INSTRUCTIONS FOR DIABETICS

What is Diabetes? Diabetes mellitus is the medical condition where not enough insulin or no insulin at all is being produced by the pancreas.  Insulin keeps the body's blood sugar down in a normal range.  Without insulin, the blood sugar rises above normal.  More importantly, without insulin, the body's various tissues cannot use the blood sugar that is high in the bloodstream.  Therefore, your pet needs insulin to allow the body to use blood sugar and to keep the blood sugar level down near normal levels.  
 

You will be giving insulin injections TWICE daily, 12 hours apart.  It is very important to maintain this schedule.  You should not vary the schedule by more than one hour.  Insulin will make the blood sugar go down, but we do not want the blood sugar to go down too far.  That is why we make sure your pet is eating before you give the insulin dose.  Thus, the simple schedule is:  (1) Feed first and make sure your pet is eating, (2) Wait a few minutes after eating to make sure there is no vomiting, (3) Give the appropriate insulin dose, and (4) Do the same thing over again in 12 hours.  If your pet does not eat or vomits what it eats, then giving insulin (or accidentally giving too much insulin) will make the blood sugar go too low.  Signs of the blood sugar getting too low (hypoglycemia) include: staring into space; standing in a corner or against a wall; staggering or acting "drunk;" acting blind; or you may find your pet "passed out" in a coma.  If you suspect that your pet's blood sugar is getting too low, have Karo