Diabetic incontinence?

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Sigh - poor Jimmy (8 yr old diabetic Aussie-poo), it's just one issue after another it seems? The "water weirdness" finally was resolved by him sitting at the kitchen sink, asking for a drink (even though the "terrifying water bowl" is 3' away - he would die of thirst before touching that). But if *I* hold the Magical Square White Bowl, (?) he will happily drink. sigh....

So now I've discovered damp-ish spots in the morning, where he likes to sleep between us at night. Weirdly, these spots smell like urine, but don't glow in ultraviolet light like a "normal" urine spot does. Scratching my head on that one. Is it possible that he's sleeping so deeply, that he "leaks"? Or even dreams of peeing... ? I mean, he's a true gentleman when indoors - would NEVER potty in the house, let alone on a bed he likes to sleep in. And he's really good at waking me if he needs to pee during the night. I'd be willing to wager a huge amount of money that he is NOT doing this consciously.

I don't think it's a UTI - he seems OK, can go a long time before asking to go out, then empties his bladder like a Pro. The urine appears clear and pale straw-colored.

I have some incontinence "belts" ordered for him - I feel like that's kinder than banishing him from the bed - and a ton easier to deal with than washing king-sized bedding 😞

Has anyone else with a diabetic dog had to deal with this? Aside from this - he's his usual happy, lovable self....

[Scottiemom]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
Thanks, Dale - I know I *should* do that, but both my vets are close by; and Jimmy's such a sensitive (and so far - completely cooperative) soul for me, I'd rather let the Vet be the "heavy"....LOL!

Whatever works, Deb. We full time and travel all the time, so it's better for me to do it. And if she gets a little nervous when she sees me get her kit out, it doesn't last long. At the vets she's a nervous wreck the entire time we are there.

Dale

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Thanks, Dale - I know I *should* do that, but both my vets are close by; and Jimmy's such a sensitive (and so far - completely cooperative) soul for me, I'd rather let the Vet be the "heavy"....LOL!

[Scottiemom]

Just an FYI, Deb. You can buy a pet test meter and do your own curve. Our vet in Texas is 45 minutes away, so it is a chore to take our girlie in every week, etc., for testing. So I purchased a meter and did my own curves. When we went back in he looked at it and complimented me on the thoroughness of the testing, etc. I also took my meter to show him. There are two that I see recommended. One is the AlphaTrax2 and the other is the Advocate Pet Test Meter. I have the Advocate because they run specials occasionally where the testing kit is free if you pay shipping.

It's not a substitute for your vet, but when you suspect a problem, like you did, it makes it easy to check. I didn't think I could do it, truthfully, but she gets so upset going to the vets and she tolerates me testing her blood sugar whenever I need. I do it on the inside of her ear. Also, you can do a curve anytime you think there may be a problem, then report to your vet.

Dale

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

OK - good news! All Jimmy's bloodwork and urinalysis came back looking fine - just his glucose was elevated, so they upped him to 8 units, 2 times per day and he goes back in 2 weeks for a blood check. They had no particular explanation for the enlarged prostate or incontinence, so I guess we'll see if the higher insulin dose helps? Jimmy seems resigned to wearing his diapers to bed at night, and the rest of the day we just take him out every other hour or so....

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Got it! Makes sense. I guess it didn't make sense to me to be talking about prostate cancer in a dog who's been neutered since his youth - when there are far more obvious reasons to be dealt with first. I think she was a fairly new Vet who wanted me to feel like I got my money's worth of care and concern? (I wish I could find a physician who would care for ME like that....LOL!)

[dturm]

Just to clarify, UTIs (prostate infection is a subset of those) are pretty common with glucose spilling in the urine. Prostate specific infections not the most common UTI, but certainly possible and way more common than other prostate issues in a neutered male.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Dr Doug, here's a Cyber-Hug (((((HUG!!!!)))) for your help!! If those strips are accurate, his blood sugar was over 1000 (eeks). The Vet said they'd let me know the results tomorrow; and we can pick up a round of antibiotics at the office. If they had SAID that prostate infections are common in diabetic dogs (rather than give me a lengthy explanation of every possibility of what it *might* be) - I would have said yes to the antibiotics immediately.

