FDA WARNING ON VETSULIN FOR DOGS AND CATS
November 5th, 2009 by Dr. Donna Spector
The US FDA has issued a warning about Vetsulin, an insulin commonly used in the treatment of diabetes for dogs and cats. There have been varying amounts of insulin found in the product which could cause unpredictable and possibly dangerous fluctuations in blood sugar levels. If your pet uses Vetsulin, monitor them carefully for unusual signs of high or low blood sugar. Vetsulin supplies will be limited until the problem has been fully resolved and the FDA recommends possibly changing patients to other forms of insulin.
Contact your veterinarian with any questions you may have regarding your pet with diabetes. Read articles for more information on treatment options for feline or canine diabetes, Feline Diabetes: A New Look at an Old Disease, and Diabetes in Dogs.
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November 7th, 2009 at 10:28 am
What are the “other forms of insulin” referred to? What options are available for Vetsulin??
November 9th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Hi Gary:
There are many types of insulin that can be used in pets with diabetes (e.g. NPH, glargine, etc). Each insulin type may be dosed and used differently so you need to ask your veterinarian what would be appropriate for your pet.
Good Luck.
Dr. Donna Spector
December 12th, 2009 at 11:39 am
Our dog, a pug, went on vetsulin and three days later was blind. He is now on human insulin. Did vetsulin have anything to do with him going blind?
Thank you
December 15th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
Dear Betty,
It is unlikely that vetsulin had anything to do with your Pug becoming blind. Diabetic dogs develop blindness for many different reasons and many times the blindness occurs very rapidly such as you described in your Pug. Some common causes of blindness in diabetic dogs include cataracts, retina problems and high blood pressure. Your veterinarian should be able to give you more information about what caused your dogs blindness.
Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector
December 17th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Thanks and welcome – feedback much appreciated
December 31st, 2009 at 10:06 am
My 11 year old Jack Russel has been on Vetsulin for 5 years. She was well regulated at first, but lately has been up and down. She also had to have eye surgery to restore her sight, which I believe was directly connected to the unpredictability of the Vetsulin. Now we are concerned about her liver count which is also related to the diabetes. With the advice of our vet, we are going to attempt to switch her to PZI. Can you give your opinion of the PZI product?
January 5th, 2010 at 10:59 am
Our Siamese has been on Vetsulin for about a year. He does have fluctuations in blood sugar which we were puzzled by as he eats the same amount, at the same time every day and has 2 shots of Vetsulin at the same time every day. Yet he has low sugars of 57 at 2 a.m. (husband is a night person) & day sugars varying from 120 to 250. It is probably the Vetsulin. Our vet told us that cats are very hard to regulate, so we attributed it to that. He is on the last bottle of Vetsulin & our vet is going to order a different insulin. This is really sad as we have had a hard time getting him kind of adjusted. Now we have to get him adjusted on a different insulin product which will mean more testing, which he hates. He doesn’t mind the shots, as he gets a treat or gets fed after it, but he hates the poking of his ears for the test. He gets treats after that too, and we hate doing this to him.
January 11th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
Hi Kathy,
Managing diabetic cats can be challenging. One of the reasons their blood sugar varies so much from day to day and within a day is because many cats are still secreting some of their own insulin. There is no rhyme nor reason to when their body secretes it….it happens sporadically leading to some of these wide fluctuations despite a stable diet. One of the most important things you can do for your cat is to make sure he is eating all canned food–one with high protein and low carbohydrates. NO DRY FOOD! Following this diet plan can help cats lessen their needs for insulin or even revert back to a non-diabetic state.
Good luck.
Dr. Donna Spector
January 11th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Hi Sue:
There is no cookbook recipe for managing diabetic dogs and every dog will require something slightly different and will often do better on one type of insulin over another. Each insulin has pros and cons and your veterinarian has the bigger picture with your dog and is likely recommending PZI based on detailed information.
You mentioned your dogs liver count is up. One reason dogs can be difficult to manage is the development of other medical problems (such as cushings disease, hypothyroidism, liver disease, etc). All of these things can cause the liver counts to change…so make sure to talk to your veterinarian about these things before you change from her current insulin.
Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector
February 21st, 2010 at 9:02 am
Hello Dr Sepector and other pet owners, Our 8 yrs old english Setter was recently diagnosed with diabetes while vacationing in United States. He was started on Vetsulin over a week ago. His bllod sugars are dangerously high (400-489 in US measurement). I am gradually increasing his dose by 1 unit twice daily, as per the vet’s advice here. There has been no change in Mac’s blood sugars and I am worried. Can you help? Thank you
February 26th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Dear Bonnie,
Thanks for writing in. I would like to give you some basic guidelines for newly diagnosed diabetic dogs.
1. It can take several weeks to get a dog regulated on insulin. Expecting perfect regulation during the first one to two weeks is unrealistic.
2. Insulin dosages should not be changed daily. In fact, they shouldn’t be changed more than once each week. It takes a dogs body several days to equilibrate to a new insulin dosage and begin to respond…increasing the insulin dosage too frequently can lead to an eventual cumulative insulin overdosage.
