911 Our 18 year old boy has had controlled diabetes for 2 years...

Status
Not open for further replies.
cvineyard

cvineyard

Member
Our 18 year old indoor boy has recently lost use/strength in his back legs. He has had controlled diabetes with insulin for two years, his walk changed about a year ago and he has trouble with his right foot and walks on his whole back foot..Yesterday we arrived home and he was unable to stand and walk anywhere. After a night at the vet..blood work..xrays and a full examine by his internist; they sent us home with him. His appetite is still there, he is very alert but seems to be in some pain and discomfort. What has been a little odd to me is that he seems to stretch his back legs out every now and then and seems to try and be readjusting his body?????. We are giving him a pain med and 5 mg of prednisone a day to hopefully help him to walk again...our next step is to have an mri and consult with another internal medicine vet. I am hoping someone out there has some positive advice for us :/
thank you cindy
 
Hi Cindy and sorry about you boy. Hopefully the back legs will improve. Did the vet mention that the prednisone could raise his blood glucose? And are you testing him at home by any chance?
 
Bobbie And Bubba said:
Hi Cindy and sorry about you boy. Hopefully the back legs will improve. Did the vet mention that the prednisone could raise his blood glucose? And are you testing him at home by any chance?
Click to expand...
Hi Yes Thank you for you kind words... Yes I DO test him at home and have it down to a science at this point AND he is the most well dispositioned cat we have ever had. He allows me to prick his ear for blood versus his pad like the vets had suggested a couple of years back when he was diagnosed. The pad hurts and its quite thick to poke for blood
 
Hi Cindy, your boy is lovely, looks a lot like my 16 year-old who also has a wonderful disposition. :) Have you talked to your vet about diabetic neuropathy? That would be the first thing I'd suspect, at any rate. Here are a couple of links to web sites with information about the progression and treatment of diabetic neuropathy:

http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Neuropathy

http://veterinaryteam.dvm360.com/managing-complications-diabetic-cats?rel=canonical

There is also a very good video on You Tube called "Tootsie's neuropathy" that might help you.
 
Squalliesmom said:
Hi Cindy, your boy is lovely, looks a lot like my 16 year-old who also has a wonderful disposition. :) Have you talked to your vet about diabetic neuropathy? That would be the first thing I'd suspect, at any rate. Here are a couple of links to web sites with information about the progression and treatment of diabetic neuropathy:

http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Neuropathy

http://veterinaryteam.dvm360.com/managing-complications-diabetic-cats?rel=canonical

There is also a very good video on You Tube called "Tootsie's neuropathy" that might help you.
Click to expand...
Thank you Chris & China & Squalliesmom I will DEFINITELY be on talking with them in regards to this come Monday!! :) xx
 
BTW - I just ordered a bottle!! :):cat:..I watched that video and was amazed at the similarities!!! Im hopeful!!.. Why don't the internal specialist know this stuff!!..We have spent THOUSANDS on our boy over the years :/
 
cvineyard said:
Why don't the internal specialist know this stuff!
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's frustrating when the people we think should know don't seem to know anything, but that's what's so special about this message board...the people here have already tried pretty much everything, so they know what works and what doesn't....there's just no getting around the real life experience the people here have!

To give vets a little credit, it would be impossible for them to keep up to date on the latest treatments for every disease in every type of animal they see...they'd never have time to actually see any patients!!...Here, everyone is concentrating on one disease....and the complications that tend to come with it!
 
Chris & China said:
Yeah, it's frustrating when the people we think should know don't seem to know anything, but that's what's so special about this message board...the people here have already tried pretty much everything, so they know what works and what doesn't....there's just no getting around the real life experience the people here have!

To give vets a little credit, it would be impossible for them to keep up to date on the latest treatments for every disease in every type of animal they see...they'd never have time to actually see any patients!!...Here, everyone is concentrating on one disease....and the complications that tend to come with it!
Click to expand...
Well said! :).. Thanks soo much for EVERYONE'S input...It has helped my heart and head for the day and I am looking forward to having our old boy try this to get him up and moving around again; because he is VERY frustrated with his lack of mobility
 
Good morning, Cindy! How is your boy this morning? BTW, what's his name? Glad you're giving the Zobaline a try, fingers and paws crossed that you see improvement soon, please keep us posted! :):)
 
Squalliesmom said:
Good morning, Cindy! How is your boy this morning? BTW, what's his name? Glad you're giving the Zobaline a try, fingers and paws crossed that you see improvement soon, please keep us posted! :):)
Click to expand...
Good Morning Lucy, His name is Reggie :)...and I wish I could get the Zobaline "yesterday" instead of waiting for it to come; because he is such a tropper with all this and purring up a storm, but back legs are hurting too much to try and do much but readjust himself on the blanket :/.. I have been sleeping next to him on a futon bed so he doesn't feel so alone at night and also to assist with the potty box when he feels like he would rather get up and stumble a couple of steps to it instead of using the potty pad. Thank you so very much for supporting and caring about our boy too.. He is such a good boy and dresses up for Halloween EVERY year and this year he is waiting to be Superman and we would REALLY like to see him show off his costume!

xx Cindy
 
If you think he's actually in pain, I would wonder about both diabetic neuropathy (which, to my knowledge, is more like weakness than pain) and arthritis, which is more likely to account for actual pain. I would consider using Cosequin in addition to the Zobaline, just in case of arthritis compounding the neuropathy.
 
SpecklesandMe said:
If you think he's actually in pain, I would wonder about both diabetic neuropathy (which, to my knowledge, is more like weakness than pain) and arthritis, which is more likely to account for actual pain. I would consider using Cosequin in addition to the Zobaline, just in case of arthritis compounding the neuropathy.
Click to expand...
Thank you SOO much!! I will add it to the list of meds that I am getting!! :)
 
Frankie has neuropathy and is not in pain, he just has extreme weakness in the back legs. I massage them every night, which he loves, which if he was in pain, he would hate.
 
cvineyard said:
Good Morning Lucy, His name is Reggie :)...and I wish I could get the Zobaline "yesterday" instead of waiting for it to come; because he is such a tropper with all this and purring up a storm, but back legs are hurting too much to try and do much but readjust himself on the blanket :/.. I have been sleeping next to him on a futon bed so he doesn't feel so alone at night and also to assist with the potty box when he feels like he would rather get up and stumble a couple of steps to it instead of using the potty pad. Thank you so very much for supporting and caring about our boy too.. He is such a good boy and dresses up for Halloween EVERY year and this year he is waiting to be Superman and we would REALLY like to see him show off his costume!

xx Cindy
Click to expand...
Hi Cindy! What a great cat Mom you are, your devotion to Reggie is obvious! I hope the Zobaline comes soon and that it helps him a lot. Can't wait to see him in his Superman costume, you absolutely must post pictures, lol! :):):)

Reggie really does sound so much like my Squallie, such similar personalities! We once had a cat named Reggie, but she was a female; she was actually Squallie's aunt!
 
Hi all!...So the update on our Reggie is that he will now use his potty box and can stand and stagger a couple of steps without too much pain. I spoke with my internal medicine specialist and she prescribed liquid vial of vitamin B12. She wasn't on board with the Zobaline; but I ordered regardless. He receives a shot a week of the liquid B12 and is taking the Zobaline daily too. He is also on prednisone and his daily insulin as well as the pain meds. I think we will hopefully (fingers crossed and big prayers) be able to wean him off of the pain medicine after a couple more days of this very slow process but I am cautiously optimistic that he can regain enough strength to make his quality of life good. I greatly appreciate all of your support and advice and REALLY praying that we have at least a few more good months for Reggie and us.. Reggie hanging with his younger brother on my futon yesterday :)
IMG_0338.JPG
 
Merlin had pretty severe diabetic neuropathy too. It was so bad it was effecting his front legs as well. He could only walk 2-3 steps before needing to sit down. Our house has saltillo tile, so he was slipping all over the place. We had to put area rugs down so he could get his footing. We used just Zobaline for about six months. It actually took a long time before he completely recovered (about six months). Today you can't even tell that he could hardly walk. Merlin is 19 years old and is currently running and jumping like the younger ones. It really helped getting his numbers under control and fortunately, you already have good numbers so hopefully, it will take much less time to recover.
 
Reggie update.....It has been 12 days since our old guy's back legs seemed to have given out on him. We STILL are not sure if it was an injury or diabetic neuropathy...my gut instinct is that it was mainly diabetic neuropathy...He is up and walking again and using his potty box again instead of potty pads and actually went past me yesterday without a limp... I am SOOOOO grateful for his gradual progress and feel that I have this board mainly to thank!!...I ordered the Zobaline after watching a couple of video feeds that were presented to me and he is also still getting a weekly injection of vitamin B12 (which he will be on for the next 6 weeks)..He is no longer on any pain meds and they are going to back down on his prednisolone this upcoming week at our Internal medicine vet. I AM BEYOND words at watching our 18 + year old boy get back on his feet again!.....He means MUCH more to me and my immediate family than most of our extended family members!! sadly lol...So I will DEFINITELY be posting him in his "Superman" Halloween costume in another week; as he has been dressing up for YEARS!!! :) again. THANK YOU ALL!!!..Here was last years photo though!!! LOL
regger.jpg
 
How CUTE!! I think it's wonderful that he gets a costume...just like any other member of the family!! (if they'll put up with it anyway...wouldn't want to try it with some cats who wouldn't like it one little bit)

It's great to hear of Reggie's progress too! I really do think it sounds like diabetic neuropathy and the fact that he's getting better slowly but surely just adds to it. As I've said before, the Zobaline takes time but we've seen it work some pretty significant miracles!

Keep going Reggie!! We're all looking forward to seeing you in your new Superman outfit!
 
Glad he's doing better.

When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2 hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter
general location (city and state/province)
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.
 
BJM said:
Glad he's doing better.

When you have a moment, could you add a few tidbits to your signature? It will help us give you feedback.

Editing your Signature

In the upper right corner of the screen, within the dark blue bar, you will see ID, Inbox, and Alerts

Click on your ID.

On the left, under Settings, Click on Signature.
This is where you will put information that helps us give you feedback. You are limited to 2 hard returns, so separate pieces by | or -.
This is where you paste the link for your spreadsheet, once it is set up.
Add any other text, such as
your name | cat's name | date of Dx (diagnosis) | insulin | meter
general location (city and state/province)
any other pertinent issues like if there are any food issues, history of DKA, hepatic lipidosis, pancreatitis, allergies, IBD, etc.
Click the Save Changes button at the bottom.

Always click the Save Changes button at the bottom when you have changed anything.
Click to expand...
I filled in the appropriate spaces. I hope that works for you :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top