Diabetes Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is a common disease we see in dogs and cats and is treated much the same way it is in people, with insulin injections. While many things are at play in causing diabetes mellitus, the easiest way to explain it is that there is a failure in the body to control the glucose (blood sugar) in the body. Of course, many other things can cause this failure (such as tumors), but this article will not focus on that.
Diabetes has a few common signs that clients bring to us as their chief complaint, such as increased thirst, more frequent urination, changes in weight, changes in appetite, and sometimes sticky or sweet-smelling urine. We can confirm a diagnosis with a simple blood test.
Diabetes has a few common signs that clients bring to us as their chief complaint, such as increased thirst, more frequent urination, changes in weight, changes in appetite, and sometimes sticky or sweet-smelling urine. We can confirm a diagnosis with a simple blood test.
Diagnosis and Treatment
Once your pet has been diagnosed with diabetes, they will need to stay in the hospital for glucose regulation. This involves taking a small sample (much like people do when they prick their finger) several times a day to obtain a “glucose curve”. The glucose curve tells us how the insulin we administer is affecting your pet’s blood glucose. We want to be able to give the right amount as not giving enough doesn’t correct the problem (leaving the blood glucose too high and your pet still not feeling as well as they could) and too much will drop the insulin to a dangerously low level. During your pet’s time in the hospital, we will be giving different amounts of insulin and measuring the blood glucose to make sure your pet is safe until we have the correct dosage of insulin and can send them home.
Home Care
Once your pet is discharged from the hospital, we will show how to draw up the insulin and administer it. Your pet will need insulin injections twice a day, every day, 12 hours a part. Dr. Sorensen uses two different types of insulin, Novulin N (a long acting insulin that helps keep the blood glucose where he wants it) and Novulin R (a fast acting insulin that will drop the blood glucose to where he wants it quickly). Many veterinarians will use only one insulin, but this method has worked very well for Dr. Sorensen.
We will want to see your pet about a week after discharge to check the blood glucose again, as things at home can be a little different than at that clinic and the insulin dose may need some tweaking. We will want to check the blood glucose once a week whenever a change to the insulin dose is made until it stays stable.
Feeding is another integral part of home care. Sometimes we ask you to bring their regular diet to the clinic so we can feed that, but we do offer Hill’s Prescription Diet W/D which we highly recommend for our diabetic patients. W/D helps to maintain the blood glucose at a steady level, avoiding peaks and lows. Because food can increase the blood glucose, if your pet hasn’t eaten we generally don’t recommend giving an insulin injection and waiting until your pet has finished eating to give an injection.
Occasionally accidents happen or for no good reason that we know of, your pet’s blood sugar may drop to a dangerously low level. For a quick boost, we recommend having Karo syrup on hand and giving some before heading to the veterinary clinic. Sometimes we have to re-regulate the blood glucose which requires another hospital stay.
While dogs will generally remain diabetic for the rest of their life, cats will occasionally decide to go into remission. This means their body now functions properly without needing insulin injections. However, they can become diabetic again. We generally recommend periodic check ups on our diabetic patients to keep tabs on their blood glucose and make sure everything is where it needs to be.
If your pet is acting differently in any way, please call the veterinary clinic so we can schedule them to have their blood glucose tested and we can help you decide the best course of action. With proper and consistent care, your diabetic pet can live a happy and healthy life!
We will want to see your pet about a week after discharge to check the blood glucose again, as things at home can be a little different than at that clinic and the insulin dose may need some tweaking. We will want to check the blood glucose once a week whenever a change to the insulin dose is made until it stays stable.
Feeding is another integral part of home care. Sometimes we ask you to bring their regular diet to the clinic so we can feed that, but we do offer Hill’s Prescription Diet W/D which we highly recommend for our diabetic patients. W/D helps to maintain the blood glucose at a steady level, avoiding peaks and lows. Because food can increase the blood glucose, if your pet hasn’t eaten we generally don’t recommend giving an insulin injection and waiting until your pet has finished eating to give an injection.
Occasionally accidents happen or for no good reason that we know of, your pet’s blood sugar may drop to a dangerously low level. For a quick boost, we recommend having Karo syrup on hand and giving some before heading to the veterinary clinic. Sometimes we have to re-regulate the blood glucose which requires another hospital stay.
While dogs will generally remain diabetic for the rest of their life, cats will occasionally decide to go into remission. This means their body now functions properly without needing insulin injections. However, they can become diabetic again. We generally recommend periodic check ups on our diabetic patients to keep tabs on their blood glucose and make sure everything is where it needs to be.
If your pet is acting differently in any way, please call the veterinary clinic so we can schedule them to have their blood glucose tested and we can help you decide the best course of action. With proper and consistent care, your diabetic pet can live a happy and healthy life!
