Diabetic Dog

Today, I have a diabetic dog.

Last month, I didn't have one. Or rather, I didn't know my dog had diabetes. She had starting drinking and urinating more frequently, I was being woken up after I'd gone to bed, or before I'd usually get up. No accidents, admirably, but the change was a clear issue. A visit to the vet soon confirmed fears - her blood glucose levels were very high, enough of an initial indicator of the condition, before the rest of the blood results came back to confirm.

How do you feel about needles? 

Twice-daily injections is now something that will become routine for me. In fact, there will be more routine in general. Eating, exercise, insulin need to be done at roughly the same time, the same amount each day. I have to inject her in order to keep her alive - that's just what needs to be done. I'm not sure that needles bother me, but either way I think it's something I'd just get on with - there's no choice here.

I'm not really sure how to process this information. Initially, I had sleepy stressy half-dreams where I panicked about air bubbles and not administrating the insulin correctly. Logically, awake-me knows she can do it effectively and manage it appropriately, I am a conscientious person. I am a scientist. I know how syringes work. But I am still scared.

I am concerned about when I put the needle in the first time and didn't allow it to fully express the dose. Less is preferable to too much, so can't add more 'just to be sure' as that could have fatal effects. I am concerned about the second time, when I managed to not actually get the needle under the skin, so the insulin didn't go in and she missed a dose. Again, I can't be completely certain, so can't do it again. I am concerned about the third time, when I did everything by the book, but as I did it alone, I didn't have someone to confirm it was all good so I still worry.

In time, I will get the hang of it, she will be okay, better, even and I will get to know the signs to be wary of. It will soon become second nature and I will find it hard to recall a time where I didn't have daily injections. But at the moment, it's all still quite new and weird and I'm not sure how to deal with it.

Flitterbox: Nellie McKay ~ The Dog Song