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Diabetes in unspayed female dogs

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  • Diabetes in unspayed female dogs

    Unspayed female dogs can develop diabetes only during their heat cycles or can be permanently diabetic. It's actually probably better if they are permanently diabetic because the ones who have high blood sugar only during the heat cycle can need a full dose of injected insulin while in heat and zero insulin when not... and figuring out when that transition occurs is scary.

    If the diabetes is permanent, the blood sugar will be a lot higher while in heat than when not.

    Through forums, I have known a handful of unspayed diabetic dogs... a couple of them did not make it because their blood sugar was so erratic. So it's really really important to keep very good track of the blood sugar and adjust the insulin downward sharply if the blood sugar levels start to drop. You have to walk a tightrope between potentially fatal low blood sugar and ketones from high blood sugar.

    I would actually be pretty content to keep blood sugar in the 200s to low 300s for a while to give a cushion agains the risk of low blood sugar as long as ketones aren't occurring.

    I'm copying below some information on one of the dogs who was diabetic only while in heat.

    Well, Tasha was actually only diabetic during her heat cycle. Once her cycle ended she would return to non diabetic. We caught what was going on in the second cycle and had her spayed. She was taken off the insulin after 2 days and we used diet/excerise to bring her numbers down (she would still go too around 200-300 after meals) for a couple of weeks. It was a good 2 months before she was completely back to no issues with her glucose. The first thing I would ask is if the diabetes onset was at the same time as her last heat cycle. Tasha was going from non diabetic to numbers over 600 back to non diabetic, the changes would be almost over night. She would be hi one day and hypo the next, then no insulin for 2 days and still normal readings. So not a normal profile by any means.

    Tasha was spayed while in heat. They can go into heat just months after delivery and pregnancy and nursing are hormonal times besides.

    Cherie
    Tasha was a husky!

    Natalie
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