Doggone diabetes

I work at a hospital, so I have lots of interaction with medical people. (Disclaimer: I am not a medical people.) About a year ago, the director of the ICU was in my office asking for information about something or other to do with diabetes. Better regulation of hyperglycemia in critical patients or something of the sort, I don't specifically remember. Bottom line is that in talking to him about what sort of information he needed I was asking about basal versus short-acting bolus insulins, dosing scales, and the like. He paused and looked at me.

"You seem to know a lot about diabetes."

I said, "Well, my cat is diabetic so I've gotten to know a bit about various insulins and how they work."

That, of course launched the usual "Cat's can get diabetes?" discussion, plus a lot of more technical questions about how I manage her and whatnot. This particular guy is, I'm completely convinced, a classic case of adult ADD, so it really was mostly him talking, very quickly.

Fast forward to about six months ago. I run into the same guy in the hallway.

"Nancy! You'll never guess!! My dog is diabetic!" He seemed absolutely thrilled.

Now I know nothing about doggie diabetes, but I've gotten the impression they're easier to deal with than cats. (Figures. Dogs are simple; cats are complex.) Even so, I assumed that Rover would need a low carb diet and insulin, so I asked if he was using Vetsulin (a veterinary insulin used in both cats and dogs, but it works better in dogs) and if he was testing Rover's blood sugar before giving each dose.

"No! I told the vet I would just use R!!" (Humulin R, or "regular" insulin - it has a quick onset and short duration.) "I can take the expired R for free out of the ICU!! And I just monitor her behavior! You know!! I'm really in tune with how she feels so I can totally tell if she needs more insulin or less by how she's acting and how much she's eating and drinking!!! She's doing just great!!!"

Yeah.

Like I said I know nothing about doggie diabetes so I just nodded and said it did indeed sound great and got the hell out of the way. That guy is like a hurricane. I hope his diabetic dog really is doing just great.

(Random editorial note: I sat down to write a post about something else entirely, and suddenly I was writing about this, something I've haven't thought of in months. Odd.)

Another note: I ran into the diabetic doggie guy again. He is using NPH insulin, not R. My bad.