If your pet has just been diagnosed with canine diabetes, you’re probably feeling shocked and overwhelmed right now. But don’t despair. Managing diabetes in dogs can be challenging at first, but after a few months, you and your pet will be old hands at it. Here are some answers to questions you probably have. 

1. Why Are Blood Sugar Levels Important?

Your pet’s body breaks carbohydrates down into glucose during the digestion process. Glucose is what fuels the body. It’s transported by the blood to all parts of your pet’s body.  

Blood glucose levels go up after a meal. That’s when insulin, produced in the pancreas, is released into your pet’s system to keep the blood sugar levels from becoming too high.  

If not enough insulin is being produced, blood sugar levels will get too high, which causes damage over time to your pet’s organ systems. If your pet isn’t fed at the right time, or he receives too much insulin, blood sugar levels can plummet to dangerously low levels, which can quickly cause death.

Blood sugar is measured by how many mg of glucose are present in a deciliter of blood. Normal blood sugar levels in dogs range between 75 and 120 millegrams per deciliter (mg/dL). It’s normal for the blood sugar levels to rise after a meal. But if they stay above 180 for a long time, the body will try to get rid of excess sugar by excreting it in the urine. This is known as “sugar spilling.”  

Blood sugar levels below 80 are too low, and if the level drops below 60, this is a crisis situation. You need to get your pet’s blood sugar levels higher right away. 

2. What Does “Regulation” Mean For Diabetes In Dogs?

Your pet is considered “regulated” when the supplies of food and insulin are balanced, which results in blood sugar levels staying within normal levels all day. 

If your pet is left alone all day, it can be challenge to keep her blood sugar levels from gettng too low or too high. You don’t want her blood sugar levels to get too low, because this can be fatal quickly. If levels are too high for long periods of time, ketoacidosis can result, which is a different crisis. Until she’s well-regulated, you may need to have someone come home mid-day to check her blood sugar level.  

3. Regulating Canine Diabetes Takes Time

You’ll need to establish a routine of feeding your pet at the same time every day. Two meals a day, twelve hours apart, is usually recommended. You’ll also need to check her blood sugar levels and give her an insulin injection twice a day, usually at mealtimes.

It’s best to give her the insulin shot after she eats. If you give it to her before you feed her, and then she doesn’t eat, her blood sugar levels will drop dangerously low, which means an emergency trip to the vet.

Always warm insulin in your hand before you give it to your dog, as injecting it while it’s cold is painful for your pet.

Is There A Cure For Diabetes In Dogs?

Unfortunately, no. The best cure is prevention. Since the biggest risk factor for dogs with diabetes is being overweight, putting her on a diet is the best thing you can do for your pet. Plenty of exercise is essential, too. Exercise is a great way to control blood sugar levels naturally.  

Natural remedies for dogs contain herbs and dietary supplements which have been proven to control blood sugar levels naturally. Many pet owners have successfully used a combination of diet, exercise, and herbs to prevent diabetes in dogs.

Don’t wait for your pet to develop canine diabetes. While it’s still fresh in your mind, you’ll want to start learning now how you can prevent your pet from becoming a diabetic.

Dr. Gerald Bernstein, endocrinologist at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York City, discusses programs at the Gerald J. Friedman Diabetes Institute to help people manage diabetes.

The researchers all over the world are busy trying to find out the exact methods to manage diabetes. For, diabetes has assumed the settled form of a dreaded disease, not sparing children, pregnant women, adults and the old. The aged persons are the worst sufferers because it destroys the strength in their body at a rapid pace.

Scientists believe that environmental factors cause the immune system to destroy the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. When the insulin-producing cells are permanently destroyed, the only alternative for you is to provide insulin to the body through external resources such as injections! So, far no other remedy has been found!

There are two types of diabetes. Type I and Type II.

The former is incurable, and it will remain as your life-long partner- the most unreliable partner for that matter! Because many dreaded diseases are its likely companions. These dreaded companions will never shudder to attack you, should you be a bit less alert in taking care of your diabetes.

Type II is curable, it is reported that 9 out of 10 cases are successfully treated. There are certain preconditions however! You must have control over your diet and indulge in regular exercising. Consumption of alcohol as well as smoking is thoroughly prohibited. Body Weight Check is your watchword!

For type I, take 2 to 5 injections per day. Insulin has a dual function to play. It regulates both the blood sugar and the speed at which sugar moves into cells. But insulin is not to be treated as replacement for proper diet. The diet and exercise are the foundation stones for controlling diabetes. Insulin will have the favorable impact only after you take the necessary precautions.

With course of treatment of type I Diabetes, no chance can be taken. It is always to be considered as a dreaded disease and should be treated and respected as such. Some of the symptoms of your laxity of treating type I diabetes are continuous need to urinate, excessive thirst, weakness, coupled with tiredness, urinary tract infections, blurred vision and numbness in the feet.

If Type I diabetes is not treated and looked after properly, it is not a life and death situation, it is life or death, and chances for the later are more!

