So Now You Have a Diabetic Dog: Part 1
So many new cases of Canine Diabetes pop up every day and I hope that for every one of you your vet suggested that you test at home. Sadly, I don’t believe that is the case. When my Max was diagnosed, I was not told that it was even possible to test his BG (Blood Glucose) at home. Consequently, I was a basket case for the first 3 months until I found out that I could monitor his glucose at home. That was a game changer for me!
If your vet didn’t suggest that you monitor at home, please don’t interpret that as “permission” to not do it. The very best way to manage this disease is to monitor BG (Blood Glucose) daily at home. How else will you know if it is safe to give a full dose of insulin? How else will you know that your food and insulin are matching up well? How else will you know the early warning signs that there may be an infection brewing somewhere? I could go on and on, but hopefully you get the point.
I know firsthand that this diagnosis is overwhelming in the beginning and anything that can give you comfort should be embraced. I will say that the first good night’s sleep that I had in the first 3 months after diagnosis was when I had the ability to check his number and know that he was safe. Please don’t let anyone take that away from you! Get proactive and order a meter and strips and get after it!
How do you find a meter? You just go to the ShopPetTest.com website here: https://shoppettest.com/ and order a PetTest Meter. Enter code RETRIEVE19 at checkout and you will only pay shipping to receive your meter. The meter comes with 25 test strips, and until you get the hang of using it, you might go through several so you’ll want to order some extra strips. So, you’re going to do this in stages, follow along. First, order the meter and checkout as directed above…
Next, you will go back to the website and order more strips and a couple other things so depending on your budget, the best deal is to put 2 boxes of the test strips in your cart and choose the “send me a third box free” option. The discounts don’t stop there! Put the 2 boxes of 50 count strips in your cart and choose the free box as your gift. Now at checkout you’ll enter code: THANKSFOR2019 for 30% off of your order! One last saving tip below….
You will want to order the meter kit first and complete that order. Now when you go back in and order your strips and a few other things that you’ll need, you are a “repeat customer” and will get an additional 5% off!!! What other things will I need you ask? Good question! You will for SURE need ketone strips. This is another item that is left off of your vet’s list of supplies I’d imagine but you definitely need them in your arsenal when first diagnosed. This is when our pup’s BG (Blood Glucose) runs high and when ketones can sneak up on us. None of us need the vet bill that goes along with high ketones! So add the ketone strips to your cart.
Since we are building your supplies here is the last thing to put in that cart to be ready to manage this disease at home and it is a Glucose SOS. It is the most effective way to manage a hypoglycemic event (which I hope you will never have to do). This product will bring your pup’s BG (Blood Glucose) back up into a safe range and keep it there for about an hour to give the few pieces of kibble that you give a chance to digest and hold your numbers in a safe range.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this post where we will cover the other changes that you need to make now that you have a Diabetic Dog. You can do this, I promise! Once the shock wears off, it really is just a “new normal”.
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…