Does Glucosamine contain glucose?

[sharon and sparky]

My diabetic cat Sparky has been prescribed Dasuquin for his bladder problems. His numbers have skyrocketed since I started adding it to his food? I know this is a chemical question but does glucosamine have glucose in it or a form of glucose?

 

[Larry and Kitties]

Glucosamine (C6H13NO5) is an amino sugar and a prominent precursor in the biochemical synthesis of glycosylated proteins and lipids. Glucosamine is part of the structure of the polysaccharides chitosan and chitin, which compose the exoskeletons of crustaceans and other arthropods, cell walls in fungi and many higher organisms. Glucosamine is one of the most abundant monosaccharides.[1] It is produced commercially by the hydrolysis of crustacean exoskeletons or, less commonly by fermentation of a grain such as corn or wheat.[2] In the US it is one of the most common non-vitamin, non-mineral, dietary supplements used by adults.[3]

Above from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucosamine

Thus is will likely raise BG

 

[sharon and sparky]

Why would a vet ever recommend it for a diabetic cat?

 

[Melanie and Smokey]

I think we have a few board members using glucosamine for their cats. I don't recall anyone with any specific bad BG increases from it.

Sometimes we get into a balancing act of different conditions. The joint pain a cat is experiencing could be causing an elevated BG. Using glucosamine might be the best option to get that pain under control so we balance its effects on BG with its benefits. I believe many also use Adaquan (sp??, the shot) with good results and no BG effect. Of course every cat is different. We use glucosamine on one of our older cats (the non-diabetic) with amazing results.