Diabetes insipidus (water diabetes)



Diabetes insipidus is sometimes called water diabetes and is completely different to diabetes mellitus (sugar diabetes) which has just been discussed. Diabetes insipidus occurs when the pineal gland in the brain is not producing enough of the chemical ADH (anti-diuretic hormone). This chemical is produced by the pineal gland in the brain and is carried by the blood stream to the kidneys where it stimulates the kidneys to reabsorb water in the process of producing urine. Water is a precious commodity for the body and thus the water in the body is constantly being purified and recycled by the kidneys. Very little water is released from the body by the kidneys in the form of urine. The ADH is produced by the pineal gland in the brain which acts like a control centre for regulating the amount of water in the body. The ADH is simply a messenger chemical which is produced by this control centre (the pineal gland) to tell the water-recycling factory (the kidneys) how much water should be recycled and reabsorbed. If the body has too much water (over hydrated) less ADH is sent to the kidneys which then produce more urine and thus the excess water is expelled. If the body needs to conserve water or is starting to dehydrate then more ADH is sent to the kidneys which then produce less urine and water is conserved. In the case of diabetes insipidus, the pineal gland does not produce enough of this chemical and thus the kidneys think that they are being told to recycle less water and allow more of it to leave the body in the urine. Most human beings experience this same effect when drinking alcohol. This is because alcohol interferes with the messenger chemical ADH and thus the ADH does not tell the kidneys to recycle water. The kidneys then release more water in the urine and thus we have to urinate more often when drinking alcohol. The symptoms of diabetes insipidus are simply drinking more and peeing more. The affected dog will feel fine and act normally. The primary problem is that the kidneys are producing too much urine because the body wants to avoid becoming dehydrated and thus needs to replace the lost water, this will increase the patient's thirst levels. Some dogs may even seem to become incontinent and start wetting indoors and even start wetting their beds.