oh, honey, it's okay! Diabetes is eminently treatable, especially in dogs. If I can answer any questions for you, or if you just want someone to make soothing vetly noises, let me know, okay? email me any time, or call if you want; I'm always happy to talk to you.
Insulin needles are very small--a normal vaccine uses a 22-25 gauge needle, and insulin syringes use 27 or 29 (bigger number = smaller needle). It's basically like putting a hair under their skin, and most animals adjust to it very easily.
It's not prohibitively expensive--I mean, it's an outlay of about $30-40 per vial, and how long a vial lasts will depend on dose, but should be one to two months, I think. Syringes are very cheap.
Diabetes will shorten her life, if it isn't well-regulated. This means careful monitoring of her blood sugar (usually done at home by checking her urine) and being religious about her shots, and not giving her food like table scraps. There are special diets formulated for animals with diabetes, too, which are supposedly easier for their system to handle. Dogs with diabetes can also be more prone to sickness, especially urinary tract infections, because of excess sugar in their urine.
However, if you take good care of her and keep her sugar under control, there's no reason why she shouldn't lead a normal, healthy life.
I just got the report from home and they said she tolerated the needle fine, and they're figuring out the level of insulin she needs. She does have a urinary tract infection, which the cat has had before, so we're used to that.
::breathes:: Thank you. My mother, in her well-meaning but vague way, was not terribly helpful last night.
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confused
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Thank you, vetly Dove ::hugs::
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It's not prohibitively expensive--I mean, it's an outlay of about $30-40 per vial, and how long a vial lasts will depend on dose, but should be one to two months, I think. Syringes are very cheap.
Diabetes will shorten her life, if it isn't well-regulated. This means careful monitoring of her blood sugar (usually done at home by checking her urine) and being religious about her shots, and not giving her food like table scraps. There are special diets formulated for animals with diabetes, too, which are supposedly easier for their system to handle. Dogs with diabetes can also be more prone to sickness, especially urinary tract infections, because of excess sugar in their urine.
However, if you take good care of her and keep her sugar under control, there's no reason why she shouldn't lead a normal, healthy life.
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::breathes:: Thank you. My mother, in her well-meaning but vague way, was not terribly helpful last night.
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