Re: Cushings and diabetes
- From: SupergoofNZ <thunderbirds.arego@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 09 Apr 2006 00:10:44 +1200
Carol L wrote:
Hi,
I have a mini schnauzer that is diabetic. His diabetes has been hard to control.
My local Vet did regular glucose tests on him but they varied so much. She hasn't been able to really get him regulated. He did lose his sight from the diabetes. We had the catarats removed and he now can see fine.
After several months of trying to control his diabetes my Vet sent him to an internist. The internist suggested that he might have Cushings. His liver levels were slightly elevated. The internist did say that he wanted to control the Cushings and that the diabetes should fall into place. He suggested that we have the Cushings test done with our Vet. I chose not to have him tested or treated because the treatment seemed a little harsh. Long story short, his glucose tests still show that he's not regulated all that well, but he is happy and his water consumption and urinating are not too bad. I give him 15 IU of insulin 2 times a day. This is about the maximum for his weight. He weighs about 26 pounds. He's 8 years old. Maybe your dog isn't being given enough insulin . I give mine Humilin N. He was on Vetsulin (the pet insulin)for a month or so, but he didn't respond any better. I have just decided that since my little guy feels good, seems very happy and content that I wouldn't put him through all the poking and prodding all the time. I don't know how your dog is feeling but I really hating leaving mine at the Vet for 8 hours so she could get a glucose curve on him. It's really hard to deal with these things in an animal. They just can't tell you how they feel. Good luck with your gal. I hope she does well.
Carol
Hi Carol, thanks for replying.
There are alternative treatments for Cushings that aren't at all harsh - we've got Murphy on anipryl (selegiline or L-deprenyl) and the only known side-effect is tummy troubles. It works by raising dopamine and lowering cortisol and you judge its effectiveness by the symptoms abating rather than with blood tests. There's no risk of overcorrecting and causing addisons or worse.
There's also a supplement called phosphatidlyserine which is sometimes very helpful - it has the same action as anipryl.
Please think about testing trying one of these gentle treatments on your little guy. They aren't harsh like lysodren or even trilostane and can give you much better diabetes control and extend his life.
Murphy's on 12IU of insulin twice a day and she's about 55 pounds. We have an advantage blood glucose meter and test ourselves before meals, by taking a drop of blood from inside her lip. If I want to do a curve I can do it myself at home at the weekend. Poor Murphy's lip must get a bit sore (I'm surprised she doesn't leak like a watering can when she drinks!) but it's infinitely less stressful than a visit to the vet or worse still, being left at the vet for tests.
If you read my other response to this thread you'll see we seem to have had surprisingly quick results from the anipryl, much faster than we expected. And amazingly no major tummy trouble - surprising since she's ended up with diarrhoea when we tried milk thistle, SAM-e and cranberry (the first two for her liver enzymes, the latter for chronic bladder infections). So her gut seems super-sensitive at the moment too (she also has IBD just to confuse the issue).
cheers
Rachel
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