Vit b12 methylcobalamin question?

can i ask you a question please.
Would you say Dukes diabetes is under control?
The reason i ask is because of the back leg problems he has, neuropathy i suspect. We give him 2 Doctors Best vit b12 methylcobalamin 1500mcg capsules daily and a drop of folic acid but does the BG need to be under a certain number before any improvement is seen.
Obviously it will take time but will it be working to it's max with his numbers as they are now.

 

@Elizabeth and Bertie
@JanetNJ
@Critter Mom

 

Hi Tee, it varies from cat to cat...
I was lucky with my first diabetic, Bertie. Although he had really bad neuropathy at first, he started to show some improvement (after starting on methyl B12) over about a 6 week period even though his blood glucose levels were absolutely awful... (And he went on to recover completely, but that took some months). But some cats don't show significant improvement until their blood glucose levels are also in a better range.

Duke's numbers are looking really good, and are improving all the time. ...I would be extremely surprised if you don't see some improvement from neuropathy very soon....

...Is there any chance that Duke might also have a bit of arthritis...?

 

Thanks Eliz
Yes he does have arthritis, well he was diagnosed with it without any xrays or anything, so nobody can say 100% but it's on his medical records.
He has lost masses of muscle on his back end and walks like Charlie Chaplin with his feet at an angle like ten to two and his ankles touching each other, hard to explain.
Also i have read somewhere that B12 can only be given for 3 months max.
We had him on Synoquin for 6 months but took him of it because of the glucosamine after he was diagnosed with the diabetes, a bit of a controversial subject as some say it doesn't affect blood sugar and others say it does but we took him off it anyway.

 

Hi Tee,

I agree with Eliz that Duke's doing well. Unfortunately I can't give you much of a steer insulin-wise because I've not got the experience with Prozinc.


Mogs
.

 

I’ve never heard the 3 month maximum thing. It doesn’t seem right to me since b12 is water soluble and any excess is peed out. Minnie has been on it daily for over a year now. She recovered completely from awful neuropathy but yes, she also still has a bit of the Charlie Chaplin syndrome due to residual arthritis. Good luck!

 

Hi @Aleluia Grugru & Minnie
I think it's me getting mixed up with cats that have CRF. I found this on Tanya's CRF site. I knew i'd read it somewhere.

Vitamin B12 and Diabetes

Cats with diabetes tend to be given relatively high dosages of methylcobalamin. However,Effect of B-vitamin therapy on progression of diabetic nephropathy: a randomized controlled trial(2010) House AA, Eliasziw M, Cattran DC, Churchill DN, Oliver MJ, Fine A, Dresser GK & Spence JD Journal of the American Medical Association 303(16) pp1603-1609 found that humans with diabetes and kidney disease caused by the diabetes who were given three B vitamins (25mg/d of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 2.5mg/d of vitamin B9 (folic acid) and 1mg/d of vitamin B12) had a lower GFR (a measure of kidney function) and an increased incidence of strokes. The study states "Because these vitamins are water-soluble and renally excreted, vitamin toxicity may be more of a concern in patients with impaired renal function."

Cats with diabetes are usually only given methylcobalamin for up to three months, until the diabetes is regulated, but the humans in this study were taking cobalamin for 36 months. It is also not known which form they were taking, but most probably it was cyanocobalamin. These patients had severe diabetes as well as advanced CKD and were receiving multiple treatments apart from B vitamins.

I would not give more than 1 mg a day to your CKD cat, and personally, I would feel more comfortable giving 500mcg (0.5mg) only. Be guided by your vet as to the most appropriate dose for your cat.

 

@Diane Tyler's Mom and @Panic have you ladies heard of this before?

 

I haven't but I'm interested to find out about it.