Once diabetes develops, its cure is not possible. The disease may be so mild that the person may not need either insulin or medicine or even marked dietetic restrictions. A well controlled diabetic can look forward to a normal or a near normal life for many years. To control diabetes, below are some useful guidelines that every diabetic should know.

1. If there is a history of diabetes in the family, it is advisable to have an annual checkup to rule out diabetes. Blood sugar test one and a half hours after a heavy breakfast or lunch is a useful screening test. However, it is desirable to do a glucose tolerance test at an early stage to detect diabetes.

2. For those already diabetic, a periodic checkup is necessary to monitor one’s diabetes. This should include daily urine tests at home, and at least once a month, a blood sugar test is a reliable laboratory. Also, it is mandatory that once a year, a checkup of eyes, kidney, heart and feet is done by qualified specialists so that these complications, if present, can be diagnosed at an early stage and effectively treated before it becomes too late.

3. All diabetic patients need a suitable diet. In the case of many, especially those with an excess weight, it can be controlled by diet alone. In addition to diet, some need insulin and others can be treated with oral drugs. A combination of insulin and oral drugs may be useful at times. Exercise is an important part of the treatment of diabetes.

4. You should always aim to keep your blood sugar under control. It is also desirable to keep your body weight at the optimum level. Additionally, you should also frequently keep your blood pressure, as well as the serum cholesterol and triglycerides, the two fats in the blood, under control. This will greatly reduce the risk of developing diabetes complications, and help the diabetic live a long and healthy life.

Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on any health program.

Copyright © Nick Mutt, All Rights Reserved. If you want to use this article on your website or in your ezine, make all the urls (links) active.

Here is an excellent Diabetes supplement that will help you to control blood sugar level. Also know Diabetes food list for healthy eating. Read information on How to control diabetes to live longer and better.

Living with Diabetes is not easy because there are so many factors that have to be taken into consideration concerning your lifestyle. There are two types of diabetes simply labeled type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes is normally diagnosed in children and young adults, while type 2 diabetes may develop over the years and strike when you are older. Diabetics suffering from type 1 diabetes will have to take regular insulin injections because their bodies are unable to produce the necessary insulin; while people suffering from type 2 can be treated with dietary modifications and anti diabetic tablets. In some cases insulin making cells in type 2 diabetes sufferers fail and as a result sufferers will also require starting of taking insulin injections. Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes suffered by millions all over the world.

Who has the most risk of contracting diabetes?

People that can contract diabetes more than others are old age people, the obese and very overweight, those with a family history of diabetes, sedentary people; and recently research has shown Asians and black skinned people have twice the risk of developing type 2 diabetes due to lifestyle factors. Unfortunately symptoms of type 2 diabetes develop gradually and can be unnoticeable until long after the onset of the disease. People with high glucose levels in their blood may even experience no symptoms at all.

Some Noticeable symptoms of diabetes requiring investigation.

If you suffer symptoms of fatigue, excessive thirst, unexplained weight loss or weight gain; wounds that are slow to heal, very dry skin, vision change, or tingling and numbness in your body, then it is vital to consult with your doctor because you may be suffering from diabetes. This disease can damage blood vessels, your kidneys, and heart arteries, and other complications in the body may arise; the result is that your life can be shortened by up to 10 years if you do not get proper treatment. Type 2 diabetes can also cause loss of healthy vision, impotence in men and even nerve damage. With all these scary factors it is certainly a sensible decision to get tested by a healthcare professional if you are suspicious of any changes in your body.

Treatments for Diabetes

Treating diabetes means keeping the level of sugars or glucose levels in your blood as normal as possible. Too high; a level of glucose in the bloods is known as hyperglycemia, and too low hypoglycemia. Keeping sugar levels normal can be done by eating correctly, regular exercise and taking medicines and insulin’s as your doctor has prescribed. People suffering from diabetes must get into a habit of checking blood glucose levels regularly. These checks can give you an indication of how certain foods, exercise and medicines are reacting in your body and helping control your type 2 diabetes. New technology equipment that is compact to carry with you has been designed for the purpose of doing these checks without any discomfort. Doctors’ visits will also give you an indication of how well your blood sugar is controlled over periods of time.

Diabetics need to be lifestyle conscious.

If you live properly taking care of what foods you eat, then it is relatively simple living a healthy balanced lifestyle. Some tips of controlling diabetes include:

A carefully balanced diet knowing which foods need to be avoided.

Your doctor will give you guidance on this suitable for your type of diabetes.

If you are obese or overweight then it is vital to shed those pounds as quickly as possible because dangers to your health increase exponentially.

Regular exercise helps controlling blood sugar while you are burning sugar for energy.

Diabetes sufferers that are sedentary may suffer heart attacks. If you have been sedentary for a long period take care to ask your doctor before taking on any exercise routines.

Taking prescribed medication.

If you need insulin injections, then you will need to learn the care for storage and injecting yourself from your health care provider or diabetes center.

Do as much research on the condition of diabetes how to care for yourself if you are a sufferer and what new medications are available on the market.

