Our vet Dr. Brenda Culver called yesterday afternoon with the first set of test results on Teddy, and the news was not good: Our little guy is severely diabetic. His glucose levels should be in the range of 100-120, and Teddy was at 652. Oh, my.
That could explain why he's blind, too.
Brenda was starting him on insulin to bring his glucose levels down, but it can take a while to find the right type of insulin and the right dose. Brenda's husband, Dr. Britt Culver, is our internal medicine specialist there and will be following up on Teddy's treatment protocol. He will also be doing an abdominal ultrasound tomorrow that will include a look at his pancreas.
When Brenda told me about Teddy's diagnosis, I immediately thought back to our last diabetes case. It was in 2006, when an adorable Jack Russell/Fox Terrier mix named Sammy came to us with a long history of untreated diabetes. It was a heartbreaking series of ups-and-downs, and Sammy spent as much time in the hospital as he did at the ranch. In the end, we lost him after just a few months.
If there is anything positive to come out of that ... well, Sammy was as difficult a diabetes case to manage as there is, so we are much more knowledgeable and prepared for Teddy's diabetes than we would have been.
Please keep Teddy in your thoughts. We're going to hope this is the only thing we'll find out he's got -- and yes, that his will be an easy, textbook case of diabetes to treat!
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Oh my baby, Teddy! I hate to hear this is what your diagnoses is but now at least Steve, Alayne & the fantastic team of Vets know what they are dealing with & can get you on the road to feeling good again. You are such a little ball of love & I say this every time there is a post about you. I wish I could have you in my home. I fell in love with you the minute I saw your sweet face & many, many prayers & good thoughts are coming your way!!! Steve & Alayne, hang in there. As someone else said each case is different & this time around you have experience to fall back on.
Fred, God bless you for the care & love you unselfishly give to Charlie & for sharing your experience.
Posted by: Colleen & Sweet Kitty Erin | July 27, 2009 at 05:13 PM
We had a cat named Tipper that was diabetic. At his heaviest he weighed 18 lbs. After the diabetes presented itself and before treatment he was down to 9 lbs, drinking a lot of water and peeing a lot. Between the insulin injections (twice a day) and feeding him the same amount of food everyday his got back to a healthy 14 lbs. Tipper died about a year and a half after the diagnosis. We were on vacation and he was staying with his veternarian. She thought it was probably a blood clot that took him.
Teddy should have a good life after the diabetes is under control. I know he will have a wonderful life at RDR. My thoughts and love to Teddy.
Posted by: Lynda | July 27, 2009 at 09:39 AM
I see my long post about Charlie did finally work. Sorry about it being so long. When we found out about Charlie, the Vet just walked into the treatment room, his arms filled with cans of special food, boxes of syringes - small for the insulin and very large for "forced feeding."
He said "Charlie has diabetes and probably Cushing's Disease. Here is some special food and some hand-outs for you to read. Let me know if you have any questions."
We were in shock. We didn't know what to do. We didn't know whether Charlie had jsut been handed a death sentence or what.
We went home and read everything on the web we could find. We printed it all out and put it into a 5 inch binder.
We went to the bookstore and bought every book we could find on the subject.
We contacted Steve and he suggested we get in touch with an internist, which we did.
There's a lot more but I don't want to post another "War and Peace" sized comment.
We got a new vet. A young woman who had spent 2 years as an intern in a New York animal hospital. She was wonderful. She took time with us, respected our opinions, answered our questions, and in general did a great job.
6 months and $5000 later we had a dog who was full of attitude, a little chubby, strong as a bull-dog, and back to his former self.
What I wish we had at the beginning was a detailed accounting of what it was going to take to keep a dog "well" on this disease.
That's why I posted so long a message. I'm hoping that someone in Steve and Alayne's audience can benefit from our experience - or even supplement it in some way.
Having a sick pet is like having a sick child. And our vets (and for that matter, our human physicians) are just jot equipped to deal with our needs at the point of diagnosis. They can do the diagnosis. They can communicate it to you. But they don't seem to have any idea how to give you what you really NEED at that point - which is detailed information about what your and your pet's life will be like from then on.
Even after all we've done and all we know - as recently as yesterday we had a life-threatening experience with Charlie. We gave too much insulin for the amount of food he had ingested. The results are the same as if he had no food or no insulin at all. His blood sugar level dropped. He was dangerously low on energy and started falling. The next step would have been seizure and then coma. Luckily we recognized the symptoms and immediately rubbed Karo Syrup on his gums and then gave him food, as much as we could get into him without force-feeding with the big syringe - which we hate doing.
Within an hour he was fine again and today he is back to his "real self."
