Neuropathy concerns

[DANI NICOLE]

I'm concerned about Orville's hind quarters - they are getting worse. I can see him walking on more of his legs, especially the left one. Does neuropathy come and go - will it improve greatly once he's stabilized on his recommended dose? Or is this going to become a permanent challenge for him? He has some trouble jumping up on furniture but he figures it out and seems content. And he's not been able to get his leg out of the way in the litter box and tends to step in the fresh urine and then come out with a litter caked foot, poor guy.

Some context - Orville was diagnosed 3-4 months ago. I've been out of town on a theatre contract (it will be 2 months that I've been away come next week). Back on Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and then kitty has an appt. for another blood glucose curve day at the vet the next week. On my short visits home I've been unable to test his sugars successfully. My husband is not on board with the testing yet and so he's just been doing the shots. He's only at 2 units and we knew this was probably not a high enough dose - so he has not been stabilized yet. We're guessing he probably needs another unit or two but that will have to be dictated by the vet. The good news is he seems to be ok getting a needle from just one of us as long as treats are involved.

 

[NeilS]

https://www.bodykind.com/product/4749-best-fully-active-b12-60-x-1500mcg-vegicaps.aspx

Hi Dani

Here is a link to a vitamin I was advised about on here.

My cat had neuropathy and would always sit down after walking a few yards. Along with a change in diet and the vitamin B12, her breathing and walking improved. Before she was grating her teeth while eating and looked unwell.

She's not 100% but much better than before.

Just crush 2 tablets into their food every day. Might be different for every cat but worth a try.

Can I ask what are you feeding Orville?
Some meals have high sugar content, something about vegetable protein extract being present.

I would recommend reading the Acromegaly forum and looking at the "basics" post.

Neil

 

[DANI NICOLE]

Thanks Neil, for this advice. I'll check out this link and will ask about vitamin B12 next time we're at the vet. I'll also check out that forum you mentioned. Right now Orville is getting the Fancy Feast patés which was recommended on this site by many as a suitable and affordable diet for diabetic cats. We also still have a bag of the DM dry food from the vet that we've been leaving out for both of our cats throughout the day (the other cat is healthy and a similar age.) It's just much easier on us to feed them the same food as we can't easily keep them apart at meal times.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Diabetic neuropathy will improve once the BG levels get more under control. My kitty Sheba had it quite badly but improved after several months, once I was able to get her BG levels into a lower (more normal) level. You really need to be home testing the BGlevels to be able to do this well. I know you are away at the moment but I would seriously consider hometesting and setting up a spreadsheet so you can track the BG levels and find the best dose. Just getting a curve done at the vet every so often is not really accurate , as cats get stressed at the vet and their BG levels are frequently higher than normal.

I would also recommend you buy some Zobaline from lifelink.com
These tablets are specifically for cats with diabetic neuropathy. You need to make sure you are buying the methyl B12 tablets and not just the B tablets as they are not the same. The vet will not have them and any vitamin B he gives you will not be the correct one..

The DM dry food will be higher on carbs than is recommended but I would not change anything until you are home testing the BG levels as you need to be monitoring the BG when you change to a lower carb diet, as the BG can drop up to 100 points with a change of diet.

Keep asking questions.
Here is a link to information including the spreadsheet and the signature.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

I second what Bron has told you, If you can please fill out your signature and spreadsheet so we can help Orville. Bron gave you the link.
You never want to increase by one or two units like you mentioned.
God forbid Orville has a hypo and no one is home, you need to be testing him everyday to help him. Keep asking questions.

 

[DANI NICOLE]

Diabetic neuropathy will improve once the BG levels get more under control. My kitty Sheba had it quite badly but improved after several months, once I was able to get her BG levels into a lower (more normal) level. You really need to be home testing the BGlevels to be able to do this well. I know you are away at the moment but I would seriously consider hometesting and setting up a spreadsheet so you can track the BG levels and find the best dose. Just getting a curve done at the vet every so often is not really accurate , as cats get stressed at the vet and their BG levels are frequently higher than normal.

I would also recommend you buy some Zobaline from lifelink.com
These tablets are specifically for cats with diabetic neuropathy. You need to make sure you are buying the methyl B12 tablets and not just the B tablets as they are not the same. The vet will not have them and any vitamin B he gives you will not be the correct one..

The DM dry food will be higher on carbs than is recommended but I would not change anything until you are home testing the BG levels as you need to be monitoring the BG when you change to a lower carb diet, as the BG can drop up to 100 points with a change of diet.

