Neuropathy getting worse

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blove7

blove7

Member Since 2013
Hi everyone,

I'm back with yet another question: Is there anything other than Zobaline to help reverse neuropathy? Despite my keeping Corduroy's blood sugar lower (lower than it has been...mid 100s down to 39 at the lowest) and upping his dose of Zobaline to two a day now, his little back legs only seem to be getting worse.

Has anyone heard of an alternative method of treating/reversing this?

Thanks in advance and here's hoping that your kitties are all feeling "green:)"

Brigitte
 
Heck, I'm not seeing any numbers beyond 6/4/14.

I'd think about getting Corduroy thoroughly vetted. Like Rhiannon mentioned, this could be arthritis. There could also be some sort of spine issue (e.g., a pinched nerve) or issues with blood flow. Generally, if numbers are in a decent range, it may take a couple of months but you should see some response to methyl-B12 if it's neuropathy.
 
blove7 said:
... 39 at the lowest...
Click to expand...

That is rather low!

Are you sure it is neuropathy? There are other conditions which cause weakness in the legs, such as electrolyte (mineral) deficiencies.
 
Obie was showing signs of that when first diagnosed. B-12 shots reversed it completely.
 
Hi everyone, thanks for the responses.

Rhiannon, I did start the adequan for him. I will giving a shot to him again in a couple of weeks, having already done the twice a week regimen. I don't see that it's h helping though, unfortunately:(

Julie and Sienne, I actually haven't been posting his #s on the spreadsheet because I don't really have the time, but it's all recorded in my notebook, several times a day, everyday. Plus, I feel that I now know what to do when his #s go high or low, so I'm not constantly in need of support.

Sienne and BJM, I have always just assumed it was neuropathy due to the symptoms, but you have me thinking about other possibilities which I may take him in to have checked out. I know he has arthritis because my vet told me this a couple of years ago. That is why I started the adequan last month. How would the vet see if it's a pinched nerve or a mineral deficiency?

Like I mentioned, I've been giving him zobaline for a long time now, and upped his dose to two a day about two weeks ago, to no avail. I just ordered omega 3 pet and cosequin for him. Should get it tomorrow.

Obie, do you give b12 shots instead of zobaline, or along with it?

Again, thanks everyone for the responses.
 
blove7 said:
... How would the vet see if it's a pinched nerve or a mineral deficiency?...
Click to expand...

A pinched nerve might be painful. Manual examination along the spine could elicit signs of pain.

Mineral deficiencies would be detected through blood work. Potassium, magnesium, sodium, and calcium are some that come to mind.
 
my boy had awful neuropathy and I tried zobaline and the b12 shots. the only thing that worked is the lowering of his bg. it took a good 2/3 months of him being in lower numbers. unfortunately ive switched him to levermir which hasn't worked and the neuropathy is coming back but it does go. please don't lose faith.

I must add though if its been much longer on good numbers id seek advice for other issues. its awful to see isn't it and I feel for you. good luck. lets hope things improve!! xx

edited to say have you had his potassium levels checked. they checked my bails and it was low the first few times which can cause neuropathy. he had shringes of potassium for the first few months til his levels evened out.x
 
I looked through Corduroy's bloodwork from May 30, 2014, and it shows normal ranges for his calcium, potassium and sodium as far as I can tell. I don't see a representation for magnesium anywhere though :?

I might be taking him in to see if it's a pinched nerve or something. If it's arthritis, I'm giving him Adequan for that, so I'm not sure what else to do other than laser therapy or massage therapy (I do try to massage him when I get chances throughout my day).

Anna, I have to say, he hasn't been in good numbers for two or three months, so I'm hoping that his legs will get better when/if that happens. It's just that usually I notice an immediate difference in his legs within a couple of days of his blood sugar being lower (he can walk better), so this is the reason for my concern.

Thanks again everyone for posting back! I hope your kitties are feeling good today, tomorrow and in the future!!! :mrgreen:
 
My Neko has arthritis. In addition to the Canadian equivalent to Adequan, she gets fish oil on her food (anti-inflammatory), hyaluronic acid for joint mobility, and buprenorphine and acupuncture for the pain. The bupe made a big difference. So did the acupuncture, and the acupuncture vet showed me how to do acupressure which I do daily at home. And vetty found a tight muscle which I attempt to do stretching on. Neko loves the acupressure, not so much the muscle stretching. :roll: From what I've seen with kitties here with arthritis, it's a bit of ECID on what works so you have to keep trying to find what works.
 
May was 5 months ago....
levels can change drastically even in a month ( not that you want to check it that often) ....
potassium is an important one .

