Helping Your Dog Or Cat Cope With Diabetes

Diabetes is a serious condition that if left untreated can compromise the cardiovascular system, vision, and mobility and will eventually result in death.  While the reality of the disease can be frightening it is important to remember that diabetes is not a death sentence.  There are many well known treatments that can ensure that your pet enjoys the highest possible quality of life while avoiding some of the more serious side effects of diabetes.

Symptoms of diabetes in dogs and cats are quite similar to those in humans which is why animals are also diagnosed as type-1 (insulin dependent) or type-2 diabetics (associated with diabetes). 

Understanding the symptoms and treatment options available will allow you to help your pet cope with diabetes.

Symptoms

Diabetic symptoms typically present gradually over the course of a few weeks.  It is easy to miss the symptoms but especially for older pets it is important to note the following symptoms:

Sudden weight loss or weight gain
Excessive drinking and/or urination
Drastic changes in appetite
Vision problems or cataracts
Weak limbs
Thinning of the skin
Dehydration

If you notice one or more of these symptoms it is advisable to seek medical treatment immediately.  As diabetes progresses, animals will seem weak and fragile, especially if they start metabolizing body fat for survival.  Thinning skin and dehydration are symptoms of the later stages of diabetes and very serious health complications are likely to follow which is why you should immediately visit the vet.

Diabetes Treatments

As research regarding the progression of diabetes continues to mount, it should come as no surprise that there are various treatment options available.  Diet, medications, and insulin treatments are the most common forms of treatment and will be discussed further.

Diet

In many cases, diabetes can be regulated through diet alone.  Diabetes is a condition wherein not enough insulin is produced to metabolize the sugars in our blood.  These excess sugars are then responsible for the majority of the ill effects associated with diabetes.  As such, regulating blood sugar through a low carbohydrate diet can be enough to manage the disease.  In fact, in studies involving cats changing to a low carbohydrate diet was enough to manage diabetes and in some cases put the cats into remission.

Medications

There are a number of medications on the market that can ameliorate the effects of diabetes.  Glipizide is an oral medication that stimulates the production and release of insulin so that blood sugars can be metabolized more effectively.  These drugs are typically only effective for pets diagnosed with type-2 diabetes and have some negative side effects so are recommended by veterinarians in very specific cases only.

Insulin Injections

As with humans coping with type-1 diabetes, many pets have no other treatment options than insulin injections.  Combined with better diet, insulin injections can help stabilize blood sugar levels thereby preventing the development of diabetic symptoms.  The course of treatment is carefully determined by your veterinarian.  Insulin injections are easy and safe to deliver and may be the best available treatment for your pet.

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