Glipizide question

[AnnaSun]

Hello, glad I found this board! First, I cannot give insulin due to a movement disorder and hand tremors, so unfortunately that's not an option. My cat is 17 years old, diagnosed with diabetes about 5 years ago and went into remission with a strict diet (mostly Purina DM). Has had episodes of pancreatitis over last year or so, and now is diabetic again. He also has arthritis, so his quality of life isn't wonderful, but obviously I want to do everything I can. So, as a sort of last-ditch effort, my vet suggested transdermal glipizide. Has anyone tried glipizide? Also, I read that it can actually make diabetes worse, so I'm particularly concerned about that -- is this true? Thanks!
Anna

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

I read that it can actually make diabetes worse, so I'm particularly concerned about that -- is this true?

The problem with glipizide is that it forces the pancreas to work harder to produce insulin. While it's better than nothing, most of the time the cat ends up requiring insulin at some point anyway and by "stressing out" the pancreas more (instead of letting it rest), the chances of ever getting off insulin are greatly reduced.

It sounds like you're in a tough position if you can't figure out a way to give injections, so the transdermal glipizide may be your only option....but you may have to face a decision you don't want to make sooner rather than later.

Just a bit of encouragement though....I don't know how bad your condition is, but we've got people here with MS, severe arthritis and hand tremors from various conditions that have all figured out how to make it work. It really only takes a fraction of a second to give the shot if you can just hold the syringe for a few seconds to insert/shoot.

 

[AnnaSun]

Thank you so much for replying. My movement disorder/tremor is a rare condition...relevant to this scenario, my fingers or shoulders often suddenly twitch or jerk, so the needle wouldn't necessarily go where it's supposed to. I did do a test run with a vet tech of giving injections, and it didn't go well, hence trying the diet years ago.

Given my cat has had multiple episodes of pancreatitis, I'm wondering if glipizide would make that worse? His blood sugar level wasn't very high a couple of months ago, but he's having symptoms now and I'm bringing him back to the vet again tomorrow. I assume his level will be higher and I'll have to decide about glipizide. I don't want to do anything that might make things worse, and I guess I hold out hope that he'll "stabilize" without it, but I don't know what the chances are of that happening (my vet says it might be possible, given his past history, but who knows). Hopefully it'll just be a UTI -- strange that I'm hoping for such a thing!

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

I don't know what you are feeding but one thing you can try is to start feeding a low carb wet food....almost all dry food is high in carbs. With some kitties a switch to a low carb wet food can lower glucose levels quite a bit. Unfortunately many vets "prescribe" a dry food diabetic food which does not help with high glucose numbers.

 

[Chris & China (GA)]

Hopefully it'll just be a UTI -- strange that I'm hoping for such a thing!

That really would be best though....infection, inflammation and pain will all raise the blood glucose levels, so if it is a UTI, getting that under control may bring his glucose numbers down too.

Diet is important too. If it was the dry DM, that's too high in carbs for a diabetic cat (and NO dry is good for a cat, despite what most vets will tell you).....it's also unnecessarily expensive.

Plain old Fancy Feast, Friskies pate's and 9-Lives ground foods are all low carb and better for cats than anything "prescription"