Should I take my weak diabetic dog to an emergency vet for insulin?

If her blood sugar is 56, she needs to be seen by a veterinarian tonight. She is wading in dangerous territory and should be put on IV dextrose to avoid going into hypoglycemic shock. I would not wait until morning to address this issue, as karo syrup, while helpful, will not help if there is another underlying problem.

Take him to the emergency vet right now. This is serious hypoglycemia and it could kill him. He may be in remission and may not need any more insulin. However this needs to be checked by a veterinarian. But for now it is very important that he be seen at the ER.

I am so sorry to hear about Pepper. This is a sort of in-depth discussion that might work best as a consultation if you need more guidance. There should be a link below or you can go to the doctor page and request a consultation with me (or any doctor you wish). My first thought is making sure Pepper was correctly diagnosed so seeing some bloodwork/urine results would be very helpful. If this were the case the insulin itself could be making her very sick and weak. This is a life-threatening emergency. My next thought is that she was correctly diagnosed but she has some secondary complication- namely diabetic keto-acidosis. This is a life-threatening complication of unregulated diabetes which causes vomiting, dehydration, lethargy and can even progress to shock and death. Either way, I am extremely concerned and would STRONGLY recommend you visit the emergency vet IMMEDIATELY. Pepper could absolutely die in the next 48 hours depending on what is going on. If you absolutely cannot get to a vet I encourage a consultation as we may be able to ask some better questions and walk you through some steps to help figure out what’s going on. Best of luck to you and Pepper.

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!

It is extremely concerning that Simba is not responsive. A blood glucose of 355 is very high, even for a diabetic cat. Given his unresponsiveness, I recommend taking Simba to an emergency veterinarian immediately. There is a chance that he may be experiencing diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which can cause massive shifts in the blood electrolytes, which can lead to seizures or changes in the heart. I hope that all goes well for Simba!

I'm sorry your dog isn't doing well at the moment! It's certainly not normal that she is having a loss of motor skills, and a lack of coordination can be caused by too much insulin. I recommend she sees a vet immediately for this. Do not adult her insulin dosage under recommended by a vet, as you could accidentally do great harm to her. The vet can adjust her dosage if needed.

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.