3. Frequently diabetic dogs require adjustments in diet and feeding practices to achieve the best regulation. Increasing the fiber content of the food has been shown to help keep sugar levels best regulated. Feeding the same amount at the same time every day is important. Obesity must be addressed for best diabetic regulation.
4. Many times newly diagnosed diabetic dogs have other things going on, such as urinary tract infections, hormonal problems or high blood pressure. If these issues are not addressed, regulation will be challenging.
5. Ask your veterinarian about monitoring your dog’s urine or blood sugar at home to achieve the best regulation possible.
Good luck with Mac and if he doesn’t level out soon, ask your veterinarian about referring you to an Internal Medicine specialist in your area to help.
Dr. Donna Spector
March 17th, 2010 at 10:26 am
This FDA warning was in Nov 2009. Has any progress been made with regulating the insulin in Vetsulin? Is the product OK to use now (March 2010)? Thanks
March 23rd, 2010 at 9:02 pm
Hi Kathy,
Unfortunately, there has been no change and the manufacturer of Vetsulin insulin is still recommending that pets be transitioned to other types of insulin due to ongoing product issues. The current supplies of Vetsulin are depleting rapidly and will soon be unavailable for the forseeable future….for more information, visit http://www.vetsulin.com.
Dr. Donna J. Spector
April 28th, 2010 at 11:55 am
hello DR SPECTOR, MY DOG CHIPPER WAS DIGONOSED WITH DIEABETES IN 2008 AND WAS PUT ON VETSULIN.SHORTLY AFTER HE DEVELOPED CATARACTS FIRST IN ONE EYE THEN ALITTLE WHILE LATER IN THE OTHER EYE.HE STARTD ON 3MG AND WAS UPED TO 5MG DAILY.HE WAS PUT ON NO GRAIN FOOD STILL HIS BLOOD SUGAR WAS HIGH.NEVER WAS TOLD ABOUT THE WARNING PUT OUT BY FDA & INTERVET MAKER OF VETSULIN. BOUGHT A NEW BOTTLE OF VETSULIN IN FEBUARY 2010 AT MY VET STILL NEVER TOLD ABOUT THE WARNING.SOON AFTER BEING ON THE NEW BOTTLE HE STARTED THROWING UP WATER LOTS OF IT.TOOK HIM TO THE VET THAT DAY WHERE THEY TOOK TESTS BLOOD SUGAR WAS 350 AND WAS TOLD TO CALL IN THE MORNING FOR BLOOD RESULTS.DID THAT AND WAS TOLD TO TAKE HIM TO A 24HR VET AS HE COULDNOT CARE FOR CHIPPER AS HE WAS LEAVING AT 2PM.TOOK HIM TO 24HR ANIMAL HOSPITAL WHEN THEY TESTED HIM HIS BLOOD SUGAR WAS OVER 700 KEYTONES HIGH ETC. CHIPPER DIED THAT EVENING.HE NOW HAS A CASE # WITH THE MAKER OF VETSULIN.I TRULY HAVE LOST A DEAR MEMBER OF OUR FAMILY.CHIPPER WAS 10 YRS OLD ALITTLE GUY WT 14LBS DOES ANY ONE REALY CARE?
April 29th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
Dear Lorraine,
We are so sorry to hear about your loss of Chipper. While I don’t have enough information to determine if the Vetsulin was a problem for Chipper, it is true that diabetes is a very serious disease in dogs and they can suffer from a number of life-threatening complications including (but not limited to) pancreatitis and kidney failure. These conditions frequently result in extremely high blood sugars and ketones and dogs can rapidly decline if affected. Our thoughts are with you during this difficult time.
Take care.
Dr. Donna J. Spector
July 27th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Lorriane I am so sorry to hear about Chipper. I have a 14 year old daschund on vetsulin for 5 years with her ups and downs. Tomorrow she will be transitioned to another insulin. I was never told that vetsulin had any problems or was going to be disscontinued. Just bought a bottle in July 2010. I found out by reading it online. I feel every Dr. should have been responsible to letting the clients know the product would not be available anymore. Shame on all the Dr’s who id not. My heart goes out to all the animals who have to pay the price for having an irresponsible Vet.
August 7th, 2010 at 12:26 am
My dog Zeke is 13 and a half and has been on Vetsulin since July 2007. Because of his age and the fact that he has done well on Vetsulin his vet and I have not wanted to switch him to another insulin. My most recent purchase was Caninsulin from a Canadian pharmacy. Zekes’ vet has enrolled him in the Vetsulin Critical need program which will allow us to get it directly from the manufacturer.
In a post above from Sue she mentions her dogs liver counts are elevated and her vet is considering switching her dog to PZI. Zekes’ liver counts are up (around 550 last month) but our vet thinks it is because of the 25mg a day of Rimadyl that he takes.
Do you know if the elevated liver counts can be a side effect of Vetsulin? I will also discuss this with our vet. Thanks for all the great info on your blog.
August 10th, 2010 at 4:07 pm
Hi Paula,
Thanks for writing in. Vetsulin / Caninsulin is not a cause of elevated liver counts. Often if a dog has a liver problem they develop resistance to certain types of insulin which may necessitate a switch from one type to another. That is most likely why Sue’s veterinarian is considering a switch for her particular dog.
Hope that helps.
Dr. Donna Spector