Diabetes

[abmo]

Hi everyone!

Just wondering if anyone knows of anything that can be done for a piggie with diabetes. The vet says there is no piggie diabetes treatment & the books I have back this up but wondered if anyone on here as any experience of it?

One of my piggies, Maisy, who is around 5 I think (rescue so hard to know for sure) has it. She has lost loads of weight and has lost sight in one eye. I think she may be starting to get circulatory problems in her feet but otherwise she is very spry and seems like her usual self. She eats well but of course with diabetes she cant put any weight on.

I don't want to have her PTS as she seems happy enough but I do fret about how skinny she is & I worry about her feet. Is there anything I can do? How will I know if she is starting to suffer? I only want what is best for her.

Please any advice/experiences, I would be so grateful to hear about.

Thank you x

 

[Bekki]

if shes losing weight can you not feed her really high calorie food ? I'm not really familiar with diabetes weight loss tbh

I know oats and alfalfa are high calorie

 

[claremw92]

I've had a couple with diabetes...

Basically the best was to treat is through diet...
Give her burgess excel nuggets one bowl full a day... Always at the same time... Only give her veggies... Like cabbage and broccoli and dark leafy veg and lettuce and cucumber and celery... No fruit... No bell pepers... No shop bought treats...

Lodes of hay... And always have fresh water available...

x

 

[Abi_nurse]

Has your vet actually diagnosed her with diabetes and how did they do this? What food is she on? Foods containing E colourants can cause Glucose to appear in the urine causing a false diagnoses of diabetes.

If she has circulatory problems has she had a chest xray or heart scan to see if she has a heart condition which can be treated?

As far as i know yes there is treatment for diabetes. But I'm not experieced in it, so hopefully someone will come along soon to help.

To be honest i would see a different vet for a second opinion and to check out her heart too which can be treated.

x.

 

[Kirjava]

I'm diabetic, but I'm not sure how it would be treated in Piggies :s I try to eat a low ish carbohydrate diet (really just a healthy one) so I think veg would be ok as theres no carbohydrate in it, but not fruit as it has sugar in it.

She's losing weight as theres no insulin to access the sugar in her bloodstream, so it uses up fat stores instead. Maybe you get piggy insulin injections? I hope you find some more information soon, let me know if you have any questions