He did have one full seizure the day we brought him home from one of his vet visits. Luckily then, and yesterday we knew what to do because of the research we had done.
I just hope that this helps someone else who has a diabetic and/or Cushing's animal.
One day we have a healthy, fun-loving pet. The next day we are expected to be attending physicians in a life or death scenario.
I have no idea how Steve and Alayne deal with 80 animals over 160 acres, summer and winter, night and day; day after day after day.
Fred
Posted by: Fred | July 26, 2009 at 11:24 PM
My prayers and best wishes for Teddy. Hope he has years of happiness in RDR to make up for his past unhappy life. He is in the best hands possible!!!
And Fred, thanks for your wonderful post. I was worried about the amount of water my dog was drinking when I read about Teddy's diabetes, but now, after reading your post, I can see that for his weight, the amount he drinks it's absolutely normal. :)))
P.D.: Have you any news about Charly yet??? Every day I pray for him too!!!
Posted by: Carolina | July 26, 2009 at 10:22 PM
Hi Fred, just for me, never mind about the post! I read it with interest and your love for Charlie shines through with every word, he sure is a lucky dog for having you around... The people on thís blog would have done the same I think but for others he could have been a lost case maybe.
With all the important lessons I pick up from all the details Steve gives us I sure think you will help somebody with the info about Charlie. A big hug for the little guys, both Teddy and Charlie and best wishes for many happy times to come!
Posted by: Jessica, NL | July 25, 2009 at 04:48 AM
I know you will...but it makes me feel better saying it...pls do all you can for Teddy!
Posted by: Cora | July 25, 2009 at 02:25 AM
I guess my posting about Charlie -our dog - was too large.
Posted by: Fred | July 24, 2009 at 04:37 PM
Last December our miniature poodle of 12 years "Charlie" was diagnosed with diabetes and had gone to less than 9 pounds from 12. He was so week he could hardly move.
In addition to Diabetes, he has Cushing's Disease.
His Glucose was at 516 (normal is 150); his ALKP was 1709 (normal is 212); his ALT was 657 (normal is 100; his Fructosomine was 447 (the glucose measure as an average over several weeks)
Now, 8 months later he is fed Royal Canine High Fiber Diabetic food twice daily - morning and night. At noon he eats about 1/3 cup of raw T-Bone steak. During the day he eats Iams Puppy Cookies (in the yellow box). We hide them around the house so every day is an "easter egg hunt" and he is able to keep his sugar level up by eating these in addition to his other food. He gets a 30-45 minute walk every morning. After his Royal Canin in the morning and night he gets 4 units of Vetsulin - the long-acting insulin for dogs.
For his Cushing's we give him 10 mg of Trylostane, a drug just approved last January by the FDA.
We also give him Hepagen C for his liver and Pet Tabs just to make sure he gets all of his nutrients.
In the morning, before his walk, we give him Mirtazipine to stimulate his appetite. Otherwise he won't eat in the morning. And we have to get a minimum amount of food into him before we can give him Insulin. Early on, we made the mistake of giving him the insulin before he had enough food into his digetive system and he had a seizure, which scared us to death.
Now, wherever we go, we carry a little vial of Karo Syrup, which we rub on his gums if he has a seizure due to low blood sugar. Thankfully, we've only had to do this once.
Early on we were giving him 2 mg of Melatonin to help him sleep but we don't do that anymore.
Now he is over 13 pounds and very muscular and seems very healthy.
We have kept a journal on every day of his life since getting diabetes.
His internist (he has an internist in addition to his regular vet) told us that water consumption is the simplest and most accurate way of seeing how he is doing, so we keep track of that religiously.
He is supposed to drink one ounce of water for every pound of weight, so that's about 13 ounces for him. Whenever his water consumption gets up over 20 ounces we take him him for tests and usually this means an increase in insulin.
In addition to keeping track of his water, we also test his urine weekly with Keytone/Glucose stix you can buy at the pharmacy.
He has been stable on 4 units twice daily for several months now and all of his tests have been absolutely normal.
I just thought I'd share this with everyone, because we thought we were going to lose Charlie. He was severely dehydrated, completely lethargic, and very thin, just like Teddy.
Posted by: Fred | July 24, 2009 at 04:30 PM
Oh my, Teddy is such a cutie.....I hope everything is going to be okay for him! It just makes me angry to hear how someone could just dump such a sweetie. I wish I lived closer so I could adopt him! I have a 20yr old girl that is still pretty chipper for that age!
Posted by: Benita | July 24, 2009 at 02:53 PM
Everything just might be okay. And if not, until the end this little dog will have as wonderful a life as any dog possibly could because you and Alayne are his people.
