Pets with diabetes

[Pea-n-Me]

A friend's 9 1/2 yo Lhasa Apso was just diagnosed with diabetes. She'd been vomiting and her blood sugar was found to be around 350. She'll start on a daily dose of insulin at dinnertime (6U).

Would those of you who've had diabetic pets please share your experiences? (My friend is a nurse so giving the shots isn't a problem.)

How long has your pet been diabetic? How did you find out?

Does your pet ever have episodes of hypoglycemia? How do you know, and how did you treat them?

Where do you buy your insulin and syringes? Disposal of syringes?

What do you do when you go away?

Does the pet mind the shots?

Anything else you can think of that's important to know.

Thanks a bunch! The dog is a sweetie.

 

[Poohgirl]

I have aq 17 year old cat that was diagnosed this past spring, he had extremely high sugar counts in the high 400's. Other then that he was very healthy, although he is a bit crabby at times. I was really concerned how he would take to the shots. He gets a couple units twice a day and he is great. When I start to get the meds out he comes running, so I assume that the insulin really makes him feel better. It did take a bit to figure out the correct dosage, getting his levels checked at the vet every two weeks.

When we go away we have him boarded, but it is easy enough to have a relative or friend give the shots as well. I currently supervise my 10yr old while he does it. We also keep a bottle of Karo syrup on hand just incase he is ever given an extra dose by mistake. Your friend should have no problem once the routine is started etc.

 

[sunlver]

We had a dog who got diagnosed with Diabetes when she was around 9. This was the first pet that I had ever known to have this. The shots were no big deal. I was told to do it in the morning...Come to find out, after she passed over, that most vets have you give the pet a shot 2 times a day,. What would happen was, before she had her shot , her blood sugar was probably all over the place, she would drink tons of water, and be EXTREMELY Hungry always looking for food. Once I gave her ,her shot. She would settle down and be "normal" again. Then night time would come, and she would be in the same pattern, drinking, TONS of water,looking for FOOD to the point of annoyance.
I totally didnt like how the vet office handled it. After that,we switched vets. I explained what happened to my old dog, and they said they always put the diabetic pet on insulin twice a day, keeps blood sugar levels more even. DUH...makes sense once he told me. Whyd idnt the other vet do this
Why did I have to go throught that.. It makes me so sad, and its been 12 yrs ago.
I do remember the insulin was cheap, and we got it at the regular pharmacy.

 

[hoosll]

My father had a cockapoo who was diagnosed and after he began insulin shots, he lived another 5-6 years. My father even taught my DD10 how to give the shots.

I have a couple of dachshunds that hve been throwing up and you've got me worried that they may be diabetic at 10 yrs old ....

Is it something we are feeding them that is affecting their pancreas? ...

 

[MaleficentFan]

We had a cat when I was a kid that was diabetic. My mother found him laying in the hallway, tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth and apparently not breathing. She thought he was dead... so she went into a fit of hysterics and went outside to dig a hole to bury him while waiting for my father to get home from work. Well, dad comes home and mom tells him to go get the cat because she can't bring her self to pick him up and put him in the hole. Dad picks the cat up... and the cat meows! BTW... dad started calling him Lazarus after that!

The cat went to the vet for tests after this incident... diagnosed as diabetic. He required shots twice a day... we all learned how to do it... including my brother and I... I was in high school, brother was in middle school. I am NOT good with needles so I didn't give him the shot very often.

It was fairly easy to give him the shot. We had a prescription from the vet and got the needles and insulin from the local pharmacy. We had one of those medical waste containers to dispose of the needles... we got it from the vet. When it was full we'd take it back to the vet and get an empty.

The cat actually "grew out" of his diabetes. He required the shots for about 2 years and then that was it... nothing. And he lived to the ripe old age of 21!!!

 

[Muushka]

When I start to get the meds out he comes running, so I assume that the insulin really makes him feel better.

My cat is the same way. I am always amazed at how she comes right to me and waits for the shot! It is good, because if she is not feeling well, I won't give her the shot.

She has been on insulin for 2.5 years and is doing great. She has only had her blood sugar checked once since the initial diagnosis and it was great. My vet does not do the glucose tolerance test and frequent blood sugars. Which is fine by me. I can figure out by her behavior how she is feeling. I also check her urine, much easier than blood.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thank you, all.

I was told to do it in the morning...Come to find out, after she passed over, that most vets have you give the pet a shot 2 times a day,.

We were wondering about this, too. We figured maybe because of the small size, they wanted to start off slow? Your comments will be helpful, because my friend said her dog is drinking like crazy, so maybe it'll be something to consider if that doesn't change.

I have a couple of dachshunds that hve been throwing up and you've got me worried that they may be diabetic at 10 yrs old ....

Is it something we are feeding them that is affecting their pancreas? ...

So sorry. I'd think that if they were both throwing up it'd be more likely a bug, or something they got into, but I don't know much about the breed, is diabetes something daschunds are predisposed to? Probably worth a check up if it doesn't reslove.

This did make me think about why it's not a bad idea to make a vet appointment when a pet's having symptoms, especially one that's elderly.

It's good to know that the pets don't seem to mind the shots. I've heard that before, too.

 

[Muushka]

We were wondering about this, too. We figured maybe because of the small size, they wanted to start off slow? Your comments will be helpful, because my friend said her dog is drinking like crazy, so maybe it'll be something to consider if that doesn't change.

The excessive drinking is why I suspected diabetes in the first place. And excessive drinking is how I knew she was not getting enough insulin. She started out with 2 units in the AM and is now at 4 in the AM and 4 in the PM. Her drinking is much more normal now.

 

[maddiel]

A friend's 9 1/2 yo Lhasa Apso was just diagnosed with diabetes. She'd been vomiting and her blood sugar was found to be around 350. She'll start on a daily dose of insulin at dinnertime (6U).

