Advanced Neuropathy - Likelihood of Recovery?

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Bearcat86

Bearcat86

Member Since 2019
My cat Bear was diagnosed with diabetes in April 2019 and we made the mistake of listening to the vet and taking "a hands off approach". In early July he started exhibiting symptoms of hind leg weakness, which has progressed into full blown neuropathy in the hind legs, and to a lesser extent in his front legs too. We finally started taking a much more active approach after finding this forum and started home monitoring at the beginning of August. We're making very slow progress towards getting his numbers in the right range, but we're still not there yet. I'm also giving him 3mg of Zobaline each morning, which we started on August 13th, and it's unclear whether it's making any difference yet.

I'm curious what other people's experience has been with cats who develop neuropathy? In Bear it went from slight weakness in the hind legs to pretty advanced in the space of a month, which has been so upsetting for all of us - especially as we're still struggling to get him regulated. I've seen a number of vets at this point, and most of them caution that it's rare for neuropathy to be fully reversed, but I still have to have some hope. Has anyone here seen their cat's neuropathy reverse (at least partially)? How bad was the neuropathy when you started to see some improvement? I'd love to hear some encouraging stories, I'm at my wits end and it breaks my heart every time I see Bear stumbling around :(
 
I don't have personal experience with neuropathy and I'm certain others will chime in but here is some information and kitty Jasper's story.
You may be able to help with some physical therapy at home, as his blood sugar regulates and with using Zobaline to help the neuropathy. The PT may be beneficial as he heals to strengthen those weak muscles.

You are only at the beginning of this new journey, please don't give up hope. :bighug:
 
Sheba had neuropathy quite badly. She was unable to jump at all, had to stop frequently when walking, had trouble walking up stairs, feet would slide out the side when standing or sitting. She was like that for months... I can’t remember exactly how long but quite a while. She gradually improved once her numbers lowered and I gave her zobaline too.
She regained all her abilities fully. I remember how excited I was when she first jumped on the bed again.
She loved to eat flowers so I was unable to have them in the house, but when she had the neuropathy I did. I used to have them quite high on a sideboard. I never thought she would be able to jump that high again but I came downstairs one morning to find she had jumped up onto the sideboard to eat the flowers.
My vet was unsure what the neuropathy was (this was my preforum days) and I was anxious too. Vets are not taught much about FD at uni.

So don’t give up hope. Just keep up the zobaline and work at getting the numbers into normal numbers.
 
I do have a success story with Jack the Cat and neuropathy. When he was diagnosed in April 2019, he was walking fully on his back haunches. Then when beginning treatment it started that he was walking on his front ankles too! I was devastated. Then I found this group and started home testing, getting him regulated and giving him Zobaline every day.

Slowly we began to see improvement, first in his front, then later in back. He now walks on all his toes although sometimes he does have to sit down when climbing steps.

The vet said his neuropathy would never get better. So finding out about Zobaline through this group was so important to his recovery.

I thank this group every day for their advice, guidance and caring.

So yes, there is hope. Keep on doing what you are doing. Good luck!
 
Bearcat86 said:
My cat Bear was diagnosed with diabetes in April 2019 and we made the mistake of listening to the vet and taking "a hands off approach". In early July he started exhibiting symptoms of hind leg weakness, which has progressed into full blown neuropathy in the hind legs, and to a lesser extent in his front legs too. We finally started taking a much more active approach after finding this forum and started home monitoring at the beginning of August. We're making very slow progress towards getting his numbers in the right range, but we're still not there yet. I'm also giving him 3mg of Zobaline each morning, which we started on August 13th, and it's unclear whether it's making any difference yet.

I'm curious what other people's experience has been with cats who develop neuropathy? In Bear it went from slight weakness in the hind legs to pretty advanced in the space of a month, which has been so upsetting for all of us - especially as we're still struggling to get him regulated. I've seen a number of vets at this point, and most of them caution that it's rare for neuropathy to be fully reversed, but I still have to have some hope. Has anyone here seen their cat's neuropathy reverse (at least partially)? How bad was the neuropathy when you started to see some improvement? I'd love to hear some encouraging stories, I'm at my wits end and it breaks my heart every time I see Bear stumbling around :(
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I was also told the neuropathy would never improve, but it has improved in the past 6 months. Jackson had all the problems Bron described with Sheba. He isn’t fully recovered but he jumps, runs and climbs stairs.
 
