Breaking news.
Vetsulin insulin is widely used in diabetic dogs (and, occasionally, diabetic cats). I was therefore disturbed to receive the following e-mail from the American Veterinary Medical Association.
FDA-CVM Issues Alert About Problems with Vetsulin Porcine Insulin Zinc Suspension
November 3, 2009 The U.S. Food and Drug Administrations Center for Veterinary Medicine, in cooperation with Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Health, has announced that Vetsulin may have varying amounts of crystalline zinc insulin, the active ingredient, in the formula. As a result, use of the product could result in a delay in action of the drug as well as prolonged action, which could cause difficulty in managing diabetic pets. Get more information on the AVMA web site, AVMA.org: http://www.avma.org/aa/vetsulin_091102.asp
If you administer Vetsulin to your pet, I recommend that you contact your veterinarian about this matter immediately. Unreliable insulin can lead to chronically high blood sugar in pets. Worse, it can lead to accidental insulin overdose. For information on the symptoms of insulin overdose in pets, go to my website:
