diabetic dog??

[mopinko]

i posted the other day in the lounge about my terrier's seizure. she has had fleeting events in the past, but the other day had a seizure that lasted almost half an hour. rushed her to the vet, and he couldn't really explain it. did some x-rays, and some blood work. one of the things that came up was a glucose of about 160. he said that since we couldn't be sure she was "fasting" it was hard to say it that meant anything. but i am pretty sure she hadn't eaten anything. her stomach looked empty, and i hadn't given her anything. she is a great sneaker, tho.
the xray also did show some spottiness in the area of the pancreas. i will talk to the vet about all this when i take her back for a follow-up, but i was wondering if anyone here has any experience with diabetic dogs.

[erinlough]

1. Many years ago I had an irish setter with diabetes

we treated it with the same medicine humans take. It was successful for a while. She continued to have siezures once and a while, then started having one after the other with little stopping. We had to have her put down. I am sure there is more knowledge now about dogs with this disease now days. Good Luck.

[mopinko]

4. just talked to the vet.

says he doesn't think that she is diabetic, but we will look at that when i take in for follow up.

[AZBlue]

2. Could she be epileptic?

My boss's dog is and he treats it with people medicine.

[mopinko]

3. the vet said he didn't think so.

said it is not all that unusual for a dog to have a seizure from time to time. it's when they start having them regularly that they declare them epileptic, and treat them. says treatment is usually effective.

[China_cat]

5. I don't know about dogs

but I've had 2 cats with diabetes (one still going strong at 18 and 7 years diagnosed). Seizures with diabetes usually occur when the blood sugar drops too LOW. 160 is not exactly 'low' (normal is between 90 and 120) so I don't think that's your problem. (Not what would be considered high, either. If it was over 200 then you might need to be concerned)

Come to think about it, we had a dog once that had a few seizures. Turned out her calcium levels were very low. Something to think about. (Started giving her a calcium supplement and she never had another one)

[mopinko]

6. pretty sure the ca was normal.

this is a common cause of seizures i birds. greys especially.

[travelpet]

7. You didn't say how old your dog is, but it

is not uncommon for older dogs to have seizures...like many
humans, they can suffer from hardening of the arteries causing
lack of oxygen to the brain, which in turn can cause seizures
which can range from just a distant look and failure to
respond to voice command to tremors followed by screaming and
dead weight. I've had dogs that have done both, and it can be
very freightening. The most important advice would be get a
vet who takes the situation seriously...it can be treated.

As for diabetes, it is not all that rare in dogs. Personally,
I've not had a diabectic dog, but many of my members have.
They are treated just like human diabetics, except, you have
to become intuitive for them. Diabetes can be successfully
treated, too.

Good luck.