Diabetes is going to be a journey

So Jackie spent the day today at the Vet clinic - from 8:30am to 6:30pm so they could poke him at regular intervals and test his glucose levels.

My big concern was that if they had to muzzle and unmuzzle him each time they took a reading the day would be a super traumatic event for him - but they said they didn't have to muzzle him once, that he didn't seem to mind too much being handle and he wasn't finding the experience of the day too upsetting.

Tonight he's acting pretty normal, and on the way home we stopped at Wendy's and had french fries, which is one of his favourite foods in the world - so I'm hoping that made him forget a little bit the previous 10 hours, and the sleep he's having now is a little more blissful because it's on a stomach full of glutinous potatoes.

His sugar's stayed at a pretty steady 20 all day - a dog without diabetes is around 4-6, and a dog who has diabetes aims for around 10-12 the vet said - and a dog with diabetes that's under control has sugars that curve up and down throughout the day.

Jackie's came in at 20 and stayed even throughout the day - which is not what the vet wants.

So he's doubled Jackie's dose of doggy insulin - which is called "Caninsulin" - from 2 Units to 4 Units - and we have to go back next Wednesday so that he can spend the day in the Clinic again having his glucose tested.

So I guess Jackie's diabetes is going to be a journey that we are going to travel together until his sugars are at a level that are acceptable and stable - and the only way we can know that they are at that point is by doing these "glucose curve" thingee's whereby he stays a whole day at the vet clinic.

Poor Jackie - I did not envision his golden years being poked twice a day and spending gratuitous amounts of time in a cage again - but if it means he gets extra months or years - then I think it's worth it. I hope if Jackie could - he would agree with me.