Help needed with a newly diagnosed doggy

[Pwilli37]

Hi everyone, my boy Roofus (doggy) has been diagnosed in the last few hours with having diabetes, he’s been poorly over the last few weeks, constantly drinking about 10 pints of water a day and peeing every hour, really lethargic and no life in himself. So we took him on Saturday where they dip a wee dip and a ear prick which was a little undecisive as there was glucose found in his wee but his blood came back ok but vet seem to think that if he did have it we have caught it at really early stages...! We were sent away and told to produce another wee sample in a weeks time. Roofus has gradually got worse over the last few days and we ended up taking him to Emergancy out of hours early hrs this morning where it was confirmed he had diabetes we now have to go back this afternoon to discuss treatment and where we go from here. After reading up what’s the best way to go?! Can we request a prescription for insulin and source it from else where?! What kind of diet do we have to think about and where do ppl source there kits from like needles and glucose test strips etc?! This is a lot to take in and think about as I’m so upset with how he’s gone as he’s usually a happy lively dog for his age. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Pine Marten]

Oh dear, @Pwilli37, that's awful ... I have no advice, I'm afraid, never having had that experience with pets (although years ago my mum had a dog with epilepsy, and I've had cats with long-term medication), so I'm sending virtual {{{hugs}}} to you and Roofus

Hopefully someone else will come along with practical advice.

 

[trophywench]

I understand it's a different strength of insulin used for animal use, so presumably you'd only get it from a vets pharmacy?

 

[Pumper_Sue]

You would be better off looking on a dog forum for help and advice.
Saying that though I had a Collie many years ago who developed diabetes and he shared my insulin no problem, as long as you balance his food and insulin there's no reason for your dog not to live a long happy life. My boy died aged over 15 years of age on Christmas eve from a unrelated problem.

 

[Ralph-YK]

An actual dog. Hmmm Doses ect would be completely different. Meds use depends on the size/weight of the animal. Dogs diet, and I think their digestion, is different.

 

[Ralph-YK]

Saying that though I had a Collie many years ago who developed diabetes and he shared my insulin no problem, as long as you balance his food and insulin

Interesting @Pumper_Sue

 

[Leo]

A colleague at work has a cat that 6 months ago was diagnosed with Acromegaly which caused his diabetes. The vet was prescribing insulin and I think that insulin was dispensed at the vet practice. Just a heads up, as pets don’t have the NHS to fall back on and unless you have insurance it can be quite expensive depending on how much insulin your little darling requires.
Because of his diagnosis the vet will automatically prescribe insulin if that is what he needs.
I hope this helps and I wish Roofus all the best. x

 

[rebrascora]

Many people get their glucose monitors and test strips from Amazon. The CodeFree model (approx. £13) is best value as it has the cheapest test strips (@£8 for a pot of 50) which are where the costs tend to tot up pretty quickly. I assume blood glusode testing is going to be the same for animals as humans so a human test kit will be the cheapest option. There are companies which will dispense animal medicines via vet's prescriptions.... HyperDrug is such a company, but I don't know if they do insulin or not. Your vet will charge you for providing a prescription even if you then take it elsewhere like Hyperdrug to pay for it to be dispensed so sometimes it is best just getting the medication itself from the vet.

 

[Hismum]

There's a brilliant Facebook group, UK Diabetic Dogs, which helped me when my late dog was diagnosed.