Woah! OCTOBER??

Wow. It's sure been a while, eh? Life's been pretty hectic. With the loss of my brother, to Pea's chronic UTI...not having a good Holiday season.

Pea is not doing so hot. Not to worry, nothing life threatening. She's had a UTI for the past month, at least. She's on abx, but golly if it's not a persistent bugger. She also is quite stuffy at night and sometimes during the day. My poor humidifier has been working overtime to say the least! She's still doing well on the Honest Kitchen "Thrive" diet, so that's fantastic! I'd like her to gain another 1/2-1lb at least. It just doesn't want to happen. I still see ribs, but thankfully they're a lot less prominent than they were.

Otherwise, I'm sad to say there's not much more to report. She's still as impish as ever. My other brother is staying with me for a while and said today how he had come down to make lunch and found her snoozing on the couch instead of in her 24" tall expen.... Yeah. No more "heat tent" for Pea. (I put a blanket over 1/2 of the top of the expen to trap in the heat from the radiator along the floor behind it)

Oh, you want MORE Pea stories?? Well, Pea sure likes food. ANY kind of food. And she'll do crazy things to get to it. Like jump out of her 24" tall expen right into my brothers-girlfriend's plate of spaghetti. Knocking the whole thing to the floor. Mental note...no more huge, snuggly, stuffed dogs in Pea's expen either.

Seriously, she is a flying monkey. When she's not jumping on to things, she's climbing up them. Up on the back and arms of the couch. Talk about a heart attack.

I'll be sure to update with more "Pea stories" when they happen. It'll give me something to write here anyways besides, "Nothing to report today". And since I'm off work tomorrow, I'll try to get some more pics to upload. :D

xoxox

S

Update on Pea's Eye Situation

Her lens fell to the back of her eye last night, where it's "supposed" to be. She really isn't in any pain from what I can tell. Her eyes are wide open, and she's as...spunky (to put it nicely)...as ever. We still have an eye appt on Nov 1st. I'll probably update after then with a post. Hopefully I'll get some more shots of The Pea this weekend when I have time, and the lighting is right.

Pea's Eyes

Pea has 2 different eye drops that she gets daily. One is tacrolimus to increase her tear production. And the second is demecarium bromide to keep the pupil in her "floater" eye constricted, so her lens doesn't bounce about causing inflammation. Well, this morning I saw Pea's cataracted lens was laying forward in her eye. This is bad bad. Verrry bad. Last time that happened it became so inflammed and caused her so much pain, she couldn't keep her eyes open. I ran to the kitchen to grab her drops. Hoping if I could get it to fall back, maybe it wouldn't get so bad. Well, of course....I'm out of drops. SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT SHIT. So I'm sure her eyes are going to go all crazy painful again. My poor girl. I've ordered the drops from the vet, hopefully they get here soon.

Which brings me to another thing. These drops are crazy expensive. So I requested a prescription to find out if I could go somewhere local to find them (Her eye doctor is in IL), and possibly get them cheaper...OF COURSE NOT! No one can get a hold of the ingredients (It's a compounded medication). Well, at least I can get the other one at Drs Foster & Smith (they're in WI too, and offer free shipping on their meds!)

I just want to have my own pity party. Don't mind me.

*UPDATE* I may have found a place in Milwaukee that says they can make me demecarium bromide. Thanks to the lovely ladies of SilverHounds for doing a bit of research for me. I've got an email into them to see if they offer them as liquid for eye meds!

I forgot! Dummy....

Well, I'm slow and forgot to try my new blood draw "trick". So we didn't do a curve this weekend. However, she is still doing pretty well on the HK Thrive. Sometimes her urine test strips read a little higher than I like, but I've never gotten a "high" reading yet using them.

I'm a tad worried about her today. I don't know why. Just something keeps bringing her to my mind. I'll feel much better once this day is over.

Artsy Fartsy B/W Pics!

It's been SO LONG!

I know. I know. I hear it in my sleep! I need to post more of The Pea. I'll give it a go. I've become lazy, recently, because she's been doing so well. There isn't much to get excited about!

