# We keep increasing my dog's insulin, why won't her blood glucose come down? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 8, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457 "2017-06-08T20:56:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/1 "2017-06-08T20:56:25Z")
My dog was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago. We immediately put her on diabetic dog food and under vet’s supervision have increased her insulin until we’re up to 19 units twice a day. Her blood sugar is in the 500s (tested negative for Cushing’s). Any theories? I’m desperate! P. S. Her blood glucose level does go down to 300 after her meal when she gets her insulin but then goes right back up again ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/2 "2017-06-08T21:00:31Z")
Have you tried a different insulin or just the same one? There are different types. [http://www.caninsulin.com/managing-diabetic-dogs-insulin.asp](http://www.caninsulin.com/managing-diabetic-dogs-insulin.asp) ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2017, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/3 "2017-06-08T21:04:22Z")
> [@Helena330](#): > > Have you tried a different insulin or just the same one? There are different types. > > [Vetsulin®: Insulin for Diabetes in Dogs and Cats](http://www.caninsulin.com/managing-diabetic-dogs-insulin.asp) We’ve been giving her Novolin N, which is supposed to be long acting. I can ask the vet about it on Monday ---
**Author:** ![Mars\_Horizon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mars_horizon/32/2804_2.png) [@Mars\_Horizon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mars_Horizon)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/4 "2017-06-09T01:36:46Z")
Your best guide for dosage is your vet. If you don’t give your dog enough insulin she will have problems long term. If you give your dog too much you could put her into a coma, or worse. Much worse. Go slow and take it one day at a time. ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/5 "2017-06-09T10:29:44Z")
> [@Mars\_Horizon](#): > > Your best guide for dosage is your vet. If you don’t give your dog enough insulin she will have problems long term. If you give your dog too much you could put her into a coma, or worse. Much worse. Go slow and take it one day at a time. That seems to be my vet’s philosophy. I guess I just thought we’d be seeing some improvement by now. But yes, definitely don’t want her going into a coma! Don’t know if her age has anything to do with it…? she’s 12 ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2017, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/6 "2017-06-09T13:58:10Z")
> [@67java89](#): > > That seems to be my vet’s philosophy. I guess I just thought we’d be seeing some improvement by now. But yes, definitely don’t want her going into a coma! Don’t know if her age has anything to do with it…? she’s 12 The insulin dosing guidelines in people are like this too. Insulin is deliberately started at a dosage the doctor knows is probably too low and gradually increased. And at least the Novolin N is not expensive compared to some other insulins. (My cat’s Lantus costs about $300 a vial - you should be able to get N at Walmart for about $35 a vial.) According to my vet, dogs tend to be type 2 diabetics (insulin resistance) and cats tend to be type 1 (autoimmune causes). So it may take a while to get the dose up to where your dog needs it. Hope all continues to go well for your doggie! ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2017, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/7 "2017-06-10T22:15:10Z")
> [@GythaOgg](#): > > The insulin dosing guidelines in people are like this too. Insulin is deliberately started at a dosage the doctor knows is probably too low and gradually increased. And at least the Novolin N is not expensive compared to some other insulins. (My cat’s Lantus costs about $300 a vial - you should be able to get N at Walmart for about $35 a vial.) > > According to my vet, dogs tend to be type 2 diabetics (insulin resistance) and cats tend to be type 1 (autoimmune causes). So it may take a while to get the dose up to where your dog needs it. Hope all continues to go well for your doggie! Thanks! At least she doesn’t have ketoacidosis anymore (she had it when she was first diagnosed) so the insulin must be helping some. ---
**Author:** ![FlyingRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/59ef9b/32.png) [@FlyingRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingRat)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2017, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/we-keep-increasing-my-dogs-insulin-why-wont-her-blood-glucose-come-down/788457/8 "2017-06-15T20:26:15Z")
Not a vet here, but is it possible that the diabetic food might be a factor? Most kibbles are pretty high in carbs, even the prescription kinds, so you might talk to the vet about other options such as grain-free or specifically low glycemic index foods. (In full disclosure, we feed our dog a frozen raw diet and it’s worked great for him, but all his health issues are orthopedic.)