Type 1 Diabetes

Hello,

Our rescue Staffy, aged 10ish, has just been diagnosed with diabetes (type 1) & will need insulin injections twice daily.

Does anyone else have any experience of this please ? Will she regain good health once on the insulin ? Any difficulties re exercise ? - (I took her for a SHORT walk on Sat & she was exhausted & SOOOOo thirsty). Are the injections successful re thirst & excessive weeing ?   

She has a day at the vets tomorrow to  stabilise & find insulin dose then we should be able to inject twice daily from home from Tues. Prior to this week she was a usual healthy happy Staff

Thank you in advance

Awww poor Bella

I've no experience sorry but would think the drinking etc should all settle down to normal once the insulin dosage is right. I don't see why it should be any different from humans who have it

Hi
We just found out my partners dog who is 9 has diabetes also & is going to need insulin. I've done a little research on diet etc I'm thinking maybe wellness core reduced fat dog food for him? If you have any recommendations & advice about how to maintain a healthy lifestyle for him i would be very grateful.
Many thanks

HI there

One of friends has two dogs with type 1 and insulin dependant and the best thing she does is have a set routine for the injections and feeding is mainly all healthy food and treats. She found having the set routine made a big difference and the dogs got used to it and waited for there injections.

Best wishes and all will work out great

Thank you for your reply.

The food i have found is a good quality meat based protein food, grain free & low in fat which is what I think he should be getting?? Yes I have read having a set meal times for injections, regular excerise etc will all help.

His parents are taking him to the vets on Saturday to discuss medication & things for him but I know how vets can be trying to make you buy their food etc so trying to do a bit of research about what's best & get any advice for them before attending.

Thank you again

Hi ya, welcome to the forum from Flo and me. I've no experience of this but do agree that doing your own research into feed is a good idea, most vets tend to sell certain brands and will suggest those over anything else. A good quality healthy feed should help.

Hello there,

Tyson17 I actually started this thread over a year ago when Bella was first diagnosed. I'm VERY pleased to say that she is healthy, happy & well & we are doing just great with the insulin  / diabetes routine now:)  

Type 1 diabetes isn't weight related (Bella hasn't ever been at all over weight) so for us the food wasn't a change & we just kept same good diet.

We DID have to amend the routine to be somewhat restrictive & to start I felt this was a real shame & would "cramp our style" BUT we've totally adapted & it's now just completely normal. She HAS to eat breakfast & tea at a certain time, so that she can have her insulin injection at a set time, 12hrs apart morning & evening & can't have too many treats, (& NO human junk stuff but we didn't do this anyway) but apart from this she's her usually happy staffy self.

The biggest problem we continue to experience is the cost!! which is an ongoing worry for us but whilst we possibly can we will - You can find medical grade (exact same as the vet) needles, & even glucose curve kits online for a fraction of the price. You can also get a prescription for the caninsulin & then again buy online but check the price we've actually found the vet cheapest on this one. I do really worry about the cost though.

Hope this helps, best of wishes with it all, hope it all goes just fine. Bella will be 11 in July & she's doing great. In usually staffy fashion she doesn't even notice the injection now (people may have noticed they're a good ole hardy breed ;-) & she just gets on with it.

Thank you so much for your reply it's really helped put our minds at ease!

Tyson isn't over weight but has been fed a basic brand food as to why I'm looking into a quality feed for him. What do you feed if you dont mind me asking please?
My partners parents have retired & Tyson lives with them so adapting to a routine for him won't be a problem.
One thing that was a worry was the cost as he's not insured. I did suggest he gets his medication online as I've done that myself before depending on the price the vets come up with.

So happy to hear your girl is doing so well! Fingers crossed we can help give tyson more happy years to come

Hello,

We use James Wellbeloved. The normal age (as oppose to senior as the senior is lower calorie but she actually needs the calories!) Their usual range is wheat free pork free etc but we buy the grain free