Budgie has diabetes!

[mooing]

This may sound naive if you know a bit about common budgie illnesses, but this is actually news straight from my vet I was very surprised to hear this, especially after the vet told me that she's never met a diabetic budgie before (and only a handful of diabetic parrots in general). Frankie's blood-glucose levels were so high that they surpassed the measurable levels on her test!

His other symptoms are excessive thirst & urination, lethargy, a loud heart murmur, a GI infection, slightly papery skin, and a relatively fast heart rate. He's being given Baytril for his infection, and it seems like this alone has already decreased his lethargy I believe we're going to start trying diabetes medication soon, but the dosage is going to be trial and error.

The fact that he's quite sick and that there's not much information on how to treat him has really been upsetting me I'm optimistic, but very nervous about things going wrong or not working out..
Please wish Frankie good luck!

 

[BeanieofJustice]

Good luck to you and Frankie! I hope it goes well.

 

[JLcribber]

I'm sorry to hear this. This certainly is a rare thing. Being such a small bird with such a difficult thing to treat in a bird you should be nervous. I wish you and especially Frankie strength and courage. This is going to be a steep hill to climb. Please prepare yourself for things not working out.

How old is Frankie and where did you get him?

 

[EkkieLu]

Poor Frankie! Am sending blessings your way.

 

[harpersmom]

Prayer works, I’m praying for him.

 

[mooing]

Thank you very much everyone
@JLcribber, we're not quite sure how old he is because I got him from a family friend who didn't want his birds (Frankie and Alfie) anymore, and I believe he got them from a chain pet store. My assumption is that he's 2-4, but he could be a senior for all I know

 

[mooing]

UPDATE: Since I'm feeling strong enough to share this, I'd like to tell everyone about Frankie's necropsy results. I want to make the best out of this situation by sharing information that someone might need in the future
His pancreas was very inflamed; about 4-5x bigger. The vet believes this pancreatitis was due to an infection. As a result his glucose levels could not be regulated, so acute hyperglycemia was a symptom instead of a cause. If your bird has long-term polyuria, it could mean an infected pancreas. If they are a smaller species of bird and have high glucose levels, it's most likely an infected pancreas. If you cannot afford the vet immediately, consider buying a jar of urine dipsticks for ~$10. At the very least, you can change the bird's lifestyle accordingly, and at the most you can save up for the vet/know what you probably need to pay for.
Stay safe, birdies!

 

[BeanieofJustice]

UPDATE: Since I'm feeling strong enough to share this, I'd like to tell everyone about Frankie's necropsy results. I want to make the best out of this situation by sharing information that someone might need in the future
His pancreas was very inflamed; about 4-5x bigger. The vet believes this pancreatitis was due to an infection. As a result his glucose levels could not be regulated, so acute hyperglycemia was a symptom instead of a cause. If your bird has long-term polyuria, it could mean an infected pancreas. If they are a smaller species of bird and have high glucose levels, it's most likely an infected pancreas. If you cannot afford the vet immediately, consider buying a jar of urine dipsticks for ~$10. At the very least, you can change the bird's lifestyle accordingly, and at the most you can save up for the vet/know what you probably need to pay for.
Stay safe, birdies!

Thank you for sharing! I'm so sorry you lost him but this is very helpful information.