My diabetic dog has ketoacidosis. What can I do at home tonight?

Princess has probably been diabetic for a while (possibly many months). When the diabetes continues on untreated, the dogs can become ketotic. If she still has a good appetite, the she may be able to start insulin shots, anti-nausea medications, pain medications, etc. at home without needing specialized hospitalization. If she is very ill, her best chances are in the hospital. You always have the option of declining in-hospital treatment and trying to treat at home, but you may not always be successful. You should discuss all available options with your vet, even if the outcome is not ideal or leads to a poor prognosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a very serious problem in pets and causes life-threatening abnormalities. They need aggressive IV fluid therapy and a special type of insulin to slowly decrease their blood glucose and manage them through the many ups and downs. The monitoring and hands-on-vet care required means high bills. Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas - the organ that regulates insulin) is very common in diabetic dogs, and can make things harder to treat since it causes intense pain and nausea. Your vet probably also warned you that having a diabetic dog is expensive since she will need regular vet visits, blood glucose monitoring, insulin and the syringes to administer it, a change in diet, etc.

I am sorry to hear Khouie is an severe and concerning clinical situation. This is a very difficult time I understand. I would suggest to avoid giving insulin as that should be given only after measuring blood glucose (giving insulin could cause otherwise hypoglycemia). Ketoacidosis is usually diagnosed when ketones are inside urine (so urine analysis would be ideally needed). Discomfort and lack of appetite would require an immediate check up to evaluate his quality of life and eventually discuss euthanasia with your local veterinarian. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

Unfortunately this is a really tough disease to treat, even with veterinary care. Your cat would likely need to be on fluids and then start getting regulated on insulin to get his diabetes under control. Until his dehydration and blood sugar is under control he will probably still be lethargic and anorexic. I am sorry you're having to go through this with your cat. I wish there was more I could tell you. Best of luck.

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!

The prognosis is definitely guarded to poor. Especially if the ketoacidosis isn't treated aggressively and right away.. Cushing's disease is a slow progressing disease that can take months to sometimes years to finally take its toll on pets when left untreated. Diabetic keroacidotic dogs can live if the ketones are removed from the body quickly before they cause serious complications. I hope this helps and best wishes with your pet Rasta. If you wish to discuss the case more in detail then feel free to request a consultation. Best wishes.

Just keep him on his normal feeding and exercise routine. His blood sugar will be elevated without the insulin but a couple days should not be that huge of a problem. What you may notice is a temporary recurrence of signs (such as excess thirst and urination), but is not life threatening. If you see him acting ill though you should take him to an ER clinic immediately.

Hello. I believe I answered your previous question. The problem is not his pills, the problem is his diabetes is worsening and is not being controlled with the pills. You will need to go to your vet to discuss starting on insulin. Without insulin he will develop life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The pills are fine. Please discuss insulin with your vet. Good luck with your little one!