Don't Give up on Your Diabetic Pup
Today it’s time for a little pep talk. Seasons are changing and that can wreak havoc with BG (Blood Glucose) numbers. It’s so easy to get disheartened when your numbers start to slide up or down. I remember when we would be doing great for several days or weeks and then numbers would start to move. You check “the usual suspects” first, how old is my insulin? Have I changed anything? Did I give flea and tick meds or heartworm meds? Just as you are ready to pull your hair out, you start leafing through your journal and realize that the temperature numbers are moving. Argh! Well, at least you figured it out!
In my journal, I tracked the temperature outside in the upper right hand corner of each page. That made it easy to just flip back and see what the trend was. I know that it doesn’t necessarily make sense for indoor dogs that the weather outside can affect their numbers, but it isn’t just the number that is important. With weather changes come barometric pressure changes. Also humidity changes. So even if your pup is inside all day, these things play a factor in their environment and can affect your numbers.
Another thing that changes with weather is the rate at which they are digesting their food. When it’s warm outside (or inside) their metabolism shifts. If it speeds up, so with their digestion rate. If it slows down, so will their digestion rate. I’d imagine that most of you walk your pups every day and that will also affect metabolism rate. It takes more energy to stay cool in warmer weather. Most of the dogs that I knew of needed less insulin in the warmer months, but not my Max… nope, he needed more insulin when it was warmer outside. Every dog is different and it is trial and error to see what works for you and your dog.
The thing that you can count on with this disease is that it is dynamic. It doesn’t just stay the same day in and day out. You can’t just “set it and forget it”.
Remember that every dog is different. It may take a new insulin dose 2 days to settle for one dog and a full week or 10 days to settle in for another. The only way to know is to keep very good notes in your journal so that you don't have unrealistic expectations of yourself or your dog. That alone will send your stress level into the stratosphere. Part of your job here is to manage your expectations. You will never have perfect numbers all the time. To expect that is unrealistic and unfair.
Most of the time, when we see a change in numbers, it is a “one off” and not a trend. Give yourself time to see if it is just a fluke or if it is something that needs to be addressed. Whatever the case, don’t give up… there is always a reason for every trend that happens. It may just take a while to figure out what is at the root of it.
Whatever is going on, take a step back and acknowledge that you are doing the best that you can. If you can’t figure it out, reach out to someone that can help you reason through it. You don’t have to do this alone. And above all, remember to love on your pup all the time. They aren’t “doing this” to you either. You’re in this together.
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Until next time…