Newbie/Neuropathy

Hi, I'm totally new here. First post. My 9-year-old cat was just diagnosed with FD and I've been giving him Lantus for a little over a month. I noticed a little bit of wobbliness in his back legs before he was put on it, but now that he's been taking it for a month, it's much worse. He's not semi-paralyzed, but he walks a lot toward his hocks and lays down at any chance. He has trouble jumping up on things. I'm taking him in this week because his legs seem to be worse from the last time the vet saw him. I mentioned the wobbliness and he said they didn't notice anything (but of course he was in a cage and not walking around most of the time). I'm sure they will now diagnose him with neuropathy. Seems to be fast-moving and I'm freaking out about it.

Anyway, I wanted to chime in with my experience with Lantus. If I find out any information about what might be able to help this, I'll respond again.

I, too, am devastated at the thought of this happening to my cat. :YMSIGH:

 

Bump

Newbie.

 

Luanne,

If it is neuropathy, although it looks very scary, it really isn't. Two things help - getting the blood sugars regulated and methyl B12, a vitamin. You can get it at health food stores. Most people give 3 - 5 mg a day.

 

Hi Luanne, if it is neuropothy the Methel B-12 really does help.

Harley had it pretty bad, when he would try to jump up on the bed or sofa, he couldnt make the jump and would fall on the floor. It broke my heart.

But the Methel B-12 reversed that and now he is fine. You can find it at the health food stores. It's a little pricy but worth it.

Keep us posted.

Robin

 

Here is the one I used and highly recommend:

http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-B12-Methylc ... 0-Capsules

I emptied one capsule into Maui's food daily, what she didn't eat, no problem, as she got enough over time and with insulin regulation, the neuropathy slowly reversed itself until she was walking normally, not needing to rest and having the ability to jump again.

 

Please come back with more info, like what dose you are giving and whether you are testing blood glucose levels at home or not...

Jen

 

Thanks for all of the responses!

I am not yet testing blood glucose at home. He was only recently diagnosed, so I'm still going in every few weeks so they can see how well the doses are working. It takes two of them to get a drop of his blood because he's such a loving cat that anyone who touches his head he smashes into them and head butts their hand. So for now, they're testing for me.

I'm supposed to take him in next-next Saturday for a blood check, but I may take him in earlier, and I'm thinking I may take a video on my phone of him walking so they can actually see what I see. I think he was pumped on adrenaline the last time he was there and so was walking normally.

I'm definintely going to check out the methyl B12. It is heartbreaking to watch him walk and try and jump. He still does OK and some days are better than others, but when he falls it kills me. He is the same, though: happy and lovey and wants to be next to me all the time. So I'm suffering more emotionally than he is.

Anyway, thanks for all of the responses. It really helps ease my mind.

 

He may be much easier to test at home; you should seriously consider learning now, even if it takes time!

 

hello,

I found that Methyl B-12 helped Cattro. I gave her two 1000mg tabs a day. The vet said that if she had too much it wouldn't be a problem as she would urinate the extra out (in other words, he said it wouldn't harm her as he didn't want to specifically recommend it to me). I found the cheapest bottles on ebay from reputable sellers.

IMHO it's worth a go.

Good luck,
Kay

 

Hi All--

I did buy the methyl B-12 (Xobaline). He's been taking it for two weeks. I give him a 3-mg pill twice a day and it isn't making any difference. In fact, the neuropathy seems worse, despite the fact that his blood sugar is even lower than it was before (in the 220s last check, and before that 301--it's been going down steadily for the past two months). I'm going to work with the vet to teach me how to test at home so I know better what's happening on a daily basis. He gets 3 U of insulin twice a day. I realize the neuropathy won't get better until his blood sugar is regulated, but the vet insists that Lantus is the way to go. I do trust him; he only treats cats and is always at conventions and whatnot. I mentioned methyl B-12 and he said one of his other clients with a diabetic cat also mentioned it, but when he spoke to his other cat vet friends, they all pretty much dismissed it as BS. But reading about all of your success stories here, I feel it can't be completely useless.

However, I am extremely disappointed so far and frustrated as hell. It is so awful to see him struggle to walk. He is walking almost completely down on his hocks now and lays down every few feet, unless he's really on a mission to get somewhere (food/water bowls). When I'm on the first floor, I can hear him thumping around upstairs. I hate it.

My bf seems to think he is suffering; he isn't really a pet person, so he doesn't totally understand my attachment to my kids, but he does really like all three of my cats. It's hard to explain to him that I don't think he is suffering and I'm not going to give up on him because of this. His litterbox is a mess, and that's frustrating me as well. He's always had problems getting his butt all the way in. He walks in, thinks "I'm in," and goes, so his butt is usually still hanging out a bit. I've resorted to using puppy pads to deal with that, and those work great. But with the increased drinking and peeing, he can fill one of those up (I stack several on top of each other) and then of course doesn't want to try to get into the litterbox to poop, so he'll go right next to it. It's not regularly that he does this, and I think it will get better once the peeing decreases, but the bf sees this (not the litterbox, but my frustration) and I'm sure is totally bewildered why I continue to deal with it.

