[tobypalmer (OP)]

If anyone has had there pet canine checked for diabetes could they post here what the first symptoms were they noticed? Thankyou

[Phil1907]

Sadly experienced in this.  Excessive water consumption, weight loss, urinary incontinence (due to urinary tract infection), increased apetite. 

[Andrew K Fletcher]

Hi Toby, Sally an 8 year old bull terrier developed severe lethargy, spent a long time sleeping, became unable to walk more than a few paces without stopping. This happened shortly after she had surgery to remove her uterus and ovaries through infection. Read that this can happen following surgery and took her in for blood tests. She was diagnosed with diabetes and we were instructed to spend a fortune on insulin and vet visits, which we declined to do.

Instead we found a supply of human insulin having read about people using it for their dogs. http://www.carolonpets.com/blog/nph-insulin-replaces-recalled-vetsulin-for-pet-diabetes/

we located an old tester and pen syringe and cross tested her blood against a fit and healthy dog to find her sugar levels were 29-30 despite taking the insulin. Healthy dog was 5.7

Even so the insulin we give her makes a world of difference to her energy levels and her skin is improving. She is on 35 units 2 times a day. after starting on 5 units and working our way up. She may need an even higher dose.

Having read about cinnamon and its effects on insulin levels in the blood and its increased effect on insulin injected, I decided to mix 2 heaped teaspoons of cinnamon in a mug of boiled water let it go cold and then mix it up and give her a tablespoon of the brew 2 times a day.

The results were quite remarkable, her sugar levels dropped to an all time low of 17.5, which although is still too high is a great improvement.

Just checked her blood sugar this morning and its 29.2 again

It might be worth asking your vet for an opinion on using human insulin as opposed to vetsulin.

Human Insulin

Most newly diagnosed diabetic dogs are initially treated with human insulin. Despite the name, this insulin does not come from human beings! Its chemical structure is the same as human insulin and it is made in a factory using a chemical process. Human insulin has a concentration of 100 units of insulin per milliliter (U-100).

Human insulin is readily available from local pharmacies, but it may require a prescription for use in a pet. It should not be bought or administered without the advice of a veterinarian.

Your veterinarian will recommend a type of human insulin, such as intermediate-acting or long-acting, for your dog. No single insulin is perfect for every dog. Your veterinarian will determine the best insulin therapy for your pet through a series of insulin and dose adjustments. Try to be patient during this process.

While most diabetic pets seem best controlled when receiving insulin twice a day, it is sometimes possible to manage a dog's diabetes with one injection per day.

CAUTION: Human insulin must be injected with orange-capped U-100 insulin syringes. Their scale matches the concentration of the human insulin.  http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7001&id=7391

Hope this helps

Andrew

[CliffordK]

As far as symptoms, Phil's answer sounds reasonable.  You might also add Lethargy.  It is usually diagnosed in humans (and I presume animals) with finding sugar in the Urine, or with blood sugar tests.

Keep in mind that there are two types of diabetes.
Type 1 diabetes: Inability of the body to produce insulin.  Usually an autoimmune disease destroying the pancreatic beta cells.
Type 2 diabetes: Body produces insulin, but the cells exhibit some resistance to the insulin.  Often associated with obesity.

Type 1 diabetes requires insulin injections.
Type 2 diabetes may be able to be managed with diet (including oral pills) and weight loss.  Although, in some cases insulin supplements will also help.

As far as porcine insulin vs human recombinant insulin. 
In humans, there would be less likelihood of developing an allergy against the foreign insulin with the human recombinant insulin.  That would be less of an issue when administering it to a third species as both porcine and human insulin would be "foreign".
The recombinant insulin is "cleaner", with less chance of carrying unwanted pathogens.

The human  recombinant insulin comes in a few different types including fast absorbing, slow absorbing, and very slow absorbing.  And various pre-packaged mixes of the different types.  If you are feeding your pet one meal a day, you should be able to find a mix that would give you a quick boost of insulin following the meal, and some long-lasting background levels of insulin for the rest of the day.

Anyway, it sounds like there are a number of choices for controlling the disease.