So The Pea is good. Maybe a little too good. She's a naughty little imp. She lost a bit of weight when I was fighting with her food trying to find one that worked for her. Well now I found one, and I'm sure she'll be back to fab in no time. She's now on The Honest Kitchen "Verve". It smells DELICIOUS! And it's easy for her to eat. I promise I won't change her food again, unless absolutely necessary for her wellbeing.

I love having the little brat around. I finally have a pup who likes to wear clothes! She's the only one, and I'm so glad I didn't donate of all the stuff I bought for the others that they've never used. Today she's sporting her "Boo!" jammies, just for Halloween. I'll definitely try to get a pic. She's so adorable in them. All I'm asking for Christmas is JAMMEEZ for the Pea Monster!

She's also the funniest little thing. She doesn't even try! I find myself laughing at her silly antics more often than not. And it's truely funny. Like when I wake up before the alarm, face to face with a little blind Peanut. Her little tail is just going a mile a minute. I know what she wants. What every girl wants. Food! Or how about when she gets "lost" in another room, and can't find her way to me. She barks her fool head off until I come to the rescue. I think I'm going to teach Fozzie to "Go get Sweet Pea".

She's also fearless. She can get onto the couch just fine. But will get mad if you forget to help her off. When I go over to grab her under the belly to lower her, she'll take a LEAP off of the couch, expecting to be caught and slowly lowered. The poor thing has fallen off the couch more than once doing this. Thankfully, she's a tough 'ol gal. And gets right back up, continuing on to wherever she wanted to go in the first place.

That's about all I got for now. She's still getting 1/4 c of food/meal and 1unit Novolin N. This weekend I'm goin to try a new "trick" I learned for getting a BG reading. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to do a curve to verify just how well she's doing on the new food.

Wish us luck!

xoxox

THE NEW PICTURES!

I have new pics!

I swear I do! I just can't get them off of my card on to the computer!

Pea looks FANTASTIC! I looked down at the the other day, and saw her hip bones were looking mighty covered. I was blown away. The pictures surely don't do her justice. She looks skinnier in them than in real life. I wish I could show someone!

As soon as I get them onto a computer, I will post them. I promise! I'm so excited!!

Hmmmm.....

We seem to be at a stand still when it comes to gaining weight. She actually looks skinnier than before.

Otherwise, there's not much new to report. She's still doing fantastic on the NPH insulin. Her eyes haven't had any more problems. Life is good.

I'm on a mission to find other foods to feed her. Mainly just different protein sources. She's been getting Nature's Variety canned rabbit formula. They've got like 5 different varieties of NV. Hopefully at least ONE will work.

Just cause she's SO FREAKIN CUTE!!

How can you NOT love that face?!?!?

She also looks awesome! You can tell she's gained weight. She just doesn't look *as* skinny. She's still got a little ways to go, though. I'll try to get some pics.

She's doing fantastic on her new insulin! She's NEVER had a urine reading more than 1/2 since the switch, which is awesome! I love good news!!

NEW PICS!!!

So I finally got new pics of The Pea. Yeah, yeah. I'm falling behind. So sue me. We had a bit more to worry about this week than getting pics that aren't showing HUGE change. I'll try to keep up from now on. As you can see, not much change. But it's only been just under two weeks since we made the insulin change. I hope doing so will help her gain.

Speaking of...She seems to be doing well on the 1IU Novolin N BID. I only do urine testing at home (believe me, I'm trying to do blood testing. It's like she has no blood!) When she was on Vetsulin, her urine readings were all over the place at random times of the day, with no rhyme or reason. Now I'm getting consistent negative readings throughout the day. She's NEVER had a reading higher than 1/4 since we switched. I'm a bit concerned about it always being negative, but she's s not showing any signs of going hypo so there is no reason to panic. I am going to lower the dose by 1/4 IU tomorrow, though, to see if that changes anything. Yes, that means she'll be getting 3/4IU BID. No...my needles don't do 1/4 readings. It's an eyeballing deal. But as long as I don't go over 1IU, we'll be good.

