SA JOURNAL OF DIABETES & VASCULAR DISEASE
REVIEW
VOLUME 8 NUMBER 1 • MARCH 2011
13
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Living with diabetes in the family
D
iabetes affects all members of the family,
not just the individual suffering with the
disease. Even when the patient is stable on
medication, one tends to watch him like a hawk
for any uncharacteristic behaviour that could
indicate that something is amiss. Untreated
sores could potentially become infected, leth-
argy could indicate hypoglycaemia, and lack of
appetite any number of problems. And there is
the constant niggle at the back of one’s mind
about possible long-term organ damage.
Having a diabetic in the home also tends
to put a dampener on one’s social life. Several
years ago, one of my boys became diabetic and
needed insulin twice a day at mealtimes – insu-
lin glargine at 7 am and 7 pm. This meant if I
had a dinner date, I could only leave home after
7 pm. If I had an afternoon/evening function,
I had to be back in time for the evening insu-
lin injection. Going away for a weekend was
difficult because most house-sitters won’t give
insulin injections as part of their service. Once,
when spending the weekend at a nearby hotel,
I rushed home at 7 am to give him the injection
and then went back for a leisurely breakfast!
Type 2 diabetes seems to be relatively
common in cats and dogs and can be trig-
gered by many things. In our case, it may have
been related to the stress of being trapped
and put into an animal rescue organisation,
together with the fact that Biggles had been
homeless for some time preceding this. Also,
he was about 10 years old at the time of diag-
nosis. The first indications were weight loss
and increased drinking and urination, together
with a dry, dull coat.
Once Biggles was put onto insulin his con-
dition rapidly improved and we settled into a
routine of a commercial high-protein, reduced
fat diet and the twice-daily insulin injections. I
soon discovered that the easiest way to inject
him was to wait until he was eating and his
attention was diverted from what I was doing.
He then didn’t mind me gently lifting the skin
on the back of his neck and giving him the
subcutaneous injection. He was an extremely
good patient.
Blood sugar is monitored in animals in the
same way as in humans but because Biggles
was so stressed at the vet, this could have
affected his glucose reading. So a twice-yearly
fructosamine test was the easiest and least dis-
ruptive way to monitor his blood sugar levels.
The blood sample is done in the laboratory and
the fructosamine value reflects the average
glucose levels over the past fortnight.
This routine went on for three or more years
until I gradually became aware that Biggles
was becoming less active and more lethargic
than he had been. One Sunday he was really
subdued and seemed to be in pain, so I rushed
him to the vet. On hearing that he was dia-
betic, the vet immediately tested his glucose
levels and found them drastically low, border-
ing on a diabetic coma.
A syringe of glucose administered orally
and an infusion of glucose pushed up his
blood sugar levels, but by the next day, they
had dropped way down again. The vet was
baffled, so a battery of tests was ordered, but
nothing else seemed to be amiss (except a bit
of cervical arthritis). He was then taken off all
insulin and diabetic food and we monitored
his glucose levels daily. Fortunately they slowly
rose over the next week and when we retested
six months later, the level was still within the
normal range.
Biggles is now off insulin completely and
eats normal cat food. He is doing very well and
has regained his sparkle and zest for life. There
is no obvious reason why his diabetes has dis-
appeared, but apparently this is a phenomenon
that has beenknown tooccur in cats particularly.
We of course are delighted that our boy
is normal again. We no longer have to worry
about every cut or scratch becoming infected,
he doesn’t have to be kept calm, and the long-
term damage to kidneys and other organs of
the body is hopefully lessened. I am sure Big-
gles is also very pleased that we are no longer
using his neck as a pincushion, but otherwise
he seems oblivious to the worry and anxiety his
disease has caused us.
Shauna Germishuizen
Biggles
