Dog & Cat Diabetes Boca Veterinary Clinic

Good morning I am Dr. Lesley Hack from Boca Veterinary Clinic and today’s presentation focuses on diabetes which is also known as diabetes mellitus, in dogs and cats and the aim of these little presentations is to help you, the owner, understand this disease so they can better help your pet who has this problem. Here we have at very basic schematic of the body as it relates to sugar transportation. These represent the cells of the body these are all muscle cells and require energy in order to move around in do the everyday functions of live. These represent the blood supply that carries the sugar molecules between the cells and this represents the brain. You may notice that the blood vessels carrying sugar go directly to the brain. However, there is gap between those blood vessels and the cells. So a sugar molecule is able to move along this blood supply and directly reach the brain without the need of anything to carry it into the brain. However, the cells have a problem. We assume this pet has just eaten breakfast and therefore its blood sugar is increasing as it digests its food these little red caps illustrate the blood sugar supply and their increasing because we’ve just had a meal. They are the sugar molecules are able to directly reach the brain and be used as an energy source by the brain. However, these cells are essentially starving. This is starvation amidst plenty. The cells have no way to access that sugar. The cells are standing there begging for food. There’s plenty of food they cannot get it. In the normal course of events the body makes insulin to help deal with this situation. In the diabetic patient who does not make any insulin we have to help. We have to supply insulin so that each and every cell is able to had some energy. Now how does the insulin work? Well the sugar molecule attaches to the insulin, which transports it into the cell… It detaches to be used as an energy source. Sugar attaches to insulin insulin carries it into the cell… It detaches to be used for energy. This process occurs naturally every time a normal individual has a meal. We eat, blood sugar goes up, body makes insulin, insulin carries the molecules into the cells. The cells have energy now to do their work. However, in an animal that does not have natural supply of insulin, we have to provide these insulin molecules because if we don’t provide these insulin molecules that page is not able to utilize its blood sugar for energy. Over the course of a day this insulin in is broken-down. It is essentially removed from the body. In a patient who does not have diabetes that patient is able to make more insulin. However, in a patient who doesn’t have a natural supply of insulin. Then as the cells to use up this energy source, they have used it up. They have no way accessing the sugar that remains in the blood supply. They can not use it. If the animal has another meal that blood supply of sugar is going increase again. The cells are unable to access that energy source. unless we give them more insulin. and that is why it is an ongoing dynamic event. It would take place naturally every time we ate and our own pancreas made insulin. However, in the animal that doesn’t have insulin naturally because it is diabetic we have to give that insulin, in order that the cells may utilize the sugar as an energy source. Controlling your pets diabetes is all about establishing balance. We need to establish the balance of the correct amount of blood sugar that the brain can function normally and the correct amount of insulin to carry sugar into the cells so that your pet can play with you and be happy and active, and we have to establish a diet that will stabilize this diabetes. It needs to have the right amounts up sugar for that pet to utilize for every day. These are very difficult things for you to determine your own. You need to work closely with your veterinarian to find the right insulin for your pet, and the correct diet for your pet, and the correct dosage and frequency of that insulin, so that you can achieve this balance. “music”.