Inquiring about about diabetic trained dog

[andrea4_2005]

Hello!!! I'm inquiring if anyone has information about service dogs for diabetics? I am a nurse dating a late 20s man who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2010 and he has struggled with the diagnosis since then. He has pretty much been in denial on and off since then. I have only been with him for about a year. Recently, I found out his diabetes has taken many things he once loved to do, away. Such as, wrestling, working out, and anything which requires physical fitness. He expressed, I hate that every time I go to do something, I can't do it very long because it exhausts me and my blood sugar bottoms out and I pass out. Others around me aren't educated and all they think to do is stab me with my humalog. So, I recently had seen on Facebook a gentleman with a service dog who would alert his owner when his blood sugar would dip down for him to check it an have a snack an so on an so forth. Would anyone by chance have any information or know of any websites I could look this information up on? I would greatly appreciate it!! Thanks!

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

I'm not a nurse but I'm a physician, I am 31 years old and I have been living with type 1 for 30 years. I use a pump and CGM and I am extremely athletic. I have a few comments here.

He sounds like the perfect candidate for a continuous glucose monitor (CGM). I use the dexcom which is pretty widely regarded as the best. The cost would be significantly less than a diabetes service dog. Something like 98% of type 1s can get them covered by insurance. I pay a $25 a month copay for sensors. It alarms when blood sugar goes above or below a certain level which the patient sets. I keep mine at 60 and 200 but it is the patient's choice. The previous generations of CGMs were less accurate (though I still found great success with them) but the most recent dexcom algorithm is excellent and nearly as accurate as glucose meters in comparison to lab results. You can easily find youtube videos of the insertion, just search "dexcom g4."

The dexcom also allows you (or anyone he authorizes) to monitor his blood sugars from an iphone using the share feature. I don't have this newest model but apparently people love it. You can check out the "dexcom" and "CGM in the cloud" groups on facebook.

Additionally, the information provided by a CGM will help him to adjust insulin doses to avoid drops during exercise. He may do a lot better on a pump though for the varying basal rates. It also allows you to set a temp basal (so decrease basal to a percent of the normal dose) during exercise and afterwards to prevent hypoglycemia since you are only using fast acting insulin. The evidence is pretty conclusive that CGM reduces the risk of severe hypoglycemia significantly.

Good luck!

Not a diabetic, but a school nurse helping manage a few Type I diabetics. I had a student who was also dropping low at night; that student got a CGM and has had excellent results with it and his management. It provides very up-to-date blood glucose monitoring and since he wear a pump, is helping best guide his needed basal rate. Can't speak highly enough for it.

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

CGM is cheaper than a dog, and gives you trends that allow you to make changes. I haven't had a single hypo that got below 60 since getting my dexcom, and I run marathons.

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

It's called have a snack before you work out and check your sugar more often. Plenty of adults and even children manage their diabetes correctly on their own, a grown man can do it too without needing a dog. Save the dogs for people who really need them.

I really hope you aren't a diabetic educator. Sigh, diabetics struggle all the time. It's part of it. Even those of us who have long stretches of amazing control sometimes flounder and submit to burnout.

It's also not all about having a snack. It's sometimes about needing a pump to allow for a temp basal. It's sometimes having the snack and still being stuck hypo 40 minutes in because no diabetic is perfect and our bodies sometimes don't cooperate the way they did the last ten times that we did exactly the same thing. It's simply not so cut and dry.

[jamisaurus]

I really hope you aren't a diabetic educator. Sigh, diabetics struggle all the time. It's part of it. Even those of us who have long stretches of amazing control sometimes flounder and submit to burnout.

It's also not all about having a snack. It's sometimes about needing a pump to allow for a temp basal. It's sometimes having the snack and still being stuck hypo 40 minutes in because no diabetic is perfect and our bodies sometimes don't cooperate the way they did the last ten times that we did exactly the same thing. It's simply not so cut and dry.

Oh don't worry, I'm not. I work in the ICU. this thread just seems ridiculous to me and I'm honest. A grown man doesn't need a dog to tell him when his sugar is low.

[Alisonisayoshi, LVN]

Oh don't worry, I'm not. I work in the ICU. this thread just seems ridiculous to me and I'm honest. A grown man doesn't need a dog to tell him when his sugar is low.

Lots of grown adults use the dogs. They are more personal than the CGMS. The fear of low is really really crippling for some diabetics. I know a great 29 y/o f T1D who uses a dog, a dexcom, and plenty of fingerstick checks to keep her mind at ease. It allows her better control because she can dose tighter to a lower target, because she's not afraid.

[mercurysmom]

I have had a service dog for nearly seven years. I obtained him through a well-known, professional nonprofit SD program that also trains hearing dogs, social/therapy/ministry dogs, psych dogs (through a program for recent Combat Veterans), mobility dogs, and "HALT-er" dogs that are tethered to a child with Autism and acts as an "anchor", although the dog is actually receiving commands from an adult, who is with the child and dog at all times. They do not train seizure alert/detection dogs, allergen detection dogs, or hypo/hyperglycemia alert/detection dogs

My dog was initially trained as a "standard" service dog to fetch/carry objects, push buttons, open and close doors, turn lights on and off, etc. During the first few days of training, he started alerting to pump alarms (I am TPN dependent and also Deaf due to ototoxicity 2* genetic mutations.). He was not trained to do this. In fact, he technically would be unsuitable as a hearing dog since he is TOO patient, and is content to sleep through my lectures, often snoring quite loudly. 😴. Somehow, he figured out that "beep = food," and by reinforcing it several times a day, every single day, alerting to pump and other alarms has become one of his major tasks.

He has alerted me to hypoglycemia

Several times a day, every day, I need to run "Dog" through all of his basic obedience commands, and set up situations that require him to perform his tasks. It takes commitment and patience to go through this every single day, but it's worth it, IMO. I intentionally drop objects, put a pump on pause until it alarms, etc. It's a pain in the next sometimes, but if I want him to continue performing his tasks, they must be reinforced. Im not too keen on the idea of creating a hypoglycemic episode for my dog's benefit, though. If this were to become a more frequent health problem, I think I'd be calling my endo or PCP for a script for a CGM system way before I'd call the dog trainer.

mm🐾