Once we get back home, my regular, beloved Vet had said we should do a "curve", to see how well the insulin works for him. Yup, we'll be doing that!

[dturm]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
I had a sample of first-pee urine for them (I dipped a test strip, and saw no ketones, but pretty high sugar although I've heard human test strips aren't accurate for a dog?)...(

I've never heard that :B; we use the urine test strips made for people on the urinalysis tests we do in our hospital???? Glucose is glucose whether it's in a dog, person, chinchilla or rat... Just sayin'

If his urine glucose was high, that may be the culprit. He could have a prostate infection. Prostate problems (tumors, enlargement)in neutered dogs are really rare, but infections in diabetics are really common.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

An update after the visit to the Vet: they did an "old dog work up" on Jimmy (who will be 9 in July - not exactly a senior citizen yet) - I had a sample of first-pee urine for them (I dipped a test strip, and saw no ketones, but pretty high sugar although I've heard human test strips aren't accurate for a dog?) and they drew blood. Eyes clear (yay!) temp normal, blahblahblah.

But a rectal probe to check his prostate showed his prostate was probably enlarged, she thought, since it had "tipped over his pelvic bones"? I did some reading on this - and Jimmy shows no signs of prostate troubles (IMO), at least not yet. (Pees and poos like a champ; and he's been neutered since he was around 7-8 months) So we're going to wait until tomorrow, to get the results of the lab work. She said maybe a 2-week course of antibiotics to rule out an infection of the prostate would be needed, if his lab work comes back looking good.

Meanwhile, the entirety of the Vet's office was fawning over what a lovable and sweet dog he is. Yep - that's Jimmy. "Mr Sweetness" - and it really sucks that all this is happening to him 😞

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Thanks, Sher! Jimmy's new "belts" arrived yesterday, and judging by the indignant look on his face, they are not as comfortable as the towel I taped around his middle the previous night. However, washing a king-sized mattress pad almost killed my elderly washing machine, so wearing this to bed at night (or if we leave for several hours) is mandatory now. I added a pantyliner, which seemed to catch the bit of dribble overnight.

I WILL take him to the Vet here in FL - if there's medication that could help, I'd happily give it a try as long as it's safe for diabetic dogs. Otherwise, we're taking him outdoors about every other hour to empty his bladder, and that seems to be helping?

[sher9570]

Deb and Ed M wrote:

dturm wrote:
You can get urine test strips from the pharmacy without prescription (at least in Indiana). Usually go to the pharmacy counter and ask for urine glucose test strips (diastix or ketodiastix (measures ketones and glucose)).

I'd try testing a morning sample after holding it all night.

I can do that - we have a Walgreens nearby.

Deb, I have a 15 year old rescue Poodle, now he is not diabetic but he too sleeps between the pillows.
He developed what I thought was incontinence last summer although it is not, after a lot of test and x rays there was no cause found...fast forward to this winter and he only has an occasional dribble.
I did at first put the pee pads under the sheet but was washing sheets daily.
If I put him on top he would move away so I bought a couple of belly bands, I also bought the pads for them.
I found these to not be leak proof so I bought Poise pads and they have never leaked through.
He adjusted to them right away..he even comes up to me to put it on before he gets on the bed.
This winter it really hasn't been an issue but I'm not going to go even one night without the belly band cause I know what will happen.
Considering his age I will continue to do this.

Sher

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

dturm wrote:
You can get urine test strips from the pharmacy without prescription (at least in Indiana). Usually go to the pharmacy counter and ask for urine glucose test strips (diastix or ketodiastix (measures ketones and glucose)).

I'd try testing a morning sample after holding it all night.

I can do that - we have a Walgreens nearby.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

JayGee wrote:
Our diabetic dog had that problem until we were able to help her with twice daily insulin shots. She lived several years with the daily shots but was blind for the last couple of years. The incontinence never came back after the shots started.

Other problems can cause the incontinence so the test are needed.

I should have answered this - Jimmy has been receiving insulin shots twice daily since last fall (and seems to be doing fine) - the "leakage" is something that just popped up in the last week.

[dturm]

You can get urine test strips from the pharmacy without prescription (at least in Indiana). Usually go to the pharmacy counter and ask for urine glucose test strips (diastix or ketodiastix (measures ketones and glucose)).

I'd try testing a morning sample after holding it all night.