Zobaline dose

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Melanie and Smokey

Melanie and Smokey

Member Since 2010
This is Lucky. He was surrendered at the vet by his owners who suspected he was diabetic. Our house is super full, but couldn't bear the thought of him being put to sleep simply for being diabetic and older. I am looking for a rescue to take Lucky (hopefully find one soon) while I hold on to him and work on getting him healthier.

After getting Lucky home, I have noticed pretty strong neuropathy. He drags his back legs a lot, or it is very floppy/walk. I ordered Zobaline, but have seen differing doses recommended. Do most people give the 1 tab (3mg) per day? Or start lower? Lucky is 11.8lbs.



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I started at 2/day, now at 1/day as his numbers have gotten better and he's moving better. Lucky is beautiful! Bless you for saving him.
 
poor baby thank you for taking him in.

usual dose is 1 a day but we take 2. its water soluble so my understanding is that it doesn't build up in the body but gets flushed with urine, so overdosing is not a concern.
 
I crush one tablet daily in Fritz's food. Thank you for saving Lucky what a beautiful kitty. hope you are able to find a forever home for him.
 
Hi all, my beloved Peyton has been thru the wringer; first he fought and beat mast cell tumor cancer, I spent all I had to my name last year and part of the year before to get his chemo. He went through that like a champ, however the steroids made him blow up within a week, gain so much weight, now sadly he is just a month into his diabetes treatment of the Lantus .5 2x/day as his numbers were crazy. His back legs will work on the occasional day, however the last 2 days have been so bad I thought he was going to pass. He is my kit (kid). I just had a feeling that there was something out there that would help with the back legs dragging issue. He walks on the hocks, and he is laying constantly in front of the air conditioning vent as if he is hot. So I luckily found out (on here) about the Zobaline Vit. B-12, and I ordered it right away from the company there in CA who makes it for the kitties. I am hoping to receive it Wednesday as I paid extra to get it here. He is priceless to me.

Here's my ?: He has blown up to about 18 plus pounds. Should I give him 2 tablets of this a day? I don't think I can cry anymore, thinking he is going to die on me. He had that look of his eyes being sunk in this morning, so I gave him the pain med. his vet has prescribed, and he seems better now. His pain is breaking my heart. I am supposed to be in the hospital right now, but refuse to go as he is more important!

Thank you all for any suggestions. I have the Life's Abundance cans of food that are made by a veterinarian that does not have all the fruit and carrots, etc. in there so it does not raise his sugars.
He and I are taking turns nursing one another; me with him while he was going thru chemo, then he was my kitty night nurse on my lap after I had major surgery this spring with major complications, now its my turn to pay him back by doing everything I can. I feel, still, I am letting him down by not doing something right. HELP!!!
 
The pred can cause weight gain. Do you home test his glucose? His dose of insulin might need to be adjusted. Pred will also cause his levels to go up.
 
Hi Melanie - you are such a saint for taking in such a beautiful old boy Lucky. I dose Leo with 2 crushed Zobalines/day. Sometimes 3. He doesn't notice the taste. Best of luck with your continued saintly rescue work. I couldn't do it because we get attached too easily.
 
Woodsywife said:
The pred can cause weight gain. Do you home test his glucose? His dose of insulin might need to be adjusted. Pred will also cause his levels to go up.
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Hi and thank you for replying. The vet is doing the testing.. we are still in the period of being newly (just over a month or so..) of diagnosis, so he goes in once every week to ten days for her to do the blood testing with his insulin. Right now he is at 5 units. He seems better today, but now getting very loose stools. ughhhh... poor kitty. Things like this always happen on a holiday long weekend too so I have to wait an extra day to contact her.
I was thinking of giving him (due to his heavy weight) 2 of the zobalines per day until things hopefully get under control. I am kicking myself for not researching this sooner, hoping to get it by mid next week as he is really having problems walking and I am losing my mind. :'(
 
The B12 (Zobaline) is not an instant fix. The neuropathy is from degradation of the nerves in the hind legs. My cat Leo has it bad, and he is hard to regulate. 2 tablets will be fine, and will not overdose. Over time, some cats respond to the B12. Others do not. It is important to have the cat in a regulated blood zone.
 
