edit 06/20/11: **after several books finally showing up at their destination I have 12 more credits available**

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Thanks to SO MANY of you wonderful people out there who wanted to help with my minpin Tracker's vet bill/meds I ran out of credits that I could send out last month.

A few others asked me to let them know when I had more credits available if Tracker was still in need of help. I'm sorry to say that he is still in need of help with the vet bills, as his blood glucose levels still aren't down in the safe range which means that his insulin doseage hasn't been regulated yet, so he will have to keep going for weekly "curves" until they find a dose that brings it down.  :o(

At last check, when they tested him several times in one day (they call this "getting a blood glucose curve" ) and it was still 478 at it's lowest---and he was taking 4 units of insulin a day.   They upped it to 6 units a day and though I can tell he's some better--MUCH less drinking/peeing---he is still losing weight very rapidly (1lb a WEEK for the last 4 weeks, even though I haven't cut down on his kibble), which is a sign of his blood glucose level still being high.  :o(

So now he has to go back this Friday for another all day "curve" to see if the BG is down and if he needs to have his insulin dose upped yet again.

I just hope they don't want him to go to more than 2 shots a day---not only would that mean more trauma for him (he really hates getting shots!) , and more syringes to buy  but it already looks like a drug addict lives here what with all the needles in the trash. *lol*

(I do put them in tightly sealed containers so that the trash pickup guys can't get stabbed)

Anyway, if anyone would like to help with this next all day vet visit,  I have 25 credits  (so far) that I can send out this month and should have more in a couple of weeks.

$2.70 ea or $2.60 ea. if someone would like to take all 25 at once.  Funded PayPal...PM for details.

Words are not enough to express how much I appreciate all the help, prayers and well wishes that Tracker received last month but I do want to say "Thank You, So Much!!"  to you all. :'o)

~D

>>> Thanks so much, Ginger!!  Your credits have been sent. :o)

And Tracker sends his thanks as well, even though he is NOT looking forward to another day at the vet tomorrow. :o\

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I still have 22 credits available as of today, but should have another 5 available in the next few days when the books in transit are recieved.

I just heard from the vet about the results of his first blood glucose level for the day:  438

Not good--better than the first result the last time they did a BG Curve (off the scale @ >500) but still not good. :o(

I do try to convince myself that it is USUALLY lower than what the vet gets on his test because of the stress factor---Tracker REALLY gets nervous...panting yawning and shivering every time he goes to the vet. :o(

Hopefully the next test will be somewhat lower, as the first was taken 1 hr after his 3 units of insulin and he's taking Humulin N, which is an internediate acting insulin.

On a slightly more upbeat note:
He *must* be feeling better in general because he not only chased but caught and ATE a baby bunny rabbit yesterday!  If I had seen him trying to eat it before he was swallowing the last bite (yes, he ate the WHOLE THING--hair, ears, bones and ALL!) I'd have taken it away from him, but I was too late. :o\

I missed him for about 5 min and went looking...he was in his bed -- and snatched up the last tidbit as I reached to take it and see what he had. If I hadn't found a tiny puff of hair and some blood smears on his bed I wouldn't ahve known he ate anything. :o\

The bad part about that story--other than the poor baby bunny! :'o( --is that since he's eaten a varmint he has to be treated with Drontal Plus in case he's caught worms from the rabbit.  *sigh* another fee for the vet to collect, as it's not sold OTC at reg. stores. (at least not anywhere near me...if anyone knows where to  get Drontal Plus Wormer Tablets at a chain store, please PM me?)

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Got the noon test result: 492      Higher.  :'o(

another test at 4PM....

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4PM test result: 489   :o(

Insulin doseage changed to 4 units, twice a day and back for another curve test in 2 weeks

I'm so worried he'll have cataracts before long nto to mention kidney and liver damage if his levels don't come down soon. :'o(

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Anyway, I still have 22 credits left, with more coming in the next few days....

There is an upside to the rabbit story DJ, a friend of mine figured out her dog ate a rabbit because he deposited the head on her bedroom floor later that night. At least Tracker had the courtesy to keep to himself what he ate! Somehow I think rabbits are good carb count for diabetics I know for cats the best diet is whole mice. blech!

Hopefully numbers come down or an insulin increase proves beneficial. Doing a curve at the vets seems so conterproductive when stress raises BGs and vets raise stress levels! At least if he is feeling better you know you are going in the right direction.

Hi, Melanie! - didn't see your post here until I had already PM'd you this morning...

I SO totally agree about the stress causing skewed test results! :o(

And yeah, rabbit is better than if he'd gotten into a bag of Doritos, that's for sure!  ;o)    The receptionist at the vet says her cat, who is diabetic, can't have ANYTHING  except all meat and since she doesn't want to feed mice she feeds Charlie Fancy Feast Classic---which is an all meat product.  Charlie tries to steal the other cat's crunchy food because he has always loved to "crunch" on something so she's going to bake his FFC into little hard "treats" for him to make him feel less deprived. :o)

Melanie has just  bowled me over by taking all the credits I had available at this time. :'o)

Thank you, so much, Melanie!!

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I hope to have more credits available in a few days.

I can transfer 22 more this month.

A big Thank You to everyone out there who has helped Tracker on his way to getting healthy. :'o)

**after several books finally showing up at their destination I have 12 more credits available**

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Tracker update: I tested his BG here at home the other day and it was 401.  And this was without the added stress of being at the vet.  :o(

I don't know why it was so high compared to the last home test I did---same food, same exercise...

I feel like we take 1 step forward and two steps back. :o(

QUESTIONS: Has anyone had experience using HUMULIN N insulin---either for animals or humans?

My question is this: Have you ever seen it "separate"? (if you've dealt with Humulin N you know that a new bottle looks rather like watery milk---uniformly white.)  I was still using the original bottle that the vet started Tracker on when suddenly, 2 days ago, it separated---a very defined "clear" section and all the white powder settled to the bottom!  Even after gently mixing it well---as I always had done, with every injection--it would separate again within about 5 minutes.  I bought another bottle as soon as I saw it separating like that but would hate to waste it if it's still good---there was almost half a bottle still left!   As you all know from this post, Tracker's medical bills are swamping me this last month or so.  I did ask my vet's office and they told me that as long as there were no "crystals" in it and it had been kept refrigerated I could continue to use it until it was all gone, as long as the expiration date hasn't passed---that it would be fine.  Pharmacists have told me that it is ONLY good for 30 days after the first dose is drawn up, no matter if is refridgerated or not, and no matter how far off the expiration date is.  Very conflicting information, huh? :o\

So, if anyone knows the answer to this dilema, please PM or reply here.

Thanks for reading. :o)
~DJ