Why is my diabetic dog vomiting and falling after starting insulin?

Vomiting can be a sign of elevated glucose levels. If your pet has skipped an insulin treatment then this can very well be the reason why she is now sick. It is best to feed her a meal and get her back on her insulin regimen as soon as possible to avoid prolonged high sugar levels that will continue to make her ill. If she is also refraining from eating and continues to act ill, then it is best to get her seen by a vet right away because she may be ketoacidotic (high level of ketones in the body due to excessively high sugar levels in the bloodstream) and in need of emergency treatment to help stabilize her.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Abel has diabetes! Abel will need to be started on insulin, which will need to come from your vet. If Abel has been lethargic and not eating much, my recommendation would be to have him hospitalized at the vet as soon as possible to get his blood sugar under control, so I'd call them right away and see how quickly he can be seen again - even if the vet isn't free to talk to you when you call, I'd recommend you ask the front desk how quickly Abel can be seen. Untreated diabetes can definitely make a pet become much more sick very quickly, so now that you know it's diabetes I would get Abel rechecked. That way when you bring Abel in, you can talk further about the diabetes diagnosis, and your vet can help you become comfortable with measuring and giving the insulin. When I diagnose new diabetic animals, I usually have the owner practice giving injections of saline to their pet in the hospital so we know they will be comfortable with drawing up the correct dose of insulin and giving injections at home. Your vet will also likely want you to start Abel on a prescription diet formulated to help maintain a more steady blood sugar. I hope this helps and he feels better soon!

In most patients this would not be considered as an emergency as the condition tends to develop and progress slowly but I would be more concerned when Sassy is so week and unable to stand. I would strongly recommend contacting the emergency clinic to see if they have insulin in stock as the sooner she is stabilised the better chance she has of making a recovery - prolonged severe diabetic crisis can lead to permanent injury to many cases.

Pepita needs to see a vet urgently to have the condition accurately diagnosed. There are many possible causes of increased thirst and distended abdomen such as cushings, liver disease and diabetes. There is no evidence that dogs suffer from type 2 diabetes and they are generally all insulin dependent if diabetes is confirmed. Administering insulin to a dog without diabetes could be fatal - this must be prescribed by and monitored by your vet only after blood/urine tests and confirmation.

I would recommend taking him to the veterinarian now. My concern is that Pepper has been vomiting for what sounds like awhile and is now lethargic and yelping. This may be pancreatitis, this can be a foreign body or it may just be a simple gastrointestinal upset. If it is something more serious it should be treated sooner than later. I hope Pepper feels better soon.

Poor Charlie! I'm sorry to hear that he's having this problem. Diabetes is not a progressive disease, so a well-controlled dog can live many years with a good quality of life if no complications occur. Vomiting daily is not a normal part of diabetes, so I would be concerned that something else may be going on. This problem may be very treatable, so I would recommend taking him back to your veterinarian for an exam. He/she can do blood work or other testing if needed to help determine what is causing the vomiting and get him started on appropriate treatment depending on what is found.

It sounds like his diabetes is not controlled well. I would start with a glucose check and a urine test. This will confirm if the sugar is still high and if he has ketones in his urine. Ketones can make them sicker and feel bad. They usually require IV fluids and a different, strong but shorter acting insulin to help get it under control they can also do blood work to check for cushings or a low thyroid or a secondary infection somewhere as these are common with diabetes and makes it harder to control diabetes until these are treated also. Once the blood sugar stop fluctating and staying high, his appetite will come back and the drinking slow down.