about finding the right group. I wrote a blog about how to sift through the groups out there. You will find it here:
https://shoppettest.com/blog/how-do-i-find-community-for-my-diabetic-dog/
I want to encourage you to keep with it, don’t give up. Managing Canine Diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to find your ideal dose, please don’t rush the process by trying to get immediate results. I learned this one the hard way. Any time that you are tempted to give up, look into your pup’s eyes and know that it is a battle worth fighting…
Notice that for most of the products or groups that I mention, the text is linked to a website that you can purchase that item or a link to join the group mentioned. Just click on the colored text (red or blue, depending what device you are on) and it should take you right to the item or group. If you have any thoughts or ideas for topics that you’d like to see covered here, please feel free to comment below or send me an email at NancyForPetTest@PharmaSupply.com. As always, please “like” this blog post or any of the others that have helped you or just refreshed your memory. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!
Until next time…