More Information on Diabetes Lifestyle Management Secrets

Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus commonly referred to as diabetes 2, is a diabetic problem that often occurs in people above the age of 30 years and usually runs in the patient’s family. The condition can easily be triggered by the use of certain drugs, excess alcohol consumption, being overweight and so many other lifestyle activities. When you have diabetes 2, your blood glucose levels always tend to rise above the allowed amounts therefore forcing some of the glucose to spill into the urinal system. Once this has been done, the urine being excreted from the body appears to be filled with sugar hence being branded the name “sweet urine”.

In most cases, patients suffering from diabetes 2 either do not have the ability to produce enough insulin responsible for the control of blood glucose levels or simply, do not have body cells that can respond to the hormone. This situation occurs as a result of a problem commonly known as insulin resistance, a condition which makes the muscles, fat cells and the liver not to utilize insulin properly. This condition usually occurs in people who are overweight or obese. The reason behind this is that, the excess fat in the body often inhibits the insulin from moving the glucose from the blood into the body cells. As this happens, the pancreas usually tries to keep up with the increased demand of glucose intake by producing as much insulin as it can. However, with time, the pancreas loses the ability to keep up with the ever increasing glucose levels hence diabetes 2 occurring. It is for this reason that people suffering from diabetes 2 are often advised to engage themselves in activities that make the body work in order to reduce the amount of excess fat deposited in the body hence increasing chances of insulin acting on the excess blood glucose.

Signs and symptoms that appear in patients with diabetes 2 include, having a blurred vision, experiencing excessive thirst, fatigue and having an increased rate of passing urine. Apart from having these symptoms, other complications may also occur in people suffering from diabetes 2. These complications include high blood pressure, stroke, kidney failure, heart problems, diabetic coma, dental problems, blood vessel problems, foot complications, skin complications and having a low resistance to infections.

In order to manage diabetes 2, lifestyle changes that support the reduction of fat levels in the body are usually encouraged to be undertaken. These changes could be anything from, exercising, eating food or taking drinks that are low on sugar and fat, reducing alcohol consumption among other things. However, when these changes prove not to work as needed, medical approaches may be sort in order to have satisfactory results. Among these medical approaches is the use of oral medicines such as Amaryl, a drug that works by enhancing insulin production in the body in response to any ingested meal and Avandia, an oral medicine that sensitizes the body towards insulin. Unfortunately, oral medicines come with side effects most of the times,like diarrhea, vomiting, kidney failure among many other problems. It is for this reason that proper consultation with your doctor should be done before you decide to use medication.

When people are first told by their doctors that they are diabetic, they often respond in disbelief. Some people are overwhelmed and get depressed. Besides, with no cure and the fact that you need to follow certain instructions on how to live your daily life, you too would be depressed and overwhelmed. It will seem like life suddenly turned for the worse. It is true that living with diabetes is hard and you will need to really adjust to literally a new lifestyle. But, you will see that you will be able to adjust and still live a more normal life despite the fact that you have diabetes.

From medication directions, to constantly monitoring and checking your blood sugar level, to doing a healthy exercise regime, you will see that this lifestyle change can really be difficult, especially if you are the type of person who is not accustomed to giving yourself an injection or monitor your own eating habits. But, there are ways that will help you assist when it comes to managing your lifestyle if you are living with this disease.

If you were recently diagnosed with the disease, the most important thing that you need to do is to get down to the basics of managing diabetes. Ask your doctor for more information about diabetes and also ask them to write down instructions on how to take your medications. Also, ask them how and when to check your blood sugar levels and try writing it down. You should also have your doctor write you diet plan, which you can follow exactly. This diet plan will also serve as a guide for you as you will later plan all your meals yourself.

You should also meet a dietitian or a nutritionist who specializes in diabetes care. They will be able to tell you exactly and get you to understand what you can and cannot eat. They will also be able to tell you the amount of certain food that you can eat. With a dietician or a nutritionist, you will be able to have someone to help you make a diabetic diet and also help you how to follow the diet. If you need to lose weight the healthy way, then they will also help you plan a meal for you to follow in order for you to lose weight without compromising your health or aggravating your condition.

After you understand and adjusted to diabetes, the next step is to know more about the condition. Try to attend seminars and classes that specialize in diabetes as this will be able to help you learn how to properly care for certain conditions brought upon diabetes. These classes will also teach you how to protect yourself from the complications of diabetes

You should also learn how to deal with the disease while you are traveling. After you are well adjusted to the disease, you will now be able to live a more normal life with diabetes. At first, adjusting to a new kind of lifestyle can be difficult. However, after a few weeks, you will see that the diabetic lifestyle will become very natural for you.

Living with diabetes does not mean that it is the end of your life. It just means changing the way you live your life in order for you to live more normally. You will still enjoy life and still do most of the things you want to do. However, you will need to know how to properly manage the disease in order to prevent or minimize the effects of the complications brought upon by diabetes.

We are aBNI Chapter in Western Massachusetts. On Friday October 11th, 2008 the Partners in Prosperity Business Network International Chapter in Chicopee Massachusetts had it weekly meeting. This Chicopee BNI Chapter meets at the Moose Family Center 244 Fuller Street, Chicopee, MA 01020. We are serious about giving you the business.

For DiabetesAmerica patients, managing their condition is no longer a full-time job.