Thank you all for your responses!! So happy to hear that your kitties were able to recover! It gives me hope that someday I’ll be able to share a similar story. I’m realizing more and more that this really is a marathon, not a sprint, so I’m trying to take it one day at a time and just do the best I can each day.
 
So I'm looking at your spreadsheet and you had decent results at 3-3.25... Curious why you lowered to 2 units
 
We lowered the dose because it seemed like he was going through repeated bounces that were taking several cycles to clear. After getting advice on the ProZinc forum and talking to my vet, we thought the dose might be too high. We lowered down to 2U to give him a chance to stabilize and stop bouncing around. I agree that 2U is likely too low though, so we'll see how his numbers look today but I may up him to 2.25U tonight if he's in the 300's all day. Do you have any advice based on your experience?

Here's a link to the thread I've been posting to: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/prozinc-dosing-advice-bouncing.218055/
 
Bearcat86 said:
We lowered the dose because it seemed like he was going through repeated bounces that were taking several cycles to clear. After getting advice on the ProZinc forum and talking to my vet, we thought the dose might be too high. We lowered down to 2U to give him a chance to stabilize and stop bouncing around. I agree that 2U is likely too low though, so we'll see how his numbers look today but I may up him to 2.25U tonight if he's in the 300's all day. Do you have any advice based on your experience?

Here's a link to the thread I've been posting to: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/prozinc-dosing-advice-bouncing.218055/
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I understand. My cat can be bouncy too. In order for the neuropathy to improve we will want those numbers down.
I think 2.25 tonight is a good idea. Try to get a mid cycle number each day when you can.
 
Yes, that's the sense I'm getting after reading about people's experiences and watching Tootsie's video. I'm just trying to focus on getting his BG numbers under control to make sure it stops progressing - he's just been so difficult to figure out! My goal is to get him to a place where he's under 300 most of the time - hoping that if we can get him there then we may start to see some signs of slow improvement.
 
Gotta give props for the Zobaline. Right after Max was diagnosed, my husband and I noticed he couldn't use his back legs very well. After doing a little reading, I concluded that he was having neuropathy problems. It seemed to progress rather quickly . . . first Max couldn't jump up on the couch. Then he couldn't hold himself up when he used the litter box . . . he would climb into the litter box, lie down, then do business. He had litter caked on his back legs and rear end, necessitating me to clean his backside at least once a week. Being that he is 16, all we wanted is for him to have a good quality of life . . . but that was slipping away from him. I tried a B12 with Methylcobalamin, with barely any results. I stumbled on Zobaline and checked it out on Amazon. The reviews were stellar, and I was desperately hoping for something to help him. It is a bit pricey, $40 for two months worth, but again I was desperate so I ordered it. I didn't keep my hopes up that it would help . . . I was astounded when it did. With a few days Max was able to walk farther without having to lie down. As of today, 2 weeks into using the Zobaline, he can jump up on the couch, climb the steps, and with the help of an upside down laundry hamper can jump up on the bed (where he always slept before all this happened). I plan on continuing to use it, and have gotten a script to change his insulin from Prozinc to Lantus. I am hoping that the slow/extended release insulin will help bring his BG down, combined with the Zobaline will help bring his range of motion back to 70-80 percent. Again, not asking for miracles, but grateful if they do come along.
 
What are you feeding Bear? There may be lower carb foods that could help lower glucose levels.
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When I adopted Spot she was on Flip and had neuropathy so bad she could barely walk. I immediately started her on insulin and the methyl B12. It took a few weeks before I started to see some improvement. It took several more months before she had no symptoms of neuropathy. Getting the glucose levels under control and the methyl B12 will help with neuropathy. Every cat is different. You should see some improvement however it may never completely go away.
 
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