Methyl B-12 for neuropathy prevention?

[ellenedgar]

Hello! My cat is newly diagnosed. He doesn’t have any mobility issues or symptoms of neuropathy, but I know it can occur in diabetic kitties and is commonly treated with methyl-B12 supplements.

Would it be beneficial to give my cat a small supplement (~2000-3000mcg/daily?) for prevention and/or overall nerve health? Or would it just be urinated out?

Thanks!

 

[Howiesmom]

Hi! Some people use Zobaline and others will use methyl b12 and folic acid. Here was my experience: I used the vitacost methyl b12 as many people recommend and supplemented it with some folic acid (as recommended) as I thought Howie was starting to develop neuropathy. After a while, he had some GI issues so we final ordered a GI panel from Texas A&M to see what was going on. It came back with way too high folic acid in his system as his body didn’t need it. I cut it out and the GI issues subsided. So while the methyl b12 may be urinated out, the extra folic acid definitely caused unpleasant issues.

 

[ellenedgar]

Thank you so much for the info! this was so helpful!

Just so I’m sure I’m following correctly, you cut out both the folic acid supplement and methyl B-12, or just the folic acid supplement?

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Would it be beneficial to give my cat a small supplement (~2000-3000mcg/daily?) for prevention and/or overall nerve health? Or would it just be urinated out?

I do not know for sure if it is beneficial or not for cats who don't have neuropathy. And it doesn't seem to be something that many people do (at least it doesn't seem to be talked about much...)
...However, I do give a small amount of methyl B12 (about 50mcg a day) to my current diabetic girl for several reasons. Firstly, her blood glucose has been erratic since she's come out of remission, and it often swings up into high numbers. Cats in high blood glucose levels are prone to neuropathy and I do not want to wait for neuropathy to develop before supplementing the B12. So, I'm hoping that the small amount I'm giving may be a bit of 'insurance' while I work on bringing her blood glucose into a better and more settled range.
She also has early CKD, and the B12 may be beneficial for this. And she has recurrent mild pancreatitis. And those with pancreatitis may be a little deficient in B12.
So, as said above, I give it as a sort of 'insurance'. And at this point I honestly do not know if it is of benefit. Neither do I know whether I'm giving enough or too much. But next time I get her bloods done I'll get her B12 levels checked.

Eliz

 

[ellenedgar]

Thank you so much Eliz! That was very insightful.

 

[Howiesmom]

Thank you so much for the info! this was so helpful!

Just so I’m sure I’m following correctly, you cut out both the folic acid supplement and methyl B-12, or just the folic acid supplement?

I ended up cutting out both the folic acid and the methyl b12 as I wasn’t sure he had neuropathy (had troubles jumping up on the counters at that time). Whatever was causing the jumping up problems eventually went away. I only offer some caution to consider as the Zobaline is expensive so pple will go the methyl b12 route, but you need to folic acid supplement (so I’ve read) to achieve the same results/effects of the Zobaline. I don’t know what only methyl b12 would do for neuropathy. Too much folic acid = major diarrhea issues.

 

[ellenedgar]

I ended up cutting out both the folic acid and the methyl b12 as I wasn’t sure he had neuropathy (had troubles jumping up on the counters at that time). Whatever was causing the jumping up problems eventually went away. I only offer some caution to consider as the Zobaline is expensive so pple will go the methyl b12 route, but you need to folic acid supplement (so I’ve read) to achieve the same results/effects of the Zobaline. I don’t know what only methyl b12 would do for neuropathy. Too much folic acid = major diarrhea issues.

Ahh, that makes sense. Clyde isn’t having any trouble jumping or climbing at the moment, so maybe I will hold off for now! I appreciate the information though.

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

but you need to folic acid supplement (so I’ve read) to achieve the same results/effects of the Zobaline. I don’t know what only methyl b12 would do for neuropathy.

Quite a few people use 'only' methyl B12 for neuropathy and seem to have success with just that. That said, there's no way of knowing of course if the results would actually be better if folic acid was also given (as per the Zobaline formula).

oo much folic acid = major diarrhea issues.

Your caution about over-supplementing is very sensible. Sometimes I think we 'assume' that giving B vitamins will always be fine because we think any excess will be peed out. But I have heard of other cats (being supplemented) whose vitamin B levels have been above normal. And of course caution should always be taken in cats with impaired kidney function, since they are not as able to filter out any excess.

Eliz

 

[Teetee (UK)]

Quite a few people use 'only' methyl B12 for neuropathy and seem to have success with just that. That said, there's no way of knowing of course if the results would actually be better if folic acid was also given (as per the Zobaline formula).


Your caution about over-supplementing is very sensible. Sometimes I think we 'assume' that giving B vitamins will always be fine because we think any excess will be peed out. But I have heard of other cats (being supplemented) whose vitamin B levels have been above normal. And of course caution should always be taken in cats with impaired kidney function, since they are not as able to filter out any excess.

Eliz

@Elizabeth and Bertie @ellenedgar
This is just what happened with Duke with the B12 and folic acid.
We gave Duke those supplements for months thinking he might have neuropathy because he was struggling with his walking but also he has bad arthritis and since his diabetes diagnosis quite a bit of muscle loss on his back end so we thought it might help him.
When his bloods we due last September we decided to have his B12 levels checked and it came back of the scale as did his folate, he's had three B12 checks since September and they are all still of the scale but his folate levels have returned to normal.