Anyone have a dog with Diabetes?

[Juba]

My 11 year old, blind, male and one-eyed Pug, Charlie, was diagnosed today with Diabetes.

Normal blood sugar levels in dogs is 110, Charlie's are at 600!

The past week he has been drinking an enormous amount of water. The Pugs share a huge ceramic bowl of water and it usually lasts a day and a half. Charlie is drinking on the hour and is drinking that whole bowl himself if not more a day. His appetite is voracious but he has lost two pounds since last week. At 20.77 pounds he is thin for a Pug.

The vet said that he may also have Hypothyroidism on top of the Diabetes but he had too many fat globules in his liver blood test to get a correct reading. We are re-testing after a overnight fast for the thyroid.

Does anyone else have or had a dog with Diabetes? If so, what course of action did you take? What were the factors you took into consideration when choosing treatment verses no treatment? I want Charlie to be with me as long as he can BUT I do not want to be selfish and keep him here beyond what is best for him. Pug free will there!

The treatment is insulin injections two times a day. While it weighs heavily on my heart and it grieves me to consider this...I am trying to do the pros and cons of treatment or no treatment in a "calm" manner ( as if, since I am quite a mess now).

If I choose not to do treatment, I will not put him down immediately as he is "okay" now but of course will not allow it to get to the point where he is severely wasting and/or in any amount of pain.

*edited punctuation*

Hi April,

Sorry to hear about your dog :(. I had a cat with diabetes but after insulin treatment (3 times per week 1 injection per day for 13 month and 1 insulin injection every 4 days until he died) and strict diets he was well for years, (got diabetes when he was 10 and died when he was 16 because of kidney failures). Before diabetes diagnose, I noticed Tommy 2 had problem with appetite (eating nothing or too much), moods (like he was tired all the time and without energy) so we arranged detailed examination, vet suspected diabetes immediately. At first we were pretty shocked, but our cat shown immediate positive reactions after first shot, he start to play with us, eat and sleep normally and no more mood swings. I don't like needles, and must say I reacted more scared on insulin shots than my cat, of course I was feeling sorry for him, getting all these injections for years,...,.... but what else to do, he was part of my family :/

 

[anart]

Charlie went downhill quickly these past few days. He went "on his way" at the Vet's Office around 9:15 AM with Ruby and I present while the vet helped him out of his body.

My sincere condolences, April. Take good care of you, and Ruby, for a while. Charlie's free of his suffering and pain - he had a very good doggie life with you and was very lucky.

 

[Ares]

Charlie went downhill quickly these past few days. He went "on his way" at the Vet's Office around 9:15 AM with Ruby and I present while the vet helped him out of his body.

i've experienced the loss of a beloved pet so i may know how you feel, April. one of my kitties was involved in a road accident (a scooter went over him breaking his spine) just outside our home, but he still managed to crawl with his front paws till our window, jump with only his front paws (and maybe use what strength he had left with his rear paws) through the windows inside our house, called for us, and died in our arms. it was very painful for me and the family to think how much he must have suffered in the traumatic accident, but in the end we realized that he no longer suffered after he was gone, and that helped to reduce our grief.

and so i hope you can realize too for Charlie, with the added benefit that the transition was not traumatic. Think of all the wonderful memories you've had with Charlie, and how much love and care you gave him in this present existence, hopefully this has helped him gain some of the experiences to individualize in 3D eventually.. :) take care April

 

[Nienna]

Charlie went downhill quickly these past few days. He went "on his way" at the Vet's Office around 9:15 AM with Ruby and I present while the vet helped him out of his body.

I am so sorry for your loss, April. Know that he is now free from his suffering and pain. I think that he could not have had a better home than with you and Ruby. You both will miss him, so be gentle and kind with yourselves.

 

[Lirpa]

Thank all of you. I have felt your support during this painful visceral grief and it has certainly helped and I do appreciate your kindness.

 

[3DStudent]

Hi April, I just noticed your avatar and came to this thread. I am sorry for your loss and hope that you have nice memories and enjoyed sharing your life with Charlie.

There's some interesting things said about dogs in "Voices of Spirit", which is mentioned here http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=18023.0, FWIW.