Would those of you who've had diabetic pets please share your experiences? (My friend is a nurse so giving the shots isn't a problem.)

We had a beagle (who we recently had put to sleep due to an unrelated issue) that was diagnosed with diabetes about 18 months ago

How long has your pet been diabetic? How did you find out?

She suddenly started to suffer from extreme thirst and frequent (!!!) unination. My husband is a type 2 diabetic so he guessed what was up.

Does your pet ever have episodes of hypoglycemia? How do you know, and how did you treat them?

No. She had quite the appetite and we always started her on her food before we gave her her shot. We had more of an issue with her stealing high carb foods and needing extra insulin..

Where do you buy your insulin and syringes? Disposal of syringes?

We bought Caninsulin from the vet. (I think it goes by another name in the US though) Originally, we used the syringes made for caninsulin that we bought from the vet, but in the spring we started using human syringes bought from Walmart because they were 20% of the price - it was simple to recalculate the dosing units. Our vet wrote us a script for them. The pharmacy clerk kept calling my husband by the dogs name though - lol!.

What do you do when you go away?

We never left her for more than about 8 hours after that, unless we were travelling on vacation and our kennel (AKC approved) owners were used to giving injections.

Does the pet mind the shots?

We trained her to expect a treat immediately afterward and she was all about the food, so she loved getting her needles

Anything else you can think of that's important to know.

Thanks a bunch! The dog is a sweetie.

I think the twice a day dosing is much more common. We had her into the vet a lot in the beginning while we were figuring out her optimum dosing. Your friend's dog may gain or lose weight in the beginning while her metabolism adjusts and that weight change in turn affects the dosing.

Our dog becaume ravenous any time her sugars went out of wack - if she ate something very high in fat/protein it could take up to a week to settle her down - at least when she got into carbs we learned to just give her an extra dose or half dose. (She was a food thief way before she became diabetic - it's a beagle thing, probably made worse by the fact that she was a rescue.)

Good luck to your friend and her dog!

M.

 

[christiane]

Many vets start with insulin once a day. This is so the family can get used to giving it and the vet can see how the pet responds to it. Ultimately almost all dogs need it twice a day. Most dogs don't mind it. In long haired dogs, it can be helpful to shave a couple of small spots to help to access the skin. Ideally the injections sites should be rotated every day.

Your friend should get a glucometer and ask her vet how to obtain the blood. Most pharmacies will give the glucometer for free because they make money on the strips. Being able to test blood glucose at home takes a lot of guess work out of administering insulin. Continuous glucose monitors can be used in dogs, but right now the units are cost prohibitive for most families (about $1500 for the unit & $40 for the probes) but they will probably have their place in the future.

Dogs are always type I diabetics and there is no chance for remission like there is in cats who are usually type II.

It is very important to get glucose control quickly in dogs because they are very prone to diabetic cataracts and can go blind almost overnight. The cataracts can be removed to restore vision, but the surgery is several thousand dollars.

Hypoglycemic episodes in dogs are not as common in cats. If they happen, your friend would notice her dog to be "spaced out", then start the become weak, tremble, fall down & even seizure. Administering corn syrup on the gums and getting the dog to the vet quickly usually allows a fast recovery. This is also where the glucometer at home is important. If the dog is closely observed & just seems "off" she can get a glucose result in seconds and know if intervention is needed before things get bad.

Diet & feeding schedules are important. She needs to ask her vet what they recommend.

Most dogs are on caninsulin/vetinsulin. It requires a U-40 syringe which is not available in human pharmacies. If she does use a U-100 syringe, she must convert the dose. People try to save money by re-using syringes but it's not a good idea. The needles are very fine, get dulled going through the vial's stopper, get dull again going through the skin and dull needles are harder to use and cause more pain. There is always the potential for contaminating the insulin with skin bacteria also. Your friend can get a small hazardous waste container from her vet & return the used syringes to them.

As a nurse, your friend probably knows the importance of handling insulin: temperature, re-suspending the insulin crystals gently etc.

Many dogs have a concurrent bacterial urinary tract infection when diagnosed because of the sugar in the urine. She should have a urine culture done because any infection in the body can cause interference with glucose control.

The last thing I would add is that there is a lot of information on diabetic dogs on the internet --good & bad. Here is a good place to start: http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=631. It is written for the public by veterinarians.

I hope everything goes well for your friend & her pup!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Thanks guys, good information.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Bumping for further experiences and ideas.

 

[bubie2.5]

My dog lived for three years with two daily shots (right after eating). He started urinating a lot and breathing in a weird way.

His sugar levels were checked often and the insulin dose increased a few times. His diet consisted in two servings of diabetic dog food and homade pieces of dried chicken. The last year of his life he went blind, but he had a happy life.

It's not a good idea to let a diabetic dog along for a lot of hours, as sugar levels tent to drop; we had a bottle of Caro corn Syrup in the fridge for such emergencies and I'm happy to report that only needed to use it four times. Tell your friend to never apply the shot in the exact same spot twice, because after years of shots the skin might get harder.

My baby lived for 3+ years after beeing diagnosed and died the day after his 10th birthday (yes, we celebrated it every year).

 

[disneygal922]

Hi! My sister's cat was diagnosed about 7 or 8 years ago with diabetes. He was about 3 or 4 at the time. How we found out? He all of a sudden gained ALOT of weight and wasn't eating any more than he used to. He started having accidents in the house so my sis took him to the vet. He gets a shot twice a day and hasn't had any severe problems since. When she goes out of town, I go over to her house and give him his shots and spend some time with him. I don't think he even notices he gets them b/c the needle is so small! Hope I was of some help or info. Good Luck!