Managing Diabetes
If your veterinary surgeon has determined that your pet does indeed have diabetes, you’re not alone and it is manageable. With the proper treatment plan, your diabetic pet can live an active life.
Your vet will customize a diabetes management plan to fit the needs of you and your pet.
The goal of pet diabetes management is to control glucose levels and minimize complications. Blood glucose monitoring is a way to assess the diabetes treatment plan and make adjustments, if needed.
veterinary surgeon can perform blood glucose tests at the clinic, or you can perform a test at home.
How to Perform A Blood Glucose Test
There are two types of blood glucose tests: a blood glucose spot check and a blood glucose curve.
A spot check is just one blood glucose sample test. Most pet owners do spot checks 1 - 3 times a day on regular basis and when they suspect that blood glucose is too high or too low.
A blood glucose curve is a series of spot checks taken every 1 - 2 hours over a period of 8 - 24 hours. Blood glucose curves are usually done:
- A few weeks after the pet is diagnosed with diabetes to check how the treatment plan is working
- If diabetes signs recur
- When the treatment plan is changed
- Before diabetes check-up appointments
It is important to perform spot checks and blood glucose curves under the direction of your veterinary surgeon, as many things may cause a fluctuation in blood glucose levels, including:
- Age
- Having house visitors (may raise BG levels)
- Increase in activity or exercise (may cause BG levels to drop)
- Eating meals or snacks (likely to raise BG levels)
Your veterinary surgeon will show you how to accurately perform blood glucose tests and prescribe a monitoring schedule. To learn more about at-home testing, click here.
