Last updated: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 08:14:05
It is now Sat, 2 Jan 2010 07:13:23
Last updated: Tue, 3 Nov 2009 08:14:05
It is now Sat, 2 Jan 2010 07:13:23
On 2 November 2009, the U.S. FDA published a warning to veterinarians about a problem with the insulin named Vetsulin, an insulin commonly used for diabetic dogs, and perhaps some cats.
Quoting from the warning, the insulin: ".... may have varying amounts of crystalline zinc insulin in the formulation."
This means the person injecting the dog (or cat) has no way of knowing just how the insulin will behave - what its duration will be in the body. A potential exists, then, for hyperglycemia (too-high blood glucose levels), or hypoglycemia (too-low blood glucose levels), if you happen to have a vial with unknown quantities of the crystalline portion of the insulin.
Human caretakers of diabetic animals who are receiving Vetsulin should check with their veterinarians for further instructions.
Hi! I am VekToria, VekToriAna for short, call name Vekkie. I joined Kwali and Kumbi and Carol on 8 February, 2008, right in the middle of a dog-walk past Parrot-Lady's home. I've become part of the family. All welcomed me very warmly, as indeed, they should. I have been working hard - well, playing! - with talking about diabetic dogs, and what can be done to keep them in glowing good health, so that you'd never know they were diabetic.
Carol has given me lots of latitude and longitude to play here on Coherent Dog, and I am using it.
Expect changes here! If ever you start feeling too unstable, I will ask Skyhook to deliver progeny to you, so you can anchor yourself as needed.
Return to Finding your way around Coherent Dog
Many of the pages here are in a particular order, where one page adds information to previous stuff. These pages have buttons above the main picture on the page, which say PREV, UP, and NEXT, in that order.
YOu can use the NEXT button on each page to go to the next page. Use the PREV button to go back in the reverse direction. If you get lost, use the UP button to go to lists of pages in the section. If you don't get the list you want, try the UP button on that page for the next higher list!
Main pages have vertical lists of links down their right sides; these can help you locate the main areas of the Playground. If the main picture on the page is very big, these links sometimes drop down to the bottom of the page, so just scroll down to see them.
The Merry Measure area has Fast-Track links to take you through the highlights of measurement and dosing with insulin, for those who want a quick tour without studying all the details. You can jump in and out of the Fast-Track areas, by using your browser's Back button, or by using the PREV, UP and NEXT buttons..
And now that Vekkie's Site Map is finally in order, you can always go there to find your trail again. Or call for a Trailing Vine to guide you.
Here I am, with my Skyhook. She is as trustworthy as are well-cared-for dogs, and I stake my life on her help, as you will see.
Vekkie with SkyHook
A loving relationship
And a trusting one, too.
Photo by Almali
Now I open the rest of this page to Carol, to let her deliver a few notes.
Do use your browser's Back button to return here from the maelstrom of links in the next paragraphs.
For humans who are part-dog, I suggest exploring Vekkie's Diabetes Playground in considerable detail, because Vekkie herself seems clearly to be part-dog, at least in temperament and predilection, and her stories appear to bear this out. Furthermore, her companions, SkyHook, SkyLightOutside, SkyLightInside, Carlova and the CarSisters, and above all, Little Novie and Big Vetsie, into whom Vekkie herself breathed life, are very obviously part-dog.
Therefore, the entire Playground is chock-full (of course, not a shock in sight, apart from that one Lightning Strike), of Stories, both Invented and Real, that dogs themselves might have told.
You will probably need Vekkie's Site Map to help you locate the variety of stories, amazing and mundane (that is, very worldly) to help you track your paths through Vekkie's Forests.
If ever you get lost, though, the TrailVine will willingly guide you, especially with SkyLightOutside to light your way.
On 1 September, 2006, just as we had come through in fine fettle after knee surgery for Kumbi, and a year later, for Kwali, Kumbi was diagnosed with diabetes.
Diabetes changed our lives. Talk about regulation! With diabetes, food, exercise and insulin are all crucial factors. Food and insulin is best delivered on a strict schedule. I haven't met strict schedules for many years, since retiring, but I set up my computer calendar program, CalendarScope, to set off daily alarms to keep me on-track, feeding and shooting Kumbi on time.
It took us more than a year to get the insulin dose finely tuned so that Kumbi is in glowing health once again. Meantime, he went almost completely blind from diabetic cataracts. We cannot afford surgery, and if we could, the stress would be more than Kwali and Kumbi could take, as we would have to travel and stay in hotels. Kumbi enjoys his life and finds his way around despite his very severely impaired vision. Let nobody tell you a blind dog can't have fun!
When Kumbi was diagnosed with diabetes, I was cheerful enough about it, because my veterinarian was cheerful. That really helped! She had confidence in me and in Kumbi.
I did, though, find myself very overwhelmed by having to reorganize my scheduling so drastically, working to a strict schedule, helping both dogs adjust to mealtimes twelve hours apart, when they had been accustomed to having more frequent meals. I put Kwali on the same high-fiber, restricted-fat diet that I was feeding Kumbi, as Kwali is getting old, born 12 April 1995, and the diet seemed to suit her well. But both dogs found it hard at first to wait a full 12 hours for food, especially during the day.
It wasn't until I had become adjusted to the new schedules myself that I began to explore to find email lists where other humans who have diabetic animal companions exchange messages with each other.
When finally I did go exploring, I found an email list called Muffin. Muffin? Odd name, I thought. Well, of course, Muffin was a dog who had died years and years ago; was diabetic - and belonged to the owner of the email list. The list-owner had been running the list ever since - over ten years now. I subscribed, and really enjoyed the list, and quickly made new friends there.
The Muffin email list has become my home for discussions concerning diabetic dogs. Plenty of human Muffins, as I like to call them, also have diabetic cats. Cats respond somewhat differently from how dogs do to having diabetes, and usually different insulins are used for cats.
Here on Coherent Dog, because I haven't personal experience with diabetic cats, I'm concentrating on the dogs. But the Muffin list should be both delightful and helpful for humans with diabetic cat companions, as well as those of us with diabetic dogs.
You will find the Muffin Pet Diabetes Web Site at the Muffin Diabetic Pets Association
The Muffin Pet Diabetes Association does all in its power to assist diabetic dogs and cats whose human keepers cannot afford the food, syringes, insulin, or vet bills their companion animals need. To this end, they have a sponsorship system, so that those who can afford to assist others may do so. If you might be interested in sponsoring a needy dog or cat, you will find more information at Pets Needing Sponsors.
