Zobaline question

Question about how Zobaline works --
So Shenandoah had some neuropathy at the time of diagnosis. We're now a good ways through our first bottle of Zobaline (less than 2 weeks left out of 60 days), and have had significant improvement.

Shenandoah is OTJ, with pre-meal BG numbers generally between about 70 and 90 (human meter).

My question is, does Zobaline "cure" neuropathy, as in, if I stop giving her the pills will she remain as she is now as long as the diabetes is under control? Or do I need to plan on keeping her on them basically forever, with her neuropathy coming back if I stop?

 

Good question. I like to hear what others say. Could try 1 pill a day, if she starts having symptoms you can go right back to the 2 pills.

 

The recommended dose is 1 pill/day and that's all she's been getting. I'd hate to take her off them completely without knowing it's okay to try it, after all the progress she's made.

 

Sorry I thought you were doing 2 a day. Try half a pill and see what happens. You can go back to 1 if you see it's not enough.

 

Here is information from TAMU on cyanocobalamin supplementation for gastrointestinal disease:

http://vetmed.tamu.edu/gilab/research/cobalamin-information#dosing

It might give you some sort of steer as to what happens to cobalamin levels in the body.

Does Shenandoah have any renal issues? If yes Tanya's Site recommends daily B-complex supplementation. B12 supplementation is also discussed there but they do reference a human study which concluded that B12 may accelerate progression of renal insufficiency - and yet it is a supplement indicated for treatment of anaemia. They suggest a daily dose of 1mg oral methylcobalamin (IIRC).


Mogs
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It doesn't cure neuropathy, unfortunately. I agree with Woodsywife that I'd do a lower dose and then up it if your kitty starts having symptoms again.

 

Diabetic neuropathy does reverse on its own--the key is keeping BG levels in a normal range as long as possible. Methyl B12 helps speed this process by promoting nerve growth. Once the nerves have recovered as much as they will, there's nothing more the methyl B12 can do. Neuropathies typically resolve as much as they're going to within 6-12 months (depending on the severity), and if a cat is OTJ (or very well regulated on insulin) you can discontinue the methyl B12 in this time frame.

However, I checked out Shenandoah's spreadsheet, it she looks like she was barely diagnosed before she went into remission. So I went and looked at her history , and see that she was diagnosed with diabetes because she had high blood sugar at the vet with an infection? Diabetic neuropathy is a condition that typically takes several months of unregulated or poorly regulated blood glucose to manifest, so I'm not sure that may have been her problem to begin with. What were her neuropathy symptoms that made you start the Zobaline? Does she still show any of those symptoms?

Edit: I just noticed that Shenandoah is 17 years old! I'm wondering if her issue may be arthritis, not neuropathy? If so, there are nutritional supplements that can help with that, and a heated bed (or beds) that can also help quite a bit. In severe cases, pain meds are usually prescribed.

 

Hi Julia,
She was very wobbly on her hind end, and could not jump up on anything higher than about 1 foot. Sometimes her legs would just go out from under her, and she had very little balance - for example she liked to walk alongside the bath tub, but several times almost fell in. Her back end tended to hang low when she walked, as well, and she moved everywhere slowly. Those symptoms built up for a few months prior to the diabetes diagnosis (I assumed they were arthritis at the time).

Between the remission and the Zobaline (which could be causative or coincidental, no idea), the symptoms are almost gone now, just some slight wobbling at times. She jumps up several feet, walks on the tub again, and runs around like a wild-cat.

A year ago she had x-rays that showed NO signs of arthritis, amazingly for her age. At her diabetes diagnosis last November we didn't have x-rays, but the vet did a check for freedom of movement and pain, and found she had full movement and no signs of pain. So despite her age, she seems to have remained free of arthritis.
The vet also did say she had neuropathy from the diabetes at that time.

 

Well, that certainly sounds like neuropathy. I've just never heard it happening that close to diagnosis and remission! If she had high BG for a few months before she was diagnosed, though, then it would make sense.

Better safe than sorry, in my estimation! I would continue with the B12 for few months, at least, just to be sure that she's recoved to the best of her ability. If it turns out she didn't have neuropathy and it was something else causes the weakness, the B12 certainly won't hurt anything!

FYI, if you're looking for a cheaper alternative to the Zobaline (the owner of the cat with neuropathy that I was helping out couldn't afford it), it's perfectly fine to use an OTC human supplement, like this one. You just open up a capsule once a day and mix it in with their food. The dose is a little higher (5mg vs 3mg), but that's fine, because cats will just pee out what they don't need, so there's no worry of an overdose.

 

Thanks! I'll try keeping her on another couple bottles and then see where we are.
Zobaline is only $6 more than that human one for 60 days, so I think I'll stick with what's been working.