In any event, he is the sweetest cat, and the vet doesn't seem to be alarmed by any of this. I know he's seen worse and treated worse. But this is all new to me.

How long has it taken some of your cats to get over the neuropathy?

Thanks!

 

I take it that you are having trouble testing blood glucose levels at home? Maybe one of us lives nearby and can help?

 

Hi Luanne,

Sorry you're having a frustrating time -- learning to home test blood sugar is a great step to take in gaining better control over the diabetes.

Then when the diabetes is better controlled, the peeing will be less, your kitty will feel better and his legs should be better too.

The B-12 does take many weeks to help -- it is not a quick fix, so do plan on giving it to him for a long time.

Please post your city/state or province... if a member lives nearby, maybe they can show you how to test at home, or meet you somewhere. My hubby met a young lady and her father in the parking lot of our local Petsmart for a demonstration sitting inside the car.

Most vets do not advocate home testing, and most do not know how we do it --- pricking the edge of the ear for a tiny blood sample.

If they try and show you how to clip off a claw too short (OUCH!!!!) or poke a vein deep under the skin -- don't bother doing that.

Read the sticky post on HOME TESTING TIPS & TRICKS -- there are some links to videos.

 

No, I don't have the equipment to test blood glucose at home (yet). The vet even has a hard time and needs two people to test it because Teen Baby moves around so much and head butts and swipes (not hard).

My bf lives downstairs (convenient!) so I may be able to ask him to hold TB while I test. TB goes to the vet next weekend to test his fructosamine, so I'm going to talk to him about testing at home.

 

We know how frustrating slow this can be. As someone said long ago on this board, this is a marathon, not a sprint. But the numbers of cats who eventually go off insulin (particularly on an insulin like Lantus) are amazing.

But you really have to do the whole process. You need to start hometesting now. I am sure we have mentioned that testing at the vet is not accurate. Even the mellowest cats get stressed with the car ride, the noises and the smells. Stress raises bg levels, so the numbers you are working from that the vet got could be too high. It really is impossible to regulate a cat based on vet numbers. The testing has to be done at home, before every shot and then 6 hours or so after the shot so you can see how low the insulin is taking him. Any other method is not going to give you a real picture.

We believe so strongly in this that we will do everything we can to help. If you post your city and state, there may be someone nearby who can help. If money is an issue, you can get a free hometesting kit. (See the Hometesting thread from Cindy and Mousie on the top of the page.) We have videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zE12-4fVn8

The other important part is food. The protocol calls for wet lo carb food, under 10% carbs. See this chart to see if what you are feeding is that low: http://www.felinediabetes.com/diabetic-cat-diets

 

Hmmm, thanks everyone!

I live in St. Louis, MO.

I was feeding him Fancy Feast Flaked Fish & Shrimp for years (it's on the list!), but now I only feed it when I'm giving him a shot so he's distracted. The problem is that I have two other cats and it's easiest to keep food out. So I do have dry Purina DM and they all eat it.

I will definitely start testing at home. It makes more sense anyway. Diabetic people do it, and I can't imagine they'd go weeks without testing and only wait when they go to the doctor.

I'll keep up with the methyl B-12, too. I'm impatient. I hate seeing my boy struggling. He's almost 10; I've had him since he was 9 1/2 weeks old.

 

I agree with the others, you need to hometest.
That said...
Bunny was flat on his hocks in 1997--The Dark Ages, when we didn't know about B12 yet.
I would mesage his legs at least once per day. I would also hold his foot and make him pull it away. I would hold him under his "pits" and make him two leg walk. I did all this to stimulate blood flow to his muscles. Once he was regulated, the neuropathy went away.

 

The dry food can make all the difference. That is probably a big reason you can't get the nuropathy or lower numbers.

Have you read this site by a vet: http://www.catinfo.org She explains why wet lo carb is best for all cats, but especially diabetics. She also has ways to get reluctant eaters to go on an all wet diet.

But DON'T CHANGE OVER TO AN ALL WET DIET UNTIL YOU ARE HOMETESTING. It really can impact the numbers. When we changed Oliver from dry to wet, his numbers went down 100 points overnight. If we hadn't been testing him, we would have had a hypo.

Why don't you add your city to your subject line? We may have someone in St. Louis.

 

Re: Newbie/Neuropathy - St. Louis, MO

The DM dry is supposed to be good for diabetic cats(?), or so I was told. It's like the wet, but it's dry. I'm sure you guys know much more about it than I do.

Anyway, thanks for the link.

I know if I switch back gradually to an all-wet diet, everyone will love it. So I'm not worried about that...

Thanks again everyone! :mrgreen:

 

According to the food charts, MD is 14% carbs. I would sure go with 8-10%.

Another motivator is that you are paying big bucks for crummy food. There is nothing "prescription" about it.

 

Please do not get me wrong here...I agree that canned is better food.
Annie was a dry food ADDICT but I didn't let her have it again until she was dying.
BUT
Bunny ate dry the entire 5+ years I treated him and I know Sue's Sheena went into remission on dry. Every cat is different.

That said, I would NOT switch to canned only without hometesting.