Diabetes mellitus occurs when the pancreas does not produce enough insulin or if other substances interfere with the action of insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas that is essential for the cells to utilize glucose. When the cells cannot utilize the glucose in the blood, the glucose accumulates in such an amount that it spills into the urine. This causes excessive thirst and urination and appetite. If this is allowed to continue, ketoacidosis, liver failure, coma and death will result. With proper treatment, your pet can be expected to function normally. The most common long term problem in dogs is cataracts. We do not know how to prevent diabetic cataracts.

Control centers around regulating diet, exercise and injecting insulin once or twice each day. This may seem complicated at first, but soon you should find it to be a simple daily routine.

As the insulin injections stabilize the blood sugar, the increased thirst, urination and appetite subsides. Observing these functions is a good indicator of how your pet is doing. Measure the water intake. If it is increased, your pet probably needs more insulin. Periodic blood glucose determinations will help to fine tune the insulin dosage.

If your pet is not eating, we will have to hospitalize it at first until we get the ketoacidosis under control. As soon as it starts eating, the rest of the treatment can be done at home.