Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Jackie has diabetes


Some sad news - Jackie has not been feeling very well lately. He is now 16 years old, and he has become fussy about eating - which is VERY unlike him, and he has been peeing inside a lot. He has always been a dog who peed inside - which didn't bother me too much because I tend to be pretty lenient with the dogs - they've all had tough lives - so I let them do what they want to do - just as long as he didn't pee on the carpets, I just cleaned it up.

But lately he's been peeing about twice as much as he normally did - and he could be 2 steps from the door and he'd just let her fly - and then continue outdoors. Something wasn't right. And I was pretty sure that he'd also lost the last of the vision in his good eye because he was starting to really bump into things - and he had stopped going up and down the back stairs outside - and I was having to carry him up and down.

So last Saturday I took him to his vet - she thought maybe it was Cushings disease because his hair is thinning all along his back - so she took some blood and said she'd call me on Monday and put him on antibiotics.

I got a call on Monday morning, and his liver enzymes were somewhat high - but his sugars were REALLY high - possible diabetes - could I bring in a sample of his first urine in the morning the next day. I said "okay".

Tuesday morning I was unsuccessful because he decided that his first urine of the morning was going to be on the carpet next to the back door - and I couldn't suck it up fast enough - but this morning I picked up that carpet last night - so I was able to suck up enough from the kitchen floor - which is where he let it fly at 6:30 this morning!

And I got a call this morning confirming the fact that Jackie does in fact have diabetes. So I am going to have to start giving this little dog 2 needles a day.

I'm going to go in on Friday to learn how to give Jackie insulin. For those of you who don't know Jackie - he is not really a dog who likes to be messed with too much. And he is a HARD biter. In the last little over 2 years I have been blessed to build a beautiful relationship with him. He now trusts me. And I am so worried that trying to jab him is going to ruin that relationship.

I can't muzzle him twice a day. But I've been told that without insulin he won't last too long. So I'm going to have to poke him twice a day somehow - without him noticing. I'll do it somehow. He has had such a hard life. And right now he's having a rotten time.

I also got confirmation that he has indeed lost the last of the sight in his good eye too, which is heartbreaking. I feel so bad for him. If a dog can be depressed - I think he's depressed about that. He seems to stand in the middle of the living room and try to listen for things around him. Poor Jackie. I hope things pick up a little bit so he can have a little bit of a good summer - it would be nice if he could make it to 18 or so. That would be nice.

9 comments:

  1. Awww poor little man! I hope he'll accept his insulin shots like a trouper and not give you too much grief! After all he has been through, he deserves a comfortable old-age. :)

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  2. i am surprised he can't take it orally, but you can do it Joan--i think it is much harder for humans than dogs... plus it might mean more cheese for Jackie....

    let us know how you make out!

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  3. Aww, we are so sorry to hear about Jackie's health issues! But, thank dawg diabetes is treatable...hopeflly the deal little guy won't mind the needles too much!

    ((we shivers at the thought! lol!)

    (((hugs)) your friends
    Oskar, Schatzi & Xena

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  4. So sorry about Jack, Joan. I'm sure you can do the insulin thing and hopefully he will be feeling so much better that he won't mind the shots. He seems to have had such good last years with you - maybe that will be enough to get you both through the needles.
    'Splorin, we can only wish there was oral insulin! My sister ended up having her little cat on human insulin when his condition was really advanced, imo much more advanced than it should have been, but she loved him and couldn't bear to let him go. Diabetes sucks. :(

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  5. Poor little guy! That really sucks. Hopefully it will go easier than you think. Sounds like he has had a good life since finding you. Keep us informed. We will keep our paws crossed for you all.
    Wags
    Ernie,Sasha,Chica

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  6. Just heard about Jackie. Hope all goes well and re: the injections - you'll probably mind them more than he will. A little tip, though, is to use the human needles from the pharmacy and convert the dosage from the 40U to 100U scale. The needle is MUCH smoother and more comfortable - he won't mind them. The vet needles are rough and can pinch. Keep his diet and injections 12 hours apart, religiously, and keep his diet consistent so you don't have to plan for extra insulin. When you're more comfortable with everything that far lmk and we'll talk about it. Hugs.

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  7. sending healing thoughts to Jackie and you too Joan - let's hope that the meds help and that he will not be to reactive to the shots ... he is a fighter and a trouper as are you... huge hugs from the Casbah Crew...

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  8. Joan, how did the injection lessons go?

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  9. Karen - they went pretty good, I took a few pictures and meant to write a post last night but didn't get around to it - he seems to be a bit perked up today - I don't know if insulin can affect a dog that quickly, so it's probably just my imagination - so we'll see how he does through the weekend, but hopefully the insulin will make him feel a bit better!

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