And then one became two...
Friday, March 10, 2006
Instead of one patient at home, I now have two.
In addition to taking care of my dad, I am now taking care of my dog. Last Friday, we took Toby to the vet. He had been drinking tons of water, wobbling around with legs so weak that he couldn’t even stand up and not eating. NOT EATING! Do you know how rare this is for my dog? So you can imagine that we were a bit concerned when all these things started to happen at once. Not to mention that, after drinking so much water, he was a walking pee fountain. That was NOT fun. We even got him doggy diapers to stem the tide, but it only worked *most* of the time.
The vet told us that he had become diabetic. Apparently, it’s a complication of the Cushings disease that he already has that messes with his cortisol production. Blood sugar normally runs in the range of 60 to 120. The scale for measuring peaks at 700. Toby’s blood sugar levels was off the chart, literally. We found out later that it was 985 or somewhere around that area. Most dogs would have gone into a diabetic coma by that time, but Toby’s a tough little dog (despite the foo-foo breed that he comes from). In addition to the Cushings and diabetes, he had signs of kidney disease and a deterioration of his tear ducts. In other words, he’s just old. At 14, what can you expect?
We whisked him to the emergency animal clinic where they kept him under 24-hour surveillance. By the end of the weekend, he was doing well enough to come home. Now we give him insulin injections twice a day, an oral antibiotic, antibiotic gel for his eyes, and a special diet in addition to his medication for the Cushings disease. So now at home, we have my dad’s drugs and Toby’s drugs in their own special places. It’s kind of cute because my dad and Toby both shoot up with Lovenox and Insulin respectively at the same time. They can even use the same waste container for their needles! How convenient!
It’s amazing what we’ll do to keep our loved ones and pets alive. I think all in all, he has cost more than my health insurance has EVER costed. What we need is doggy health insurance or HMOs. I’ve been told they exist, but I obviously had never been clued in. By now, it would totally be worth it! At least the treatments are working on Toby, and his quality of life has increased significantly. He is alert, eating and drinking normal amounts, and even going to the bathroom OUTSIDE instead of inside! Yay!
Yes indeed, life is now good.
Oh, Kat! I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time while I read your story. I can’t believe all the medicine your dog needs. But, I’m very happy for you that he now pees outside!=)
Posted by on 03/11 at 08:02 AM