Once a diagnosis of diabetes has been reached, we then have to adjust a pet’s lifestyle in order to treat the disease.The most critical part of diabetic treatment is insulin injections.As the body cannot produce enough insulin on its own, we supplement with twice daily insulin injections.The injections go under the skin and help support normal sugar metabolism.Initially, we start at a low dose of insulin after diagnosis to ensure that we don’t send the animal too far in the other direction and make their blood sugar too low!It takes the body a week to adjust to any change in insulin, so at the beginning it takes several weeks of “tinkering” to come up with the appropriate dosage for each individual animal.
Appropriate feeding and diet also are important aspects of diabetes treatment.Diabetic animals need to be fed two meals daily, approximately 12 hours apart.The key to insulin administration is that an animal HAS to eat before receiving its insulin, otherwise there isn’t sugar in the bloodstream for the insulin to work on!We also need to ensure that a diabetic is eating an appropriate food.There are pre-formulated prescription diets that cater to diabetic needs, such as Purina DM.For cats, these foods are higher in protein and have a limited carbohydrate content.In dogs, their diets preferably have a higher fiber content.It is important to avoid lots of treats and human food snacks in diabetics, as the irregularity in their blood sugar levels can make it difficult to control their blood sugar levels.Dry diets also are preferably, as many wet foods use sugars in their preservatives.
Long-term maintenance in diabetic patients also includes annual dental examinations and cleanings.Dental plaque and tartar contain large amounts of bacteria, which can seed the rest of the body.When blood sugar levels run high, infections can take root in other organs, such as the heart, liver or kidneys.