Till we meet again...
xoxox

Pea's Eyes...OH HAPPY DAY!

So the night I picked Pea up from the E Vet her right eye "cleared up" again. I was a tad shocked at first. Just 5 minutes before she was totally blind. I called Frank's breeder in the morning and asked. She recommended a great eye doc in Elgin, IL. So I called and made an appt for that day. I had explained what was going on, and she said that her cataract had flipped forward which is what I saw. Then it had flipped back. All this bouncing around inside the eye causes pain and inflammation, which is why Pea was uncomfortable. So they went to do an exam, and realized she had corneal ulcers that weren't healing, so they did a process that scratches the cornea so more white blood cells hurry to the area to help it heal. They sent us home with 4 different eye drops for Pea, and a follow up exam set for today.

Today's exam went FANTASTIC! She's creating tears again (from a "generous" 2 to 22 on those test strip thingies that turn blue), and her corneal ulcers are completely healed! Her pressure is still wonky (zero in her right eye, normal 16 in her left) They didn't say anything about her being able to see, but I'm pretty sure she can. Albeit not very well. But I'll take what I can get. She's continuing on 3 of the 4 drops for now, and we go back in 2 months.

So...Um...I "Fired" My Vet

It seems she knows little about treating diabetes. She was also unwilling to work with me on how to go about treating Pea. Saying something about being legally responsible if Pea dies and she prescribed the human insulin? I spoke with a friend of mine who is a vet tech, and she said they have ALL their diabetic patients on Humulin/Novolin insulin.

I dropped Pea off at the vets at 8am with no food or insulin administered. I had dropped her off with the understanding that we were going to switch her to Novolin insulin, and because I work, she would be under the vets care to make sure the change went okay. At about 9:30am, she called about not having the chart I keep at home, and also got on me about not bringing her Vetsulin. I had explained the reason I believed I had brought her in...changing her insulin. Well, I guess there was a miscommunication between me, her office assistants, and her. As she states she was never told this, and she refused to do it. But did so in this rude and condescending tone. Like the idea of wanting to change insulin was ridiculous, and she certainly knows best because she's the all mighty vet. So I had said then I would be sending someone to come get her. As there was no other reason for her to be there all day.

Had she spoken to me like I was an adult human and not an idiot, I may have continued to bring my other 4 dogs there. Although, any vet who is unwilling to work with their clients is not someone I want to continue to see. I would much rather drive my pets 2 hours away to a vet I *know* is willing to listen and research, and then come back to the client with the positives and negatives.

All day since getting home, Pea's eyes seemed to be bothering her. She didn't want to open them, and just seemed really uncomfortable. So I called the E-Vet, and brought her in. I explained her situation, and they took her in back to do some tests. They also asked to do a BG test, to which I agreed. It was in the 300s at 5pm! I was sick to my stomach. Either she was screwed up because her schedule is between 7am and 7:30am, and she got it today at around 10:00am. Or the old vet never administered her insulin when she said she did.

The E Vet came in and asked a few more questions, and also asked if I would provide her with the full story of what happened in the AM. So I told her about the vet not wanting to change her insulin. Let me say now, this specific E Vet is wonderful (and easily spots a way to make easy money!) She had explained how Vetsulin is becoming harder and harder to come by. And had asked if they could keep her overnight and almost all of tomorrow to change her over to the Novolin! She was very worried because Pea's been here for about a month, and hadn't really put on any weight. Explaining that a dog won't really gain weight until they're regulated (Pea is SEVERELY underweight, and has been since I rescued her). She said another concern was to get Pea on something I could easily come by, and something that isn't overly expensive. If I were gay, I think I would have fallen in love with this woman right there. She said how she was unsure of the dosage because she's used to Humulin, BUT SHE WOULD LOOK IT UP!!! OH.MY.GOD. I sent a text message to my brother telling him he must marry this woman!