@Terri Drennen You should start your own thread. Somehow you are on another person's. One thing to mention about vet doing the test. Cats glucose can spike because of the stress at vet office. You don't know if the vet is testing on a bounce cycle and you have no idea how low your kitty is getting between doses.

5u is a high dose to reach in a month. Please please know the symptoms of hypoglycemia. It is very serious and can be fatal. I'm afraid you might be headed there if your not testing at home.

You need to test to get them regulated. The day I found this site my Smokey was hypo but I didn't know it, he showed no symptoms except not coming to eat at my bedtime. If I'd had gone to bed he probably wouldn't have made it through the night. I had the meter but vet told me no reason to test unless he was acting funny. He was on 5u twice a day. It took 4-5 hrs to get him into the safe range. I will not make that mistake again when I have a way to prevent it.

Please get a meter and start testing. You do not need permission from your vet.
 
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Terri Drennen said:
so he goes in once every week to ten days for her to do the blood testing with his insulin. Right now he is at 5 units.
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Please join the Lantus and Levemir group and post an intro there. 5u is extremely high in just a month and dangerous without home testing as @Woodsywife suggested above. Walmart sells a meter called Relion Confirm and strips and is relatively inexpensive...under $20 to start. I did not home test at the beginning and was bringing Doodles to the vet like you were. One day he was so lethargic and unresponsive we ended up at the ER and almost lost him. Our intent is not to scare or pick on you but rather real concern and worry.
 
I feel like I am losing my mind... I have seen others on here state the same.. I love my baby soooo much, we have been together thru alot. I do not want to kill my boy. My vet is very open to not "regular" vet practices, so I will be talking to her on Tuesday. Please know I am very new to this, and to this forum, and I, too, am extremely sick, so I appreciate all of your help.

Luckily, Peyton is doing well today, even playing with his toy but its those back legs. I know nothing happens overnight though.. it will take time to get him back to somewhat normal. He also needs to lose alot of weight; the steroids they had to give him during chemo treatment turned him from a regular kitty into a big orange fuzzy blown up ball on legs the poor fellow. I looked at his last vet invoice and he is 19.2 lbs.! yikes.. He will be getting half an Onsior for the pain, but can't give too much of that in case of liver issues.

Home testing seems so overwhelming; I'm sure you all felt that, or some of you, at first. Another issue is I need to be in the hospital again for quite a long time, and not going so I can be here for my Peyton. My other half says he is willing to do the shots but I know that poking his little ears and testing he could not do. I have no one else unless I take him to his vet to be boarded.

I posted this on the Zobaline thread. That is what I am trying to find out about the most right now.
 
Terri Drennen said:
I feel like I am losing my mind... I have seen others on here state the same.. I love my baby soooo much, we have been together thru alot. I do not want to kill my boy. My vet is very open to not "regular" vet practices, so I will be talking to her on Tuesday. Please know I am very new to this, and to this forum, and I, too, am extremely sick, so I appreciate all of your help.

Luckily, Peyton is doing well today, even playing with his toy but its those back legs. I know nothing happens overnight though.. it will take time to get him back to somewhat normal. He also needs to lose alot of weight; the steroids they had to give him during chemo treatment turned him from a regular kitty into a big orange fuzzy blown up ball on legs the poor fellow. I looked at his last vet invoice and he is 19.2 lbs.! yikes.. He will be getting half an Onsior for the pain, but can't give too much of that in case of liver issues.

Home testing seems so overwhelming; I'm sure you all felt that, or some of you, at first. Another issue is I need to be in the hospital again for quite a long time, and not going so I can be here for my Peyton. My other half says he is willing to do the shots but I know that poking his little ears and testing he could not do. I have no one else unless I take him to his vet to be boarded.

