I'm back

I was here several years ago with my girl Daisy. Daisy passed from a combination of diabetes and oral cancer. Now I'm back with my boy Mike, who was just diagnosed with high blood glucose this morning. Feeling kind of shell-shocked, so please bear with me. Thanks, all!

 

Hi Andrea and Mike and welcome back to the forum….sorry you are back. And sorry to hear that Daisy has gone to the rainbow bridge.
Let us know how we can help you.
What insulin is he on? Not sure what you used with Daisy but Lantus or biosimilar insulins are the best insulins to use now.
Don’t let the vets talk you into a pet meter…they are too expensive to run. A human meter is still fine and most of us use them.
I guess you are feeding low carb food.
Let us know how we can help you.
Bron

 

Thanks, Bron! This is all so new for me and Mike, and yet it's striking memory chords. We don't have any insulin or anything prescribed yet, including food. We are awaiting further testing. A further wrinkle is that Mike also had high potassium levels in his blood. I don't know how that affects what the vet will prescribe. I should know more tomorrow.

 

I would ask the vet for Lantus insulin.
The starting dose should be no more than 1 unit and possibly 0.5 units depending on what you are feeding.
Here is a link to a FOOD CHART look for carbs less than 10%

Are you going to hometest the BGs? I would really recommend you think about it.
Walmart has a ReliOn premier meter which is $9 and 100 test strips are $!7.88
You will also need a box of 100 lancets size 26 or 28 gauge and some cotton round to hold behind the ear.
HELP US HELP YOU has useful information for new members. If you have any trouble with the SS just let us know and someone will help you.

With the high potassium..is Mike dehydrated at all? How are his kidneys?. The vet should be able to address the high potassium issue. I will tag @Suzanne & Darcy as she will know more about the high potassium than I.

 

I will probably test, because I know how important it is. I am terrified of giving him shots and testing him. I've done it before and, no matter what anyone says, it isn't easy. And I worry about having him grow to hate me, since we have such a good relationship now. I really don't know anything else medically right now.

 

He won't grow to hate you. If you give a treat every time you test..whether you are successful or not, he will soon associate testing with treats. My Sheba would come running from the other side of the house whenever she heard me at the test strips. I had a wonderful relationship with her which only grew after the FD diagnosis.
TESTING HINTS AND LINKS

 

Welcome back to the best place you never wanted to be!

Mike won't hate you!! If you look at Gabby's spreadsheet, you'll see that I was a testaholic. Gabby didn't hate me. (She wouldn't let anyone else come near her with a lancet but that was another issue. She was a diva and a mommy's girl.) Mike may be annoyed with you initially but as he starts to feel better, he'll begin to associate his feeling better with getting his insulin shot and if you give him treats when you test, the testing will be positively rewarded.