So yeah, Pea is spending the night at the E-Vet under the care of someone that seems very trustworthy. This vet seems truly concerned for her welfare. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure she saw $$$ too. But at least my Peanut will be getting good care, and will finally be on the way to getting regulated. It's very sad it had to be by way of an E Vet.

Finally, she is also going to get us in for a visit with the eye vet. I called and got an appt for SEPTEMBER! She said she'd definitely get us in sooner, but that they won't even want to see us unless she's regulated.

I'm so relieved right now. And while I very much miss my Sweet Pea, I know she'll be back soon. Plus it's a nice mini vacation from having to poke her twice a day.

xoxox

For my records, Pea was having hypoglycemic seizure like activity on the night of 07/07/08. I have video of it taken with my cell phone. Her right eye now has a full cataract and she is completely blind in that eye. That happened overnight 07/08/08 to 07/09/08. The Novolin insulin was first administered with her PM meal by the E Vet on 07/09/08.

Not really any new info

She's still on 2u insulin BID. Still eating 1/3 can of Nature's Variety Instinct-rabbit formula each meal. Aunt Holly is sending us Tripett, too! NOM NOM!! I'll be buying a glucose meter when I get the chance, and hopefully be able to do my own glucose curves at home. Excel has a nifty button that makes a graph of all the data entered on the spreadsheet. I'm hoping to figure out exactly how to use it, and be able to fax those graphs to the vet. If anyone has any ideas on the least painful/most effective/smallest sample meter, let me know. Pea will thank you!

From the Beginning...

Pea was on 3u Vetsulin when she came to me, so that's what we kept her on. She had a curve done last week. My vet lowered the dose to 2u BID. Though, I'm not sure it's working as it should. From what I'm understanding she should be at a fairly level rate throughout the day? Well, she's never really been level. I only test urine at home, and while it's easy to get a morning sample I have a hard time getting an evening sample at the same time every day.

So far the morning samples have been neg. Per the advice of my vet we'll be lowering her evening dose to 1 1/2u. Her evening sample, though, is always very high. Like 200 every time. This is both before AND after she's been fed/given insulin +/- a few hours! Once I had fed her at 7:30pm and was unable to get a urine sample until 11:30pm. It came out neg. Getting her regulated is becoming quite frustrating! I'm afraid if it keeps up I'm going to be doing her more harm than good.

I'll be trying to get a few pictures of her to show if we've gotten any progress. As always, comments and advice are always welcome.

Sweet Pea!

I met Sweet Pea for the first time in Las Vegas on 06.06.08. I've never seen a dog in such bad shape. She weighed almost nothing. Every vertebrae, every rib, every bone in her itty bitty body showed. Her right eye is clouded with cataracts, her left would have followed suit soon without proper care.


Our vet visit on Tuesday (06.10.08)turned out uneventful. She weighed 7.7lbs and had all of the available bloodwork done. Today (06.12.08), though, was a bit different. I had set up an appointment to have Pea go in for a glucose curve. A glucose curve is where they keep her to monitor her blood glucose levels throughout the day. This gives an idea of when and how much insulin she'll need daily. Pea was getting three (3) units 2x/day with her meals. When her blood was checked this morning, without food or insulin, she was at 317. At 8:30am she was fed, and given her shot. Three hours later (11:30am) her level had dropped to 118. At 1:30pm it was close to 90. At 3:30pm it was at it's lowest (mid 70's). By 5:30pm, the blood glucose level had begun to rise again. The vet thought that all of the stress of a car ride and being there could have raised her levels and could have thrown off the test. We definitely don't want them to go lower. From now on, we're going to do two (2) units 2x/day with her meals. I was thinking of having them do another curve in a month or two to verify we're on the right track.

Please feel free to post your experiences, ideas, thoughts, whatever! Pea loves to read mail!! And I'm sure she'd love to see just how many people are rooting for her.

I Be Pea!

Sweet Pea is the newest member of my pack. She's diabetic, severely underweight, almost blind and just about toothless. I fell in love from the moment I laid eyes on her. I started this blog so everyone, as well as I, could track her progress. It's going to be slow, but I have no doubt in my mind it'll happen.