Anyone tried natural remedy/supplements?

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luvoceanz

Member Since 2013
Hi,

My 15 year old cat has just been diagnosed with diabetes. I am overwhelmed with all the information. He is with the vet now & being monitored for the glucose curve. A couple of forum advice to put him down. I AM SO not going to do it without a fight. His disease is still in initial stage! :(

My biggest worry is I work from 5am to 5pm. Insulin jabs will be a risk as I am not home to observe and monitor him. I have read online about other natural remedies like GlucoEnsure by PetAlive. Has anyone tried this? Some reviews claim their pets are insulin free for many years using such supplements.

Any take on this anyone?

Zee
 
Hello Zee and welcome to the FDMB, the best little message board in the universe to help you with your diabetic cat.

What is your cat's name?

I have read online about other natural remedies like GlucoEnsure by PetAlive. Has anyone tried this? Some reviews claim their pets are insulin free for many years using such supplements.

Any take on this anyone?
Click to expand...
IMHO, it's unsupported by any scientific evidence and contains nothing that can help your cat. It is hogwash and a waste of your money. Like those medicines from 'snake oil' salesmen and the 'patented medicines' from the early 1900's. People get paid money to write reviews for products like that. I would be very skeptical of any of those claims.

There are 3 scientifically proven keys to helping your diabetic cat. I can provide you with the studies if you are interested.

1. low carb canned food, <10% carbs like Friskies pate style, Fancy Feast classic pates and Wellness
2. a good, long duration insulin and an appropriate dose of this insulin. Lantus, Levimir, Prozinc
3. home testing. To keep your cat safe. To see how the BG (blood glucose) numbers are doing. To adjust the dose.

With these 3 keys, 84% of cats can achieve remission within 6 months. Trying something else first, shortens your window of opportunity to get him into remission and also allows the pancreas cells to be continued to be destroyed. Once too many are destroyed, there is no way for the pancreas to produce enough insulin on it's own and your cat will need insulin for the rest of his life.

You might want to read this vet journal published article,AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats .

Insulin dosing and management can be worked around your work and life responsibilities. For example, even though Lantus is best dosed on a 12/12 hour schedule, people here have done 13/11 or a 14/10 schedule. There are ways to make adjustments to the scheduling.

The best thing you can do for your cat now, is to get him on a low carb diet. You will need to be home testing him before you do this if he is already on insulin. A food change to low carb foods like those I mentioned, can drop his BG (blood glucose) 100 points or more.

We have many money saving ideas also.

We can help you immensely with the day to day management of your diabetic cat. Please, ask any questions you may have and we will do our very best to answer them.
 
HI Deb & Wink,

THANKS so much for the info.

My cat's name is Poopies...had him since he was a tiny little kitty. SO it is heartbreaking to have anything happen to him. He was my 1st rescue and the oldest....I have 4 now. The youngest is 2.

Besides the work schedule my Poopies is also NOT open to injection or other medication. Even the vet find it a challenge to give him his insulin tablets. She feels that insulin jabs will be even more difficult. SO I am really at a loss :( I am from Singapore by the way. This forum has given me so much info to work with. What a blessing...
 
Welcome sugardude Poopies! How old is he?

Cats are much more difficult to pill than they are to give an injection. We have videos and tips on shooting the insulin. Many people use a distraction to give the shot of insulin. When the cat is head down in the bowl of wet food, give the injection. Simple but effective. Having a little shaved spot of fur when you are first starting to learn to shoot the insulin can be helpful.

What pill is Poopies being given by the vet? I hope not glipizide or gluburide. Those can cause liver damage and continued pancreas damage. They are like revving your car's engine constantly, with one foot on the gas pedal and one foot on the brake. Pretty soon, you have burned off the rubber on your tires and you need to go buy new tires.

Unfortunately, you can't get your cat a new pancreas.

It sounds like you have been doing a lot of reading here. What have you covered so far?
 
Oh dear,

It is glipizide I think! OMG why is the vet giving him that? I guess insulin jab is still the better route to take.

:(
 
Hi and Welcome,
I just wanted to to say hi and tell you that giving the injection is a piece of cake. At first I was terrified and thought that I could never do it. My rescue was a wild cat and I could hardly pick her up. After working with her for a few weeks picking her up and giving her a shot was a breeze!! We are now closer than we have ever been. In a way, diabetes has been blessing to our kitty/human relationship!!!
With the help of all the experts here you will be able to do anything!!
 
Not all vets can stay current with the latest best ways to treat all diseases and conditions for all the different pets they treat.

I strongly suggest printing out 2 copies of this article. One for you to read. One to share with your vet. This vet journal published article,AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats has a lot of the more current treatments for cats. It was published in June 2010.

The Merck Veterinary Manual also has some basic info on diabetes and treatment. Merck - diabetes
Please note the section that says glipizide only has a 15% success rate at >1 year of treatment. Also, the section that talks about the best insulin for cats is useful.

That low success rate with the oral medications is why we strongly urge you to get a good insulin like Lantus, feed a low carb canned food diet, and learn to home test.

p.s How old is Poopies and how much does he weigh?
 
Hello and welcome to the board

Glipizide is not a good medication for your cats diabetes - it stress the pancreas out and makes the issue worse. Unfortunately many vets dont have enough experience with diabetes to know how to treat it properly. So we can help

As Deb said 84% of cats can go into remission in the first 6 months if three things are in place

1. Food - you want to feed a low carb canned wet food. Here is a food list - you are looking for foods that are under 10% calories from carbs and I am hoping there are foods in these lists that are found in your country... https://docs.google.com/document/d/1NSWUx2ak7wcs2_G5TXr7BhPMrU7CVmW_3ouKPTUQhhA/pub

2. Insulin - the best insulins for cats are lantus, levemir or prozinc. Injections are SO much easier than pills. The needle is short and they dont even feel it. Ask your vet to shave a few spots on Poopies to make the skin easier to see until you get practiced at it

3. home testing blood - important to watch for remission.

So call your vet and say you want a good insulin as mentioned above and NOT the glipizide. Then go shopping for a good low carb wet canned food and a home testing blood kit. I found a diabetic online store in Singapore and it seems that you can get the Accucheck and onetouch meters in Singapore ie http://diabeticshop.com.sg/index.php/cPath/30?osCsid=spphh01jc1mmfoqdkin3ff3bd3

Wendy

1. Meter ie Accucheck aviva or one touch ultra.
2. Matching strips
3. Lancets - little sticks to poke the ear to get blood . new members usually start with a larger gauge lancet such as 28g or 29g until the ear learns to bleed. Optional - lancing tool.
4. Cotton balls to stem the blood
5. Neosporin or Polysporin ointment with pain relief to heal the wound
6. Mini flashlight (optional) - useful to help see the ear veins in dark cats, and to press against
7. Ketone urine test strips ie ketodiastix - Important to check ketones when blood is high
8. Sharps container - to dispose of waste syringes and lancets.
9. Treats for the cat - like freeze dried chicken
10. Karo syrup/corn syrup or honey if you dont have it at home - for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
11. A couple of cans of fancy feast gravy lovers or other high carb gravy food- for hypo emergencies to bring blood sugar up fast
 
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