With numbers higher than regulation, the neuropathy will continue.....
and you may have a combination of pains.... arthritis, pinched nerve, and neuropathy....

Is he hiding a lot? or meatloafing?

You might try buprenorphine to see if his pain is addressed, maybe he feels a little better.
I have Shadow on the smallest dose and she will play again..... for a little while. That was a big change for her.
 
Wendy, I started giving Corduroy Omega-3 Pet and Cosequin for cats on Sunday, so I'm hoping this makes a little bit of a difference. And, yeah, I try to give him a massage on his back legs, but he absolutely hates it. Now, he doesn't mind when I massage his shoulders and down his arms a little though ;-) I may look into the acupuncture, although I would have to go to another vet for that.

Rhiannon, yes, I was thinking that too (that it's been five months), but I have a very difficult time shelling out the money to get his bloodwork done a lot (I'm still paying off their dental bills from this summer, and let me tell you, THAT was a whopper!) I wonder if I could just get his potassium levels checked?

He goes off by himself sometimes, but not very often. He's usually a very social cat and likes to be in the same room we are in. I also don't see him meatloafing either (by that, I take it you mean sitting in a solid block-like state on all fours kinda hunched down). As a matter of fact, yesterday, I heard a commotion downstairs, and when I walked around the corner to see what it was, he started running across the living room toward me trying to play. He likes to do this sometimes and play hide-n-seek, so I always play along ;-) He'll still even sometimes do this weird flip off the wall and look at me with big bug eyes! He also still likes to go for walks outside whenever possible. So, with all of this said, I don't really think he's in a LOT of pain, but of course, I would like for ALL of his problems to go away so that he could be back to the way he was when he was five ;-) Alas, I know that will never happen, but it doesn't stop me from trying!

On a different note, I did have him on a very small daily dose of bupe about a month ago, which lasted for about three weeks, and at first, it seemed to help him feel better (when he was feeling bad), but then it seemed like he got immune to it. I haven't refilled the prescription. Do you find this with Shadow?

I need to update his spreadsheet I know, but like I said previously, it's just hard to find the time, especially when I've let it go for so long. Don't get me wrong, I record it every single day, several times a day, in my notebook, but I just don't always put it on the ss. His numbers have been lower since about 10/7, so I'm probably jumping the gun wanting his back legs to show results. I get like that sometimes!

Well, I hope you're all having a good Tuesday and that your kitties are having an even better one! :mrgreen:
 
Before I put Blackie on the Nordic Naturals Omega 3-Pet on 08-11-14, she was constantly laying around a lot, and would only move if she really had to do so. After about 3-4 weeks (remember ECID), she started to move around more often, and now can move from one end of the house to the other without a rest. I'm going to be either taking her to the vet to have her checked out, or going there myself with another video update and inquire about increasing the Omega 3 a bit more.

I've also found that the Zobaline I don't really think is helping her, and she's been on it for a very long time. I'm concerned about stopping the Zobaline in case it IS helping, and I don't want her be without it. The Omega 3-Pet is an anti-inflammatory, and it's completely natural. I've purchased another bottle to use after this first one runs out. I think you'll have some good results from it. :-D

Unfortunately for us, we can't afford any other treatments as we only have 1 income. I'm currently searching for work, however, it's not easy for me at my age.
 
it seemed like he got immune to it. I haven't refilled the prescription. Do you find this with Shadow?
Click to expand...


They do build up a tolerance to pain meds....

Shadow just doesn't do well with a higher dose. She gets dysphoric. ( very agitated, pacing, restless)
 
hi brigitte! thanks for all the explanations. you don't have to input older data - just the previous 3 -4 days of data can really tell a lot. I am "dependent" on looking at blood sugar numbers because they tell so much - that's why i'd asked about them.

one line you said jumped out at me - you said when you massage his legs he doesn't like it, but he likes when you massage around his shoulders. that might suggest that his muscles/legs hurt, and he's not walking on them because there is pain involved. i don't know, but that's how I would interpret that. I guess I"m wondering about the difference between neuropathy and arthritis pain. When you say neuropathy, are you seeing that he's walking down on his hocks, with his back legs - so he's not walking up on his toes? If he's not walking down on his hocks like that, it could be arthritis. If you could take a short video of him walking and post it for us to look at, that might be helpful.

Punkin was on constant bupe for the last several months before he died. It did help his pain - and we were able to give him a dose that helped without making him out of it. We also did laser therapy for the arthritis, which helped tremendously. My only concern was that we continued doing it once a week for months and i think that was too often. There is a link to punkin getting acupuncture in my signature line, if you want to see what a session looks like.

If he were mine, I'd try multiple pain-relief methods, one at a time, to see if one of them helps.
 
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