Never Chase High Numbers in Your Diabetic Dog
I know that it’s disconcerting to see high numbers in our pups. Today we talk about how to deal with them without over reacting or freaking out. We have chatted about this in several prior posts, but usually in conjunction with something else that is happening. I know that the first “knee-jerk” reaction is to increase your insulin dose, but that is not the best way to deal with this. It’s time to get out your Sherlock Holmes caps and let’s get to work.
First, let’s rule out the usual suspects. Has your pup gotten into something either in the house or in the yard? Maybe one of the kids dropped something on the floor in the kitchen and your speedy pup (he or she may be blind, or not, but there is nothing wrong with that overly developed sensitive sense of smell) cleaned it up before you even saw that it was on the floor? Did he or she get into one of the other animal’s food? Maybe a “sneaky snack” in the yard, some rabbit or deer poop? Maybe they got into the garden and helped themselves to something that has temporarily raised BG (Blood Glucose)? If this is the case, your numbers should level out in a day or two, so, not to worry.
Now if this isn’t just a “one off”, then it’s time to investigate a bit further. Have you ruled out infections? Maybe it’s a UTI or ear infection? Either buy a PawCheck kit or if you have one at home, get it out to rule out a UTI. If you don’t have a PawCheck kit at home, just collect a urine sample and drop it off at the vet for analysis. There is no reason for you to have to make an appointment and pay for an office visit. Have a look in your pup’s ears, is there inflammation or redness? If so, perhaps it’s an ear infection that you’re dealing with. Is the weather changing? Are we dealing with allergies perhaps? All of these possibilities should be ruled out as soon as possible.
When was your last home curve? I’d say that it’s time to do one at your earliest convenience. I would not adjust your insulin dose without getting the whole picture first. We need to keep in mind that just increasing your insulin dose without the data to support that is a recipe for disaster. We need to remember that when we lower the higher numbers, we also lower the lower numbers. It’s possible that it’s just your fasting numbers that are high and the rest of the curve is in a nice safe range. If that is the case, it’s just a food tweak or perhaps a change of injection site will remedy that issue. We need to do a curve to be sure that an increase in dose is warranted.
Depending on what your curve shows, you may need to make an insulin adjustment. This is not a “set it and forget it” disease. It is a dynamic disease, meaning that it is ever changing. There are many factors that can cause your numbers to change, you will just need to be diligent with your testing and become familiar with your pup’s patterns and knowing what affects your BG (Blood Glucose) numbers.
Before making any drastic changes, give this new development some time to be sure that it is a pattern or a trend before you make any changes. It may just be a passing thing and if you panic and make changes, you are setting yourself up for more issues as a result. Patience is a gift when dealing with this disease. One that it taught me in spades. In our next post, we will talk about what to watch for with the upcoming season change.
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Until next time…