Keep asking questions.
Here is a link to information including the spreadsheet and the signature.
https://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/new-how-you-can-help-us-help-you.216696/

Thank you for this info. Bron. Orville sees the vet Thursday so I'll find out if we're going to go up one more unit at that time. And I'll review the food with them again then - the vet is the one who recommended the DM dry food so I assumed it was a low carb dry food. I have to get organized (now that I'm finally home) to do the home testing but I can't do it alone - I need my husband's help and he's not on board yet. I have the supplies I need, it's just getting him to sit for it that is the challenge - he hates his ears being touched and it is so much more precise than the insulin shot.

 

[DANI NICOLE]

I second what Bron has told you, If you can please fill out your signature and spreadsheet so we can help Orville. Bron gave you the link.
You never want to increase by one or two units like you mentioned.
God forbid Orville has a hypo and no one is home, you need to be testing him everyday to help him. Keep asking questions.

No, I would never raise the dose unless directed by the vet. Thanks for your message.

 

[Diane Tyler's Mom GA]

No, I would never raise the dose unless directed by the vet. Thanks for your message.

Hi Dani, what I meant was when we increase or decrease insulin we don't increase by whole units, we increase by 0.25 units at a time


Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

If you are testing the BG on your own, try first getting him used to having his ears rubbed. Always give him a little treat every time you do this so he associates the rubbing with a treat. Once you start to try and test…..get everything ready to start….including something low carb for him to eat….just a little treat…..as you test. Kneel on the floor with the supplies beside you ready to go amd sit back on your heels. Get Orville and put him inbetween your knees facing the same way you are facing.that way you have access to his ears, and he can’t back away from you. Gently hold him and try doing a test. See how you go.
Remember we all failed the first few times, so don’t be upset.make sure you praise Orville every time…even when you don’t get blood. And give him the treats.
Good luck.let us know how he goes.
I agree with Dianne, dont increase the dose in 1 unit increments. It is too much.

 

[DANI NICOLE]

Hi Dani, what I meant was when we increase or decrease insulin we don't increase by whole units, we increase by 0.25 units at a time


Here is a link helping us to help you link. If you noticed, our members have some basic information about their cat's in their signature. This helps us to not pester you by asking the same questions (your cat's name, insulin type, date of diagnosis, etc.) repeatedly. We also have a link to our spreadsheet in our signature. We are very numbers driven. The spreadsheet is a record of your cat's progress. By linking it in your signature, we can follow along and provide feedback should you need the help.

Oh, could it be because I'm in Canada and the numbers are different for everything? I'm still also confused about that. The vet has been the one talking about increasing one unit at a time so I have no idea. Yikes...so much to read...

 

[DANI NICOLE]

If you are testing the BG on your own, try first getting him used to having his ears rubbed. Always give him a little treat every time you do this so he associates the rubbing with a treat. Once you start to try and test…..get everything ready to start….including something low carb for him to eat….just a little treat…..as you test. Kneel on the floor with the supplies beside you ready to go amd sit back on your heels. Get Orville and put him inbetween your knees facing the same way you are facing.that way you have access to his ears, and he can’t back away from you. Gently hold him and try doing a test. See how you go.
Remember we all failed the first few times, so don’t be upset.make sure you praise Orville every time…even when you don’t get blood. And give him the treats.
Good luck.let us know how he goes.
I agree with Dianne, dont increase the dose in 1 unit increments. It is too much.

Thanks so much - I will try the ear rubbing coupled with a bribe to see how that goes. He seems to be so much more sensitive to everything right now. But he is food driven so that should work in time. We'll see how it goes tomorrow

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

Oh, could it be because I'm in Canada and the numbers are different for everything? I'm still also confused about that. The vet has been the one talking about increasing one unit at a time so I have no idea. Yikes...so much to read...

BG numbers in the US are different to the rest of the world. As this is a US site, we use the US numbers.
To change from US to rest of the world numbers you divide by 18. To get the US BGs from rest of the world numbers you multiple by 18.

However those numbers have nothing to do with the 1/4 unit increments we use. They are used for both the Jus and rest of the world BGs. It is safer.

Thanks so much - I will try the ear rubbing coupled with a bribe to see how that goes. He seems to be so much more sensitive to everything right now. But he is food driven so that should work in time. We'll see how it goes tomorrow

Being food driven is great!