Catching up

Whew! What happened. Last I knew I was going about my days, things doing all right, and then I was offered a bunch of work. I’ve been trying to play catch up ever since! It’s hard to complain when I have more work than I want, especially knowing so many who would give anything to have work, but at this point I need to slow down enough to catch up.

Things are good with the weight loss. I’m down over 13 pounds in 20 days on this round, over 37 pounds in total since I started. I’m feeling good, and since I’ve started taking a bit of fruit with me in the mornings I haven’t had any further blood sugar issues.

The dog is doing well. He has regained 2 1/2 pounds of the 3 that he had lost, and the vet was amazed at how fast he turned around. I’m glad I could put my nursing skills to good use, and he spent no time in doggie hospital. He also developed an eye problem and the antibiotic drops I was using weren’t helping. It turns out he had a dry eye, and twice a day drops of doggie restasis cleared that up literally overnight! Hopefully now he won’t come up with any other interesting problems, and things will be smooth for him for the foreseeable future.

I still have work to do, but I’d rather go see what everyone else has been doing so I’m off to check on the other blogs I follow.

In keeping with my new theme, here’s a random photo – I spotted a bunch of snails munching on a bromiliad flower one day, and thought it made an interesting photo.

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Today it’s my blood sugar

I’ve been talking about my dog, and trying to get his blood sugar down. Today, it was me and trying to get my blood sugar up.

Dr Simeons mentions in “Pounds and Inches” that it is possible to have a low blood sugar reaction but I never paid much attention. That wouldn’t happen to me. I had no problems in round 1, but this time it’s happened to me 3 times.

The first time was last Sunday and I was away from home. I’ve had quite a lot of trouble with hot flashes on my P3/P4 break from HCG so at first I thought that is what it was. After 30-60 minutes though, I was sweating continuously and feeling bad, nausea, dizzy, and very fuzzy headed. I should have figured it out a lot faster than I did! When I did, I ate my lunch and my friend gave me a couple bites of Cliff bar, and I improved and stopped sweating. I still didn’t feel well in general though even the next day, and it was the following day before I felt like myself again.

The second time was Tuesday, and I’m not totally sure it was that. I just wasn’t feeling right so I ate a half teaspoon of honey, and the rest of the day went well.

Then today it happened again. I had just come home from work and was standing in the kitchen talking with my husband. I realized I was having trouble following what he was saying, and then the sweat started trickling down my back and face. This time I took a whole teaspoon of honey and it passed in a few minutes. I have had no after effects, I think because I caught it so quickly this time.

I have a small container of honey in the car for emergencies now! I’m wondering if I should rethink my mornings. Every time it has happened about lunch time before I have had anything to eat for the day. Maybe I should have part of my lunch protein in the morning?

Meanwhile, the dog is getting a break. I haven’t had the time to closely monitor him today so I left him at the same dose. Tomorrow I will try raising his dose another unit and see how he does. I can already see an improvement in the excessive drinking and peeing though, so we’re on to something.

our bloodless dog – continuing the process of caring for a diabetic dog

We are learning how to manage our dog with diabetes. I’m a nurse. I know this stuff! But, I never thought it would be such a challenge to get blood out of a dog! He doesn’t have handy fingers I can poke when I need a sample.

The vet said poke his ear (didn’t work) Instructions I found on line said poke his inner lip, skin near the base of the tail, “thumb” on the back of his front legs, elbow (none worked). I finally got frustrated with tormenting the dog with so little success, so I went back to the vet who explained where to find an easy vein. I don’t even like poking veins on people! But, it seems with a tiny insulin syringe and a lot of luck, and my hubby holding the dog and providing encouragement, I am having some success without upsetting the dog too much.

Actually, I think the dog is enjoying the attention and extra reward treats much more than he dislikes the poking. But, unfortunately his blood sugars are still 300-500+. I increased the insulin by another unit at supper, still 431 tonight (goal is below 200 at least part of the time). So, we shall see what tomorrow brings.

Thank goodness for a very good dog who is being very patient with me!

The dog has diabetes

I have a great Jack Russel! He’s so full of life, mischief, love, intelligence, and he’s just a super little dog.

He’s been drinking more and more water though, and I’ve been noticing he looks thinner. Today his blood tests confirmed my suspicions. He has diabetes. I’m very thankful that it is something manageable and not something deadly. I’m also very thankful for my nursing experience. This isn’t going to be much different than managing a person with new diabetes and insulin. It’s just going to be different checking blood sugars on a dog who probably won’t be too happy with me pricking his ear. He would be much unhappier being stuck at the vet for a few days though to get regulated, and so would I!

Wish us luck!