Nan & Amber (GA)
Very Active Member
Hello again!
Long-ago forum member, back with newly diabetic cat (former feral Buddy). Here mostly to share observations about one of the new diabetes meds, Senvelgo, hoping that there are or will be other members trying it so that we can all figure out the issues together.
Unlike my previous diabetics, Buddy is very, very, very resistant to being poked, whether it's with insulin needles or ear pricks. After several false starts with insulin, vet finally talked me into trying the Senvelgo as a last-ditch. I also insisted on a Freestyle Libre for the first couple of weeks so I can see what this very new med is doing.
Important caveat about Senvelgo and similar medications: they are not for every cat, and come with a significant risk of diabetic ketoacidosis. Any cat can be at risk of ketones on these meds, and should be monitored closely, but the risk is much higher with cats who have previously been on insulin.
Results so far:
1. This medication is very powerful stuff, at least for this cat. It drops him from 300's to under 100 in less than an hour, and keeps him there for hours or even days (manufacturer info says that activity is expected to persist for 2-3 days).
2. I'm quite worried about how low it drops him; he dips under 50 on the Libre every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Vet insists that it's "not possible for them to go dangerously low" on these meds, but I can't get a good explanation for why this would be so. Very concerning with a cat I can't (yet?) test...
3. The fact that he is now spending basically all his time in green numbers gives me some hope for remission, but it's not at all clear to me how I would be able to tell he has gotten there. I know that urine testing should give some indication, but I don't have a clear criterion in mind. If anyone knows of a protocol for this, please let me know!
4. He's definitely not in remission at this point. I know this because he's also been difficult about taking the medication (I mix it in with treat-type wet foods, and he's extremely inconsistent about eating those, sigh) and he got only partial/nonexistent doses for a few days running last week. On the third day, numbers shot back up! (and along the way, I guess we managed to verify the estimate of 2-3 days of activity from the last full dose, good job us
)
5. The only patient experiences I've been able to find focus on the side effects (diarrhea, etc.). We've had nothing in that area, Buddy tolerates the med just fine (when he takes it).
Libre will run out soon and I probably won't put another one on, at least for right now. I'm hoping that being in better numbers will make Buddy more cooperative on ear pricks, but until then, I will be in the dark on his responses to the medication
.
Just wanted to share what I've learned so far, hoping to hear from others who are trying this med or have other information about it. It's so new, I've found very little info about it that is not basically advertising from the manufacturer, hopefully we can start to gather some on-the-ground patient experiences!
Long-ago forum member, back with newly diabetic cat (former feral Buddy). Here mostly to share observations about one of the new diabetes meds, Senvelgo, hoping that there are or will be other members trying it so that we can all figure out the issues together.
Unlike my previous diabetics, Buddy is very, very, very resistant to being poked, whether it's with insulin needles or ear pricks. After several false starts with insulin, vet finally talked me into trying the Senvelgo as a last-ditch. I also insisted on a Freestyle Libre for the first couple of weeks so I can see what this very new med is doing.
Important caveat about Senvelgo and similar medications: they are not for every cat, and come with a significant risk of diabetic ketoacidosis. Any cat can be at risk of ketones on these meds, and should be monitored closely, but the risk is much higher with cats who have previously been on insulin.
Results so far:
1. This medication is very powerful stuff, at least for this cat. It drops him from 300's to under 100 in less than an hour, and keeps him there for hours or even days (manufacturer info says that activity is expected to persist for 2-3 days).
2. I'm quite worried about how low it drops him; he dips under 50 on the Libre every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Vet insists that it's "not possible for them to go dangerously low" on these meds, but I can't get a good explanation for why this would be so. Very concerning with a cat I can't (yet?) test...
3. The fact that he is now spending basically all his time in green numbers gives me some hope for remission, but it's not at all clear to me how I would be able to tell he has gotten there. I know that urine testing should give some indication, but I don't have a clear criterion in mind. If anyone knows of a protocol for this, please let me know!
4. He's definitely not in remission at this point. I know this because he's also been difficult about taking the medication (I mix it in with treat-type wet foods, and he's extremely inconsistent about eating those, sigh) and he got only partial/nonexistent doses for a few days running last week. On the third day, numbers shot back up! (and along the way, I guess we managed to verify the estimate of 2-3 days of activity from the last full dose, good job us
)5. The only patient experiences I've been able to find focus on the side effects (diarrhea, etc.). We've had nothing in that area, Buddy tolerates the med just fine (when he takes it).
Libre will run out soon and I probably won't put another one on, at least for right now. I'm hoping that being in better numbers will make Buddy more cooperative on ear pricks, but until then, I will be in the dark on his responses to the medication
.Just wanted to share what I've learned so far, hoping to hear from others who are trying this med or have other information about it. It's so new, I've found very little info about it that is not basically advertising from the manufacturer, hopefully we can start to gather some on-the-ground patient experiences!
. There have been a few CGs recently who have tried Senvelgo. Sienne put together this informative post about 
. How long has Buddy been taking it then? And are you giving it every day?
