Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes is a condition many pet owners may be familiar with in people, but may not associate with our pets. We will only give a very brief overview of this complex disease. As in people, pets that are overweight have an increased risk of developing diabetes. This is another good reason for keeping our pets at an ideal weight. Diabetes occurs when the pancreas is not producing enough insulin. Insulin is used to decrease glucose levels in the body. Without the insulin, the glucose levels continue to rise. This is when patients become symptomatic.

 

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The most common symptoms of diabetes include increased drinking, increased urination, weight loss and possibly increased eating. If left unchecked or unregulated patients can become critically ill. They will begin vomiting, become very lethargic and can become weak. 

 

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To diagnose diabetes blood work must be performed. This will show an elevated blood glucose level. A urinalysis is also helpful which can determine if there is glucose and/or ketones present. If ketones are present this means the diabetes is unregulated and is a more serious condition that may require hospitalization. Once a diagnosis is made, management must be initiated.

 

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We say management because diabetes can rarely be cured. It is a life long condition that we try to control the symptoms. It is important to realize that once your pet is diagnosed and you elect to pursue managing the condition it will be a lifestyle change for everyone. They will need to receive insulin twice daily (12 hour apart) with meals at these times. Everyone in the house hold must be on board for this. Initially there is a financial commitment as well. Insulin is not cheap, and there need to be some dietary changes made that will help make regulation of the glucose easier. There will also be regular trip to the veterinary office to ensure the glucose is responding but also not getting too low. Once regulated the cost becomes less of an obstacle.

 

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Watching for signs of hypoglycemia is very important. This means that the patient is receiving too much insulin, or they did not eat enough of their meal to raise the glucose as suspected. Signs of hypoglycemia can be weakness, vomiting, or even seizing.

 

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Diabetes is unfortunately very common in our house hold pets today. This is largely due to the fact that many of our pets are overweight. While keeping them fit does not completely eliminate their risk fort diabetes, it does decrease it. This again, is only a very brief overview of this condition. For more information please visit veterinary partners diabetes mellitus center (here). It has a lot of excellent resources about diabetes.