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Client Library Article
DIABETES MELLITUS
| Diabetes- a serious &
increasingly common endocrine disease in pets |
| Diabetes is a complex metabolic disorder resulting from
impaired or deficient production or secretion of insulin from the panceas. The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen that produces both
digestive enzymes needed to break down food in the gut, and insulin- the
hormone substance that directly regulates blood sugar levels and
indirectly regulates carbohydrate, fat,
and protein metabolism in the body. All cells of the body require insulin
to allow glucose (blood sugar) to move from the blood stream into the cells.
The hormone insulin acts like a key. In diabetics, a lack of insulin
leads to high blood sugar levels yet the cells are starving for glucose. Predisposing causes
of diabetes include: obesity,
genetic predisposition, poor diet, stress, drugs, previous infection, and
cancer. Many times, dogs & cats develop diabetes with no underlying cause. Similar to
humans, there is no “cure” for diabetes, but the disease is CONTROLLED via
administration of synthetic insulin once or twice daily. If diabetes is not
controlled, the patients can develop neuropathy and weakness- especially in
their hind legs, blood clots & loss of peripheral circulation, and develop
diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). Once the stage of DKA is reached, pets
will die without emergency therapy. |
| Symptoms |
- Muscle weakness, lethargy,& depression
- Increased thirst (polydypsia)
- Frequent urination (polyuria)
- Increased appetite (polyphagia)
- Rapid weight loss despite good appetite
- Frequent urinary tract infections
- Blindness ( diabetic cataracts & retinal detachments)
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| Diagnosis-Based
on history, clinical symptoms, and laboratory tests |
- Blood work shows a persistent high blood glucose (sugar) level-
typically greater than 400 gm/dl (normal is b/n 100-200.
- Urinalysis shows persistent high levels of glucose in the urine-
glucose spills into the urine when blood levels are greater than 400.
- Fructosamine- another blood test that measures the "average"
blood sugar level for the past 10 days.
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| Treatment-
1-2x/day injections of insulin |
- Dogs & cats are started on insulin therapy as soon as
diabetes is diagnosed. Insulin is given as an injection under the skin (SQ) either
once or twice a day depending on the type of insulin given and the severity of
the disease.
- The blood glucose levels must be carefully monitored during the
initiation of therapy to prevent the blood glucose from dropping too low causing
the dog to go into a coma. It can take several weeks to months to figure out the
correct dose of insulin for each individual, but once regulated, diabetics can do quite well.
- Blood glucose levels should be monitored every few
months with regulated diabetics, or anytime the pet becomes sick.
- When diabetics are not
regulated well, their blood sugar can go too low causing coma, and / or too high
causing a severe condition termed diabetic ketoacidosis (see DKA article for
more details).
- All diabetics should be fed balanced high protein diet twice a day and
insulin should be given only if the animal eats.
- The key to successful management of diabetes is to follow a routine
and make feeding, exercise , and insulin administration as consistent as
possible from day to day.
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| Prognosis |
| Good to poor depending primarily on owner compliance and
successful initial regulation. As mentioned it make take several months to
regulate a difficult diabetic, but usually once regulated, the pet can
thrive. |
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