Thank you.
Posted by: Lynn | July 24, 2009 at 11:26 AM
I will keep the positive vibes for little Teddy flowing! Thank goodness he is in such loving and expert hands! Thank you for helping him!
Posted by: Dawn | July 24, 2009 at 11:15 AM
I'm so sorry; diabetes was my guess, and I'm sorry to have been right. All the best to him and to the two of you. He is a plucky little guy, to have survived so long, untreated.
Posted by: Vicki Small | July 24, 2009 at 10:12 AM
Wow! For such a tiny guy, Teddy has really been hanging in there for help. Sounds like he got to you just in the nick of time. I'll send lots of positive thoughts Teddy's way that the right dosage will easily be found & that will be the answer to all of his problems. He looks thrilled to be getting the attention he has needed for so long.
Big hugs to all & thanks again for All that you do,
ginger, Tobias & Tlingit
Posted by: ginger | July 24, 2009 at 09:03 AM
Whatever time this little fella has, he is blessed to have been taken in by you....he is such a sweetie and he deserves a comfortable, loving home in his senior years. Hang in there, Teddy
Posted by: Debbie | July 24, 2009 at 07:49 AM
Of course I'll be keeping little Teddy in my thoughts and prayers! And I look forward to reading that his diabetes is under control.
Once again, thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking such great care of all your furkids.
Please give Teddy a BIG hug for me next time you see him.
Posted by: Carla Polastro-Nigro | July 24, 2009 at 01:37 AM
I remember clearly the anguish and stress for Sammy - he was such a lover, which made it that much more difficult. I can imagine how you must feel being faced with this again with Teddy, but as another person said, every animal is different, and hopefully little Teddy will get better. I'll be keeping him, along with you and Alayne and all the animals, in my prayers.
Posted by: Heidi, Emmett, and Moxie | July 23, 2009 at 11:16 PM
We had a diabetic Lhasa Apso several years ago as a result of severe pancreatitis. We had just lost a chocolate lab to diabetic complications which came very quickly after her diagnosis so I understand your qualms about going through that again. Jayda (the Lhasa) spent 2 weeks in the hospital getting her insulin regulated. Then she lived another 4 years quite contentedly with her twice daily insulin..even traveled with us..so don't give up on Teddy, each case is unique. He is the cutest little guy, ever.
Posted by: Barb | July 23, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Teddy - you are in good hands and I can feel your big spirit in that tiny body. Best to all - good wishes and prayers coming to you. Thank you for giving Teddy a chance.
Steve - please keep us posted on Teddy.
Posted by: Jane | July 23, 2009 at 10:25 PM
He's lucky to have found you all. What a precious little guy...the name suits him. Imagine how much MORE he will love life once he's feeling better (he seems so happy even when so frail).
xo and licks,
Libby
Posted by: Libby | July 23, 2009 at 08:58 PM
Lots of good thoughts are coming Teddy's way from New York. It's hard that the little guy is so sick. But I'm so glad he's finally in a place where people who really love him will do everything they can for him.
Posted by: Peggy | July 23, 2009 at 07:25 PM
Sweet Teddy is in good hands. Yet another lucky dog. I'm sure you will do the best for him that you can and I hope that everything is easily managed. Hopefully getting the diabetes under control will help him gain some weight. Best wishes!
Posted by: Suzanne | July 23, 2009 at 06:59 PM
I'm sad about his diagnosis but glad he is with you. He couldn't be in better hands.
Does the diabetes have anything to do with his heart murmur?
Posted by: Lynne Parker | July 23, 2009 at 06:55 PM
Teddy is in good hands and that's where he needs to be right now. I hope all goes well with getting his diabetes under control.
I didn't know about RDR when Sammy was around, but I can very easily understand your flashbacks. But, please, wait to worry. I know this is easier said than done, but you can't fix it with your stomach in a knot.
Kisses on Teddy's nose.
Posted by: Janet in Cambridge | July 23, 2009 at 06:23 PM
Thank you for taking such good care of this sweet little abandoned dog. Whenever you write about a dog,like Sammy, I always go back to the home page to read about them. I can't find info on Sammy in "Gone But Not Forgotten".
He was fortunate to have spent his last months with you and Alayne.
Posted by: Kim Johnston | July 23, 2009 at 06:08 PM
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers Teddy.....Big hugs and lots of love to you sweet boy!
Get well soon!
Posted by: Beverly | July 23, 2009 at 05:14 PM
The little guy is in my prayers. Hang in there Teddy you're in good hands! Life will be good again very soon.
Posted by: Craig from Great Falls | July 23, 2009 at 04:53 PM