I posted this on the Zobaline thread. That is what I am trying to find out about the most right now.
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I'm so sorry for all your troubles. It is overwhelming, but putting off your own issues will not help Peyton. You should start your own thread which will dedicated to you.

Where are you located? Sometimes someone might be close by to help.
 
I think doing 2 tablet of Zobaline will be fine Terry.
We upped Lucky to 2 tablets a day and see no harmful results. He is walking much better and is a happier cat already. We have found that keeping him off of the bare floors so he has some traction helps too. A key to Lucky's progress is that his blood sugars are under control. We are not even giving him insulin right now.
Teach your other half to home give shots and home test. Poking their ears takes a small learning period for you and the cat, then all is well and you will be in much better control of Peyton's diabetes. Lucky is my 9 diabetic, I haven't had any that didn't learn to be fine with testing, none of them were damaged in anyway but I have been able to catch every one of them in too low numbers by home testing. If you are using Lantus, 5U is a huge amount of insulin and you have gotten there in a really short amount of time. My Smokey is the only cat out of the 9 that got to a dose any where near that and her pancreas function was destroyed by a mass.
 
@Terri Drennen -

Hi Terry,

I really feel for you. My own health's not great and my Saoirse had some really rough times earlier this year; the roller coaster is tough going.

:bighug:

Next time you're at the vets it might be an idea to ask about a blood test for potassium levels because when they're not right they can feed into problems with weak legs.

Important safety note:

While it is fairly straightforward to manage B12 methylcobalamin supplementation at home, it is NOT possible to address potassium imbalances without close veterinary supervision and regular blood checks (too high AND too low a potassium level is dangerous for the cat so any required intervention needs to be under the watchful eye of a vet).

Working on the assumption that neuropathy is the issue for Peyton, here's a video of a cat called Tootsie who had quite severe neuropathy but who was successfully treated with Zobaline. It may give you a bit of a lift to see how effective the treatment can be. :) :bighug:




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Hello friends, I am so very sorry that I have missed your kind words/messages. I did end up in the hospital again, and am still feeling horrendous, but its the love of Peyton and of course his brothers, Eli, Couper and Angus, that keep me going. Just looking at the photo next to this message of my big round eyed Patie makes me want to cry as he has been through so very much already. It does seem to be getting better however; the vitamin B12 is apparently doing its job, and I have just ordered a very good enzymatic/pre and pro biotic from Only Natural Pets. Nothing chemical in any of their items. I was reading about all of this process over the weekend; how it goes through their little bodies and I wondered: does this cause a SIBO type issue in their gut? After further discovery, sure enough, it does. This is one of the issues that apparently is causing his very loose stools and they are very odorous. PHEW! He can't help it, but the natural tummy powder I have coming in 2 days has great results for others and I pray for him too. I also am studying the best home testing kit for him. I see some regular size, some in a pen size, can any of you help with suggestions? I see Walmart seems to be the least expensive and they carry many types, brands etc. Lastly, I am deciding to not take one of my medications for the next couple months and ordered the Young Again food for both Peyton and his brothers. He just cannot eat moist food without it getting him sick, no matter what brand (all great top of the line). Young Again is a zero carb dry and can be left out for "grazing". Its also good for his brothers, for their health now and preventative.
Sorry for the long post, I just have not been on much lately, but I certainly need and appreciate ALL of you and your comments so very much. XOXO Terri & Peyton
 
Wal-Mart brand Confirm or Micro is fine. Both use the same strips. Only your preference of what you like the bigger or smaller meter.

Sorry to hear of your issues and hope you are better.

