Fritz's Story
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Fritz's Story |
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My dog, Fritz, a male standard schnauzer who was
adopted from the Louisiana SPCA in 1993, is approximately 12 to 13 years old.
Last week Fritz was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, after exhibiting the
classic symptoms: excessive water consumption, frequent urination, accidents in
the house and losing two pounds to his present weight of 28 to 29 pounds. Prior
to last week, we had not had any evidence of diabetes. Fritz had bladder surgery in April of 2002 to remove stones, and he has a heart murmur, which is regulated by Enalapril ( 5 mg/ day). Fritz spent five days at the vet hospital last week, where the vet tested his bg levels and came up with his recommended treatment. The vet has prescribed 10 units twice a day ( at 7 AM and at 7 PM ) of Humulin N, U-100. Fritz's new diet consists of Hill's k/d, three-fourths of a can at 6:30 AM and at 6:30 PM. Fritz also is taking 200 mg of Amoxicillin twice a day to fight infection and the Enalapril for the heart condition. We do not do any bg testing or urine testing. The vet intends to retest Fritz in 2 to 3 weeks by fructose blood level test. Meanwhile, we watch him very closely regarding his food intake, reaction to shots, water intake, urination frequency and exercise. The vet would like to regulate Fritz's bg level at between 175 to 200. After three days at home, Fritz has been adjusting well to the shots and twice a day feedings. We have found that giving the shots is not difficult; in fact, Fritz seems to understand that they are for his benefit and he does not resist at all. He has had a hard time adjusting to limited exercise. Prior to the diabetes diagnosis, Fritz enjoyed aggressive exercise-- running in the park and walking for at least a mile each day. The vet now has him restricted to short walks on a leash, and no running or labored exercise at all-- at least for the present time. Your website is great and it provides a wonderful service to pet owners who get the diabetes diagnosis. It provided me with a lot of very valuable information and made me feel like I was not alone at a very scary time. I only hope that I can return the favor by sharing my experiences with others. Thanks again for the wonderful support. Sincerely, Bob.
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