Blood Sugar Gold?

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thatgirlblu

Member Since 2013
Hi. I'm new here, but this is my second post. My cat is on insulin (Vetsulin) we are discussing a change to Lantus this week when we see the vet.
But then I came across this..?
http://www.petwellbeing.com/products/cat-diabetes
Does any one know anything about this?
I'm just curious. I don't mind giving Fluffy a shot at home (he takes it reasonably well too) but if there is a way to avoid poking him with needles and drugs I'm all for it. On the other hand, I don't want to try ANYTHING that could be too risky.
I know for MYSELF I always go with natural remedies, for example...when I can't sleep, I take Valerian Root instead of sleeping pills. I get seasonal depression, so instead of regular medicine, I take St. Johns Wort and Passion Flower. I also have a collection of organic teas for different health conditions for myself, and am a fan of treatments like acupuncture and massage before drugs (finances permitting)...And so on, and so on. So I figure it's worth at least asking about, since I go the extra mile to do the natural thing for myself, why not my cat.
Apparently it's made by Holistic Vets and totally organic?
I'm just curious if any one has any insight, then again I'm sure if tons of you did, and it was as good as it sounds, I wouldn't have to ask, heh. But, just for the sake of asking..
:smile:
 
I don't have any experience with that, other than what I've read on their website, but with diabetes, I don't think I'd chance it. What Fluffy needs is insulin since his pancreas isn't producing it.

One of insulin’s most important jobs is to help cells use glucose.
Insulin acts like a key to unlock the door that lets glucose into the cell. Cells in the body use glucose as a source of energy that they need to live. Without energy, the cells in the body cannot survive. Insulin also helps the body to store extra fuel as fat. (This is why our cats lose weight and eat so much...they don't have the insulin needed to get the glucose into the cells so they are literally starving even though they're eating much more food than they'd need if they were producing their own insulin)

The benefit of insulin is to give the pancreas time to heal. Cats are unique in this ability. By keeping the blood glucose in "healing numbers" (50-120) the pancreas can heal, and in many cats, the pancreas can eventually start to produce it's own insulin again.
 
Hello there,
I am pretty new around here too and mostly I am asking for suggestion for my kitty, but I started to use this product over a month ago and I know needs some time to act but for Kangaroo didn't make any improvement. (I used other products form this company - UTI and Liver ads those were working and I still using them.)
 
50-130 is considered normal non-diabetic range for cats. Keeping a cat under 100 is the ideal that many strive for. If the cat can stay under 100 (or to a max of 120 or 130), without insulin for 14 days, then we say the cat is in remission or OTJ - off the juice.

While on insulin, ideally you want to get the cat to the 50-130 range and keep it there. Under 50 is considered potentially dangerous and hypo territory and warrants a dose decrease.

Make sense?

I don't know anything about the homeopathic remedies. What I do know is that cats on insulin, lantus, levimer, prozinc have an excellent chance of going OTJ. Not all will, but many do and can stay in remission by continuing to follow the diabetic low carb food diet.
 
The best chance of remission for your cat, is to

1. change the diet. A low carb, wet food diet under 10% carbs
2.give insulin, an appropriate one for cats like Lantus, Levimir or Prozinc.
3. the correct dose of a good insulin
4. home test to see how your cat is doing and using the correct dosing protocol

Your cat has the best change of going into remission and not needing insulin any more if you are willing to do these 4 changes. Best chance of that is in the first two months, then within the first 6 months. After that, it gets more unlikely a cat will go into remission but it does happen.

Your cats pancreas will not heal with herbal supplements, you will simply be spending money better used for low carb food and insulin and testing supplies. Your cats pancreas will not heal with the use of oral pills to treat the diabetes. These pills simply make the pancreas work harder to produce insulin and end up destroying more beta cells. Success rates are <15% with pills and lessen the chances of remission IMHO.

Success rates with Lantus are >84%, some vet journal articles say >90%. We're talking remission here, not simply regulation.

So stop and think about this a minute, what is your goal here? To control those high BG numbers, to stop the ravenous appetite, stop the excess urination, stop the lethargy and nerve and organ damage, to regulate your cat, get them feeling better and playing and acting like their old selves and possibly into remission? Or something else?

It's your choice, but I highly recommend the diet change and the use of a good insulin for your cat.
 
thatgirlblu said:
Wait, 50 is healthy? I was going by this chart: http://petdiabetes.wikia.com/wiki/Blood_sugar_guidelines it says 100-180, no? I'm confused now, heh
Click to expand...

Perhaps this will help.

Here are some glucose reference ranges used for decision making using glucometers. Human glucometer numbers are given first. Numbers in parentheses are for non-US meters. Numbers in curly braces are estimates for an AlphaTrak.

< 40 mg/dL (2.2 mmol/L) {< 70 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- Treat as if HYPO if on insulin
- At nadir (lowest point between shots) in a long term diabetic (more than a year), may earn a reduction.

< 50 mg/dL (2.8 mmol/L) {< 80 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- If before nadir, steer with food, ie, give modest amounts of medium carb food to keep from going below 50 (2.8).
- At nadir, often indicates dose reduction is earned.

50 - 130 mg/dL (2.8 - 7.2 mmol/L) {80 - 160 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- On insulin - great control when following a tight regulation protocol.
- Off insulin - normal numbers. (May even go as low as the upper 30s (1.7 mmol/L){60s for an AlphaTrak}; if not on insulin, this can be safe.

> 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {> 180 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- At nadir, indicates a dose increase may be needed when following a tight regulation protocol.

200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) {230 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- no shot level for beginners; may slowly reduce to 150 mg/dL (8.3 mmol/L) {180 mg/dL} for long-acting insulins (Lantus, Levemir, and ProZinc) as data collection shows it is safe

180 - 280 mg/dL (10 - 15.6 mmol/L) {may be 210 - 310 mg/dL for an AlphaTrak}
- Any time - The renal threshold (depending on data source and cat's renal function) where glucose spills into the urine.
- Test for ketones, glucose is too high.

>= 280 mg/dL (15.6 mmol/L) {may be >=310 mf/dL for an AlphaTrak}, if for most of the cycle between shots
- Uncontrolled diabetes and thus at risk for diabetic ketoacidosis and hepatic lipidosis
- Follow your insulin protocol for dose adjustments
- Test for ketones; if more than a trace level of ketones, go to vet ASAP.
 
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