Pills or injection

I just want to know if anyone here uses the pills instead of injections. I would like to use the pills and see how he does on that before I have to give injections. I just found out he has diabetes and I am devastated. I was a dry food junkie but now he is on wet food. Nutro perfect portions.
The vet is very adamant that I use Science diet. I will not use it as I have read so much about it and the ingredients that it has. If anyone has a suggestion for a better food please let me know.

 

Hi Leslie. I know what you mean about not wanting to give injections! Unfortunately the pills do not seem to work very well in cats. Have you tried testing testing Mangos blood glucose since the food switch? It’s possible the switch alone will lower his numbers significantly, but if you do need to give insulin, it’s much easier than you think. We will be glad to help you learn how to both test and shoot.

 

Thank you for the information. We decided we are going to try the pills. Glipizide. We changed him to wet food. If it doesn't work we will have to go on the needle.

 

The really bad downside to using the pills is they force the already overworked pancreas to work hard to try to secrete insulin. This usually causes it to give up completely and possibility of remission becomes almost non-existent. Unlike humans and other animals, a cat's pancreas can heal and begin working correctly again but it has to be supported properly. Insulin is a hormone required by the body to convert food into usable energy - without it a cat will starve to death while eating everything in sight. The pancreas should be providing it naturally but isn't so it must be supplemented by injection. It's not a chemical med like thyroid or pain.

The needles are very tiny, shots aren't a big deal other than to us humans with needlephobia. I was so bad when my first diabetic was diagnosed, I literally fainted at the sight of a needle....but I had to do it. 2 weeks later it was old hat...and we never looked back. Adopted our second diabetic already 'extra sweet'...that's the handsome little old man in my avatar, Dakota.

 

Wow! I really didn't understand the difference! Thank goodness I haven't started them yet! I think we will suck it up because I want to give him a chance to go into remission.

 

I was so afraid of needles that we too started on Glypizide - what a waste of time! I regret we didn't go with the injections right away but what's done is done... Shooting and testing turned out to be soooo much easier! - nothing even close to what my panicked imagination drew...
Best of luck to you !

 

I'll share something I wrote a couple of years ago on our '5 year anniversary of diagnosis' about our first diabetic adventure with KT, our first extra sweet boy:

5 years ago today I learned that cats can be diabetic. KT was losing weight while eating huge amounts, drinking like a fish, his beautiful hair was oily, dandruff and he just looked miserable. His glucose reading at the vet was 422. The vet told me to go to Walmart and buy 'ReliOn' insulin (even THAT wasn't right) and a package of U100 syringes. WHAT? NEEDLES? I was SO terrified of needles/syringes that I literally fainted (YEP-fainted) when the doctor drew blood and I saw the syringe first. The nurses never finished my vaccinations as a child because it was a shot and I literally clinched my muscles so hard I bent TWO 20ga. needles. Even going to the counter to buy them, I was crying and shaking - they showed me the syringes asking if that was right...quick, someone get smelling salts because I was about to go out again.

And I have to give a shot to KT? Dang I can't! But you HAVE TO do it. Just opening that syringe was awful - I was about to throw up. I filled that syringe with that 'stuff'...then spent the next half hour pacing up and down the hall, crying, shaking so bad I was afraid my rings would fly off....and I cry more, shake more, deep breaths, REALLY deep breaths...and I have to give him this shot? I CAN'T! YES YOU CAN! YOU HAVE TO! All the while KT is laying on their table watching me. OK, I finally quit shaking quite so much....and I gave that shot. KT looked at me like 'Hey Mama! What's the big deal?"
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This was KT - we lost him in 2014.



It's REALLY not nearly as bad as we imagine beforehand.....

HUGS

 

Thank you!