Underweight diabetic

by **glitterqueen80** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:32 am

I have 7 year old who was diagnosed with diabetes a couple years ago. She gets 8 units of insulin twice a day and she had been on Science Diet W/d prescription food but was constantly pooping and eating it, had bad breath, lethargic and was severely underweight. We decided to switch her food to something more nutritious and grain free with less fiber to help her weight. She now gets 3 cans of merrick cowboy cookout and her breath got great, back to high energy and playful with normal urine and bowel movements. But she lost more weight! We tried giving her an extra can a day and it made her breath smell again, lethargic and severely flatulent. I am at a loss of what to do. Please help, we have been to 3 different vets and they know nothing of nutrition and don't know how to help her weight.

by **Celesteandthebullies** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 12:46 pm

Could you post a picture of her so we can get a better idea of how much weight she needs to gain?

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 12:58 pm

The reason your vet prescribed w/d is because studies have shown that fiber helps slow the absorption of glucose. So putting her on a high-protein, low-carb diet is the opposite of the type of diet to help her regulate her blood sugar.

If you're concerned about commercial diets, I would consider having your vet contact petdiets.com and have a veterinary nutritionist formulate a diet specifically for her condition.

by **PITtsburgher** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 4:10 pm

If I were you I would look for an Internal Medicine specialist vet and then possibly a board-certified veterinary nutritionist. If there is a vet school near you they will have those services, or you can look up a vet specialty center near you. It may be that the diabetes is not well regulated or that there is another metabolic condition going on as well. It must be extremely frustrating to be in your position, but if 3 regular vets can't figure it out I don't think lay people on the internet are going to figure it out either... a specialist is your best bet. Hope your baby feels better soon!

by **Timas Mom** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 4:52 pm

"The reason your vet prescribed w/d is because studies have shown that fiber helps slow the absorption of glucose. So putting her on a high-protein, low-carb diet is the opposite of the type of diet to help her regulate her blood sugar."

Royal Canin Vet rx diabetic formula is high protein

Are the ingredients better, not in my opinion , but I'm afraid low protein high fibre is not the only opt even in vet rx food.

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 5:15 pm

I didn't say it was the only option, I explained why vets prescribe it.

by **Misskiwi67** » Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:45 pm

w/d is still the preferred diabetic diet for dogs. Unlike cats, carbohydrates do not affect glycemic control, but fiber does. Therefore, a high fiber diet is strongly recommended for diabetic dogs.

If your dog is underweight, I would concentrate less on the diet and more on glycemic control. When was your dogs last glucose curve and what were the results? If the diabetes is not properly controlled, then your dog is losing calories in an uncontrolled manner through its urine, and this is far more important than the calories your dog is eating.

by **glitterqueen80** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 1:26 am

Well studies have not been conclusive on high fiber diets affecting glucose levels. One of the vets even admitted to us that the high fiber diet is mainly for overweight dogs who get diabetes and have to lose weight for their health to improve. W/D is specifically formulated for weight control. Jezebel was already on the smaller side when diagnosed and then proceeded to lose 20lbs since. She had several curves done as well as monitoring and was regulated but lost weight due to the diet. So hence our change. She has been on the Merrick for 2 weeks we r planning on doing a curve tomorrow which is the first on the new food.

P.s.
I will post some pics in the morning

by **glitterqueen80** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 3:39 pm

This first one taken October 2010

March 2012

2 weeks ago

Today

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 4:30 pm

beautiful girl.

Have they ruled out other concurrent diseases?

I hope you find an answer soon.

by **glitterqueen80** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:29 pm

she has been tested and retested for all kinds of things and everything always results in basically a shrug and a pat on the back. After a lot of research we are starting to think it may be Cushings because it's symptoms mimics diabetes and/or can be hard to diagnose when a dog has diabetes. I have also read Diabetes is a symptom of Cushing's. So if after a couple curves in the next few days shows her sugar is well regulated (which I think it will) I feel as tho that is the next thing we need to check for?
:po:

by **AllisonPibbleLvr** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 5:41 pm

Her case sounds much like that of a schnauzer that comes to our clinic-- it took months of testing and visits to the vet college here before they have him stabilized.

by **Misskiwi67** » Wed Aug 01, 2012 6:28 pm

have you done a 24 hour glucose curve? Its hard to do a proper glucose curve at a traditional clinic due to the hours of operation, so doing a glucose curve at home may be a better plan. My clinic charges a consultation charge of about $45 to interpret a curve done at home, so its also much cheaper than a clinic curve in most cases.

The glucose would be measured every 2 hours for 12 hours in a traditional curve, and every 2 hours for 24 hours in an extended curve. What you are looking for is evidence of the somogyi effect, which can be a cause for poor regulation.