From:
tanflgirl@aol.com
Date: 2002-05-22 16:34:00 UTC
Subject: Erratic Blood Sugar Levels
Susan,
I am going through somewhat the same thing you are with Gabriella. My Tazmanian is almost 7 years old (his b-day is 6/5/02!) and he presented with signs of insulinoma approximately 2 months ago. My vet did a glucose curve and he was under 70 all day long and he was extremely lethargic. We started him on pred.(.25cc 2x day) and 2 weeks later his glucose levels were over 300, so we lowered the pred. (.10 2x day) and 2 weeks after that his sugar wasn't even registering on the glucometer - it just said Hi (over 600!). We took him off the pred completely and started him on insulin.
He was extremely resistant to the insulin and this went on for a few more weeks. He would react to the insulin for awhile, and then shoot right back up into the 500's. I am checking his blood sugar at home with a glucometer, and checking his urine for ketones. At one point he was up to 6 units of insulin every 6-8 hours. About 2 weeks ago he received his first Lupron shot, and now he seems to be reacting to the insulin better. He is still getting 3 or 4 units every 6-8 hours though...and he is only 2.5 lbs...!
I watch him very carefully, he has crashed on me a few times, with glucose levels under 40...but then within a few hours he would shoot back up to 300.
My vet is hypothesising that this may not be an insulinoma problem at all, that it may be an adrenal problem(or a combination thereof)...which is why the Lupron may help. We are awaiting the results of the Adrenal Panel now.
The one major difference here though, Taz didn't have surgery like Gabrielle did.
I hope this was clear, it has been a crazy 2 months and I don't think I understand all that is going on!
Fuzzy Hugs,
Shelby, Taz & Silky Bear