Do not change food until you are home testing as it could be quite dangerous. Peyton is on a fairly high dose and changing or stopping the dry food could drop his glucose level very low and very quickly.
 
hi, oh, I absolutely know to not change any food until I get the meter, supplies, then take him to our vet for an instructional visit, and also test my meter against what meter she has as far as numbers. (This is making my head spin!) I have seen on this forum that alot of fellow kitty owners are using the ReliOn meter. I hate to sound cheap, but if it works good, is less expensive, I can save the $$$ towards his other supplies. I would never short him or his brothers of anything.
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Until I get this all checked out with his vet, who luckily is less than 5 mins. down the street from me, and I am feeling comfortable with the tester, poking the poor fellow, he will not be getting any food changes at all. Just more nutrition, natural vitamins, etc. Thank you so much for the fast reply :)
 
@Critter Mom Thank you so much for the video, I about cried.. my Peyton has that so bad, is just some days getting a bit better, but I feel horrendous that I did not recognize the symptoms, as I was not here but in the hospital when they started showing up :( So, it got very bad, he gained so much weight from the cancer treatments over a year ago but the strange thing is that his CBC's were showing "normal" for the diabetes tests. He seems to be more alert now, moving around more, I have to work on the GI issues (just verified the triple gut natural enzymes coming in 2 days-found out that alot of pre/probiotics will have some sort of sugar in it! ugh!! So I get the all natural type. He is purring, head butting me, I think he knows he is being helped and getting and feeling better. I could not do this without all of you, thank you!
 
Our precious kitty family members aka kits, (kids) are so strong, and the strange thing is that Peyton and I have been trading medical issues over the years. Sounds weird, however whatever happened to him seems to happen to me. (I am going to be getting tested for diabetes now!, bad #'s on my lab work in hospital) They are there for us when we are down, and we are there for them. He used to sleep nightly on my lap, ever since he got the diabetes, he has stopped doing that and I miss him dreadfully. The day he is able to come up on my lap and stay there (he gets antsy and wants to get down right away) is going to be a wonderful day.

Thank you all for being there for us.
 
Human meters do test lower than pet meters, something to keep in the back of your mind. Vet visits tend to add stress which can inflate a reading at the vets.

When you use the spreadsheet here it's color coded. A high is a high and a low is a low on any meter. What changes is the number you intervene at.
 
usual dose is 1 a day but we take 2. its water soluble so my understanding is that it doesn't build up in the body but gets flushed with urine, so overdosing is not a concern.[/QUOTE]
Hello,
My kitty and I are new to all of this so we are learning a lot. I just ordered his Zobaline today and will start him on two a day. Do you know if this should be given as two at the same time, or one in the morning and one at night?
Thank you so much!
 
Thank you. He's been on it since Thursday and I was seeing improvement, but today his sugars are in the 400's and I can't get them down. :( I just gave him 3 units and will recheck him in two hours. He was at 466! I feel so sad for him. I think the morning dose didn't get injected properly. Not sure what to do. :(
 
Janel and Alabaster said:
Thank you. He's been on it since Thursday and I was seeing improvement, but today his sugars are in the 400's and I can't get them down. :( I just gave him 3 units and will recheck him in two hours. He was at 466! I feel so sad for him. I think the morning dose didn't get injected properly. Not sure what to do. :(
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I would not have increased the dose by a whole unit again. 2.0U was starting to show something. Too much insulin can cause higher numbers too ;). You could post on the Lantus forum to see if they think you should go back and then increase by 0.25U. I see you might've had a fur shot this morning too, please NEVER re-shoot. There's no way to know how much or how little insulin actually went in.
 
Shoot. Ugh. Okay, we will definitely go back to the 2 unit dose. I guess seeing the 403 number this morning after his good numbers last night we thought we should. I wonder why too much Insulin would make him go higher? That is good to know.
If I do have a fur shot.. which I think your right that I did.. is it okay to give him his dose 12hrs later? We didn't give him any throughout the day or after that in fear he would drop to low. I hope we can find those syringes tomorrow. If not I'll start my search online.
Thank you SO incredibly much for responding! Today has been a tough one for us here.
 
Yes. Yong is right, never re-dose upon a fur shot. Some may have gotten in. Just redone at the same amount at the next 12 hour period. Fur shots are a drag. I did my first fur shot in 6 months a couple of days ago.
 
Hi Janel - a suggestion. Most of us put our spreadsheet comments in the right-most column. It makes it easier to read the BG and insulin. I am so glad you have a spreadsheet for Alabaster. It will really help you track progress over time.
 
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