Why is my senior dog's blood sugar chronically low with no symptoms?

I don't see an age, breed, or sex listed for your pet, which would give us helpful information in terms of how to interpret that finding. It is certainly lower than expected; usually when dogs (or cats) have their blood drawn, they are a bit stressed from being at the vet, which tends to increase the blood sugar for a short period of time, so usually we will see animals be over 80-90, and most commonly over 100. It may be worth asking your vet about running a "baseline cortisol" test to screen for Addison's disease. I will attach some information below. Keep a close eye on your dog as well. If he seems lethargic, tired, walks with a weak or wobbly gait at times, etc, (or certainly if he has more obvious problems such as a seizure), then this probably is a problem for him. Other possible causes of low blood sugar (again age, breed, and sex also play in here in terms of liklihood), include insulinoma (a tumor in the pancreas), liver disease, or toxin exposures (most notably xylitol). I hope that is helpful for you.... for more detailed information consider requesting a consultation so we can go back and forth with information. Thank you for asking PetCoach! https://www.petcoach.co/article/addison-s-disease-hypoadrenocorticism-in-dogs/

This could be a possibility. If your vet thinks Cushing she could be complicating her diabetes, you could consider testing her for cushings. If she definitely has cushings then you can start treating her for that. In the meantime, y'all will need to work on getting her diabetes under control. Another option would be to see if there is a specialist (internist) near you that could take over her case to help you get the DKA under control while also diagnosing and treating for cushings if needed. The main difference between a specialist and a general practitioner is that the specialist specializes in these complicated metabolic diseases and usually have facilities and specialized equipment that can care for them 24 hours if needed. If there is a cost concern and yall are unable to get the DKA under control and she is continuing to decline then yes, I would consider euthanasia. Unfortunately, even with intensive care and extensive testing, sometimes these guys don't improve and continue to decline no matter what we do. I know this is a difficult time and decision. Just know that you are doing the best thing for her whatever you decide. I hope this helps and know we are thinking of you. Hugs!

My biggest concern is that your vet is talking about hyperadrenocorticism also known as Cushing's disease. This is what I think of when you discuss those symptoms, liver enzyme elevations and adrenal issues. Cushings is where they produce too much cortisol in their system. You can do a test to rule this in or out. You can have your vet do a low dose dexamethasone test OR a ACTH stimulation test. If it comes up positive then you can treat with the disease with a daily medicine called trilostane to help the symptoms. But you cannot cure cushings. I hope this helps and will help guide you in a conversation with your vet if this is actually what your vet thinks is going on.

That is very concerning that she is not eating, vomiting, and losing weight. If blood work is normal than your vet could do x-rays and/or an abdominal ultrasound to look for abnormalities. Your vet could also do an ACTH stim test to make sure she is on the correct dose of vetoryl. Your vet could also treat with an anti-nausea medication called Cerenia and an antibiotic called Metronidazole to see if that helps with the vomiting and diarrha. Hope she feels better soon.

An enlarged liver is unfortunately one of the common side effects of Cushing's disease so it is not unusual that Ginger's liver appeared enlarged. Her urine concentration is very low (normal for a dog is 1.040) but again, this can be attributed to her Cushing's disease as well (because she is probably drinking more water and therefore causing her urine to be more dilute). In Ginger's case I would be worried about Diabetes and possibly cancer as well. I know it can be frustrating (and expensive) to keep doing more tests, especially when you aren't getting clear answers as to what is going on. I would recommend talking to your vet about costs/additional testing versus palliative care/keeping her comfortable for the time being. It may also be worth beginning treatment for her Cushing's disease because it could help allieviate some of her symptoms. Good luck. Please let us know if you have more questions/concerns.

Unfortunately, that's just the nature of some diagnostic tests - they don't always give a clear answer, just like in humans. So repeated testing over the course of a few months, or retesting with a different type of test, may be needed to get a diagnosis. Cushing's disease is notoriously hard to diagonse in many dogs, because the testing is often borderline or inconclusive.

I am afraid Roxy is showing typical signs of diabetes: She’s started drinking more, losing weight despite eating normally and having some incontinence in the last week. Diabetes can also make a dog more prone to bacterial urinary tract infections, which is why your vet prescribed clavamox. Stress can cause higher blood glucose levels, but the elevation would be relatively small compared with a diabetic glucose elevation . A blood glucose level over 220mg/dL would definitely be higher than one caused by stress and this would be diagnostic for diabetes. However, should your dog have diabetes, it does help to keep stress levels as low as possible and to also have her teeth checked and if they are in need of a dental cleaning to have this done, as dental problems also cause stress and can compromise the success of diabetes treatment. I hope Roxy only has a UTI, but even if she has diabetes, this is relatively easily dealt with. .