1. Strange because i've alway though dibeties was treatable no matter how serious.
I try and find a vet that let you try a special diet for your dog, recommended for diabities
i try the change to a food recommended for diabtaties, and the insuling injections as well and try that for month. If no improvement, then maybe euthanisa.
2. Defiantly go to another different vet practise-Defiantly get a 2nd Opinion, if neccessary seek 3rd opinion.
3. Sounds like the vets just trying to make money off your pooch due to the age. Alot of vets can't be bother in actually caring for animals.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes mellitus is a disease of the endocrine gland system. Type 1 diabetes is caused by a deficiency of insulin -- the hormone that regulates how sugar is absorbed and utilized by the cells of the body. Insulin is produced by the pancreas gland which is nestled among the loops of your pet's small intestines. Highest occurrences are in dogs and cats between the ages of 5 to 7 years. Female dogs appear to be more susceptible but both sexes of cat are equally affected. Most affected dogs and cats were obese. It is the most common hormonal disorder in dogs and second only to hyperthyroidism in cats. Among dogs, poodles, dachshunds miniature schnauzers and west highland white terriers have a high incidence of diabetes.
Insulin is a hormone produced by the body. Insulin works by binding with receptors on cells throughout the body much like a key fits into a lock. Once the insulin has “unlocked the door”, glucose can cross over into the cell from the blood. Once inside the cell, glucose is either burned by the cell for energy or stored for future use as glycogen. Without insulin, sugar accumulates in the bloodstream causing a number of bad things to happen. When sugar is about twice its normal level in the blood, some of it spills over into the urine.
Sugar in the urine causes increased urine production and thirst. These pets also become hungrier because they can not utilize the sugar present in their blood. As the disease progresses, waste products called ketones accumulate and cause depression, vomiting and dehydration. If the disease is not treated, coma and death may occur. We can not cure diabetes yet but by administering insulin the disease can be controlled and damage can be kept to a minimum.
What Causes Diabetes?
Diabetes tends to occur in pets that have been too fat. So you have a great deal of control over the situation. But it takes enormous will power not to over-feed your pet when it begs for more food or treats than is healthy.
Diabetes occurs when pancreatic islet cells called beta cells are destroyed. Destruction of these cells occurs due to chronic pancreatitis or autoimmune disease in which the body attacks its own cells. Diabetes also occurrs in pets that have over active adrenal glands (hyperadrenocorticism) or have received large doses of corticosteroids or sex hormones.
Type 2 or Insulin-resistant diabetes is a phenomenon in which a normal or abnormally high amount of insulin is present in the blood stream but can no longer “unlock the door” to cells to allow the glucose in. This can be a problem in cats. Muscle cells, in particular react sluggishly to the desirable action of insulin and are starved for energy. In this condition, eating a hearty meal is followed a group of symptoms including elevated blood sugar, elevatted blood pressure and. high triglycerides. . Many veterinarians have begun to use newer products to treat this. In cats, the troglitazone (Rezulin) has shown promise.
What Signs Might I See In My Pet ?
The onset of diabetes is usually very gradual and easily missed by the owner until it is quite advanced. The first thing most owners notice is that the dogs or cats is drinking more and urinate very frequently. these pets eat well but may actually loose weight. Cataracts of the eyes and general debility are also common signs. They are common in dogs but rare in cats. When blood glucose exceeds 180 mg/deciliter in dogs and 240mg/decileter in cats, sugar spills over into the urine. Diabetic pets have an increased susceptibility to bacterial and fungal infections. Chronic infections of the bladder and skin, pneumonia and prostate infections commonly occur. Fatty, enlarged livers are another sign of the disease.. Luckily, the nerve, retinal and kidney damage so common in people less frequently in pets. This may be because a pet's life span is shorter. Cataracts in diabetic dogs, however, are common. Approximately 20% diabetic dogs develop signs of retinal hemorrhages or microaneurysms (small red dots in the retina), Retinal function in these dogs appears to remain unchanged. When these dogs loose vision it is because of cataracts which can be surgically removed through a process called phacoemulsification.
How Can Diabetes Diagnosed in My Pet?
Diabetes is a relatively easy disease to diagnose. Fasting blood sugar in dogs and cats should be between 75 and 120mg/decileter. When it is over 200mg/decileter and other blood parameters are normal, diabetes may be the cause. The transient stress of blood withdrawal at the animal hospital and another disease, Cushing's Disease, need to be ruled out. The best current way to rule out stress-induced high sugar in cats is to measure blood fructosamine levels. Fructosamines are stable complexes of carbohydrates and proteins. A single measurement of fructosamine indicates the average glucose concentration over the previous 1 - 2 weeks - not at the moment the blood is withdrawn. Because this gives us a broader view of your pet's sugar levels over time, this assay is helpful in making a firm diagnosis of diabetes well as in monitoring the effectiveness of insulin therapy. Fructosamine values are not influenced by sudden fluctuations in blood glucose such as stress in nervous pets from the visit to the Veterinary hospital or recent food intake. So fructosamine is much more reliable than a single glucose determination. Fructosamine results can be falsely lowered in cats with hyperthyroidism. Normal fructosamine levels are between 100 - 400 umol/l.
What Treatments Are Available For My Pet?
Type 1 diabetes in dogs and cats is very similar to juvenile diabetes in people. Going to a human diabetes website will give you ideas you can apply to your pet. Although diet helps to control the disease in pets, once the disease begins, owners will need to administer insulin to keep the disease under control. This is a time consuming process that requires a great deal of dedication on your part. Most pets will require two injections per day of either ultralente or NPH insulin. When the correct dose is established there should be only intermittent low concentrations of sugar in the urine. In general, insulins derived from animal pancreas work better in dogs and cats than the bio-engineered insulins available for humans. For a time, these older insulin forms because difficult to get. But a porcine insulin zinc suspension is now available again.
Because no two pets react exactly the same to a given amount of insulin, changes in the dose administered should be done under observation in an animal hospital setting. This is particularly true with small and toy breeds where small dose changes can have major effects on blood glucose levels. t is best to feed the pets at the time the insulin shot is given. Avoid using semi-moist diets because they are high in sugar. I have not had success in dogs and cats using oral glucose control drugs such as Glipizide. Once a successful insulin treatment has been established for your pet it needs to continue on it the rest of its life. The key to successful treatment is to keep to the treatment plan.
Female dogs that develop the disease do better when they are spayed. If you exercise your dog set the time and the length of your playtime the same every day.