Cooper - diabetes and cushings - sweet Cooper has passed

[juliwilliams]

Finally I have some good news!! Cooper's cushings seems to be under control. His ACTH test Thursday was pre 2.7 and post 7.1!!

His glucose curve was worse than his last one, his numbers were in the 300s and 400s all day. We're going to try cutting his insulin back from 30 to 14 units to see if he's been overdosing on insulin. I'm going to start hometesting his glucose as soon as I get all the stuff I need.

We also did a urine culture and we're waiting for the results but I think he has another bladder infection. Hopefully we'll know by Monday.

[Harley PoMMom]

Are all Cooper's Cushing's symptoms controlled? If, so, then those are good numbers!!

[juliwilliams]

Hmmm, I can't tell if the symptoms are controlled. He's got so much else going on, it's hard to say what's causing what. He's still drinking a lot (actually it's increased lately), but I think he's got a new bladder infection which would cause the excessive drinking. He's always looking for food, but his diabetes isn't controlled and that could make him hungry.

His excessive panting has stopped though even though the temperatures have really warmed up here the last week.

[Skye]

hey
stopping by to see how things are........
did he have a bladder infection? increased drinking might be from warmer weather do you think? i hope all is okay. i am glad to see some test results came back with good numbers.

[juliwilliams]

I keep forgetting which forums I've posted in! I'm on this group and the k9diabetes forums too.

Yes, he does have another bladder infection and it's the same bacteria that it has been the last 2 cultures. It must be hiding out in his system somewhere!

There's been no change good or bad on his new insulin dose other than drinking a bit more. His glucose meter should get here on Wednesday and I'll do a curve on Friday (although I plan on playing around a bit on Thursday to figure the thing out!)

[juliwilliams]

It's been awhile since I posted here. I'he been sticking mostly to the k9diabetes forum since the cushings seems to be pretty well managed right now.

I do have a cushings question though. Will an ACTH test cause blood glucose levels to rise for a few days afterwards?

Cooper went in for a blood glucose curve, ACTH test, and urine culture Friday. I had increased his insulin by 2 units that week. His curve was worse than the week before. The curve was done in the morning followed by his ACTH test. I took a few readings today and his numbers were even higher.
Last week: blood glucose in the 200s and 300s, 28 units insulin
Friday: blood glucose in the 300s and 400s, 30 units insulin
Saturday: boll glucose in the 400s and 500s, 30 units insulin

Someone on the k9diabetes forum thought that the ACTH test could be the cause of today's increased levels. Is that possible?

Cooper seems to have been free from a bladder infection for a few weeks, but I think he may have developed a new one a few days ago. I'll know Monday when the urine culture results come back. We just can't seem to keep these bladder infections away long enough to regulate his insulin dose.

[molly muffin]

It is possible that the ACTH could cause it to rise for a bit. In some dogs we see more symptoms for the first day to 48 hours after an ACTH test. If he has a bladder infection though that too could be affecting this BG.
I'm glad that his cushings is mostly controlled. I think that diabetes can be much harder to get control of than cushings.

You're doing great though keeping on top of all of this. It can get so confusing, when everything seems to affect everything else.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[juliwilliams]

Thanks! This has been far tougher than I ever imagined! We've been so close to just giving up so many times and I must admit I'm there again. My husband thinks we should just leave him at his current doses of medicines and stop with all the testing and adjusting. But that's just because he's not the one who has to let him out twice a night when he has bladder infections! I swear it's like having a newborn in the house again!

We had a glimmer of hope for about a week where he seemed to be feeling better but the last few days he's been back to his sick self. I really wonder what sort of pain he's in and what his real quality of life is like. I feel like we keep saying he's got go turn a corner soon, but he just never does.

[molly muffin]

None of this is easy and it can at times be quite heart breaking. Only you know what Cooper's quality of life is, as you know him best. I know sometimes that is more guessing then true knowledge. If he seems happy to see you, and he wags his tail, wouldn't mind playing a bit and hanging out with you, then those are things that you can use to try and figure out how he is doing quality wise. It still isn't easy though. I know it would be much better if the infections would stop and the insulin could be brought under control. You're right k9diabetes is a wonderful group and very supportive and knowledgeable.

hugs,
Sharlene and Molly Muffin

[doxiesrock912]

Juli, ask your vet about Tylan powder.
I just went through something similar with Daisy. She kept getting diarrhea. I stopped the meds for a time to see if they were causing this and nothing changed.

Dogs can have underlying systemic infections, like e-Coli which take a bit of time to eradicate. Daisy's diarrhea was constant and so bad! Baytril worked but as soon as I stopped it, the diarrhea came back worse than ever.

The Tylan powder is a natural form of antibiotic so there is also less chance of becoming resistant to it.

The medical name is Tylosin.

Might be worth a shot.