Seaweed Supplement for Plaque

[Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)]

About 2 weeks ago, Andy had his latest vet appointment. Vet thought he really looks good. He does have quite a bit of tartar buildup on his back teeth. I do not brush my cats' teeth and Andy does not get any kibble as my other cats get RC Oral Care. I researched and found a supplement product called Plaque Off Powder that contains seaweed and brewers yeast. It is supposed to work by being absorbed into the blood stream and secreted out through saliva to help reduce plaque. I started Andy on this and immediately noticed a slight drop in his bgs and over a few days his bgs were lower and more even. After doing a bit of googling, I found that the seaweed in this supplement can affect blood sugars. It's only a week or so on this supplement but it does seem to affect his bgs. I am curious if anyone else has experienced this - it may help others if it works to lower bgs????

ProDen PlaqueOff Powder contains 100% of a especially selected seaweed - Ascophyllum Nodosum.
https://plantmedicines.org/brown-seaweeds-prove-to-normalize-insulin-and-glucose-levels/

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

I don't have any experience with this seaweed but I'm really interested in the product more for it's anti plaque properties has it worked ? do you know if is contraindicated for a particular ilness? How do you give it?

 

[Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)]

I don't have any experience with this seaweed but I'm really interested in the product more for it's anti plaque properties has it worked ? do you know if is contraindicated for a particular ilness? How do you give it?

I only started using it about 1 1/2 weeks ago. The info says you should see results in 3 to 8 wks. I am giving 1/2 scoop (included) mixed in with his wet food and he never even noticed the addition. Here's the link: https://www.chewy.com/proden-plaqueoff-powder-cat/dp/141346 It is not recommended if your cat has thyroid issues due to the iodine in the seaweed. Other than that, it looks like a safe product. The particular seaweed in this product is the same type of seaweed in the article in the other link I posted. I picked this product because I wanted something easy for the plague and just noticed his bgs were lower after I started so researched and found there may be a connection. I hope it works!!

 

[Veronica & Babu-chiri]

I only started using it about 1 1/2 weeks ago. The info says you should see results in 3 to 8 wks. I am giving 1/2 scoop (included) mixed in with his wet food and he never even noticed the addition. Here's the link: https://www.chewy.com/proden-plaqueoff-powder-cat/dp/141346 It is not recommended if your cat has thyroid issues due to the iodine in the seaweed. Other than that, it looks like a safe product. The particular seaweed in this product is the same type of seaweed in the article in the other link I posted. I picked this product because I wanted something easy for the plague and just noticed his bgs were lower after I started so researched and found there may be a connection. I hope it works!!

Thank you, I've been looking for something for Babu's (and one of my cyvies) to help with the plaque and that doesn't affect his BG ( so long as it doesn't raise it is ok even if doesn't help) because they both need a dental but my vet really doesn't want to do it right now

 

[Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)]

Thank you, I've been looking for something for Babu's (and one of my cyvies) to help with the plaque and that doesn't affect his BG ( so long as it doesn't raise it is ok even if doesn't help) because they both need a dental but my vet really doesn't want to do it right now

I have quite a few older cats that I may try this with also. It does seem to be safe so it is worth a try.

 

[Car0line]

Most of my cats get this, and it does seem to help keep their teeth/gums healthier. It doesn't work miracles, but it does seem to help reduce the tartar buildup. I simply mix it into the wet food meal they have each night, and they usually eat it right up. My diabetic kitty doesn't like the evening wet food, so she doesn't usually get the plaque off supplement, but I might just start mixing it into her food to see if it helps with her glucose as well.

 

[Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)]

Most of my cats get this, and it does seem to help keep their teeth/gums healthier. It doesn't work miracles, but it does seem to help reduce the tartar buildup. I simply mix it into the wet food meal they have each night, and they usually eat it right up. My diabetic kitty doesn't like the evening wet food, so she doesn't usually get the plaque off supplement, but I might just start mixing it into her food to see if it helps with her glucose as well.

I hope it helps with my Andy's teeth too - it's too early yet to tell, less than 2 wks. How long are you using it? With Andy's bgs, I am seeing lower numbers and some more resulting bouncing when he goes too low. I use Lantus and adjust as needed - no longer follow the recommended methods because they did not work for Andy.

 

[Car0line]

Yvonne,

I've been using plaque off for several years, probably 6 - 8 years, if I had to guess. We're giving PZI (ProZinc Insulin) since Shadow was diagnosed back in April of 2019. She was eating the evening "group" wet food that had it in there at the time, and I had to adjust her insulin almost in half. As I started giving her Wellness Core Turkey and Duck pate in the mornings, though, she started eating less of the "group" wet food in the evenings, so she wasn't getting the plaque off (seaweed) supplement. I noticed her glucose levels have gone up and she's needed larger doses of insulin than she did back when she was eating it, but I didn't realize it might have been lowering her glucose. I started her back on the plaque off after I saw your post, and we'll see how it goes. She hasn't needed more than the recommended amounts of insulin, so I wasn't too freaked out, but was starting to look back to see why she might be needing closer to the recommended amount instead of the half she had been needing. We'll see if she goes back to needing only half the amount. I was making slight adjustments as well, as my vet suggested I do. I test just before giving her insulin since she free feeds, and then try to test 3 - 4 hours later when I expect it to be at the low point. That has worked well for us. My vet told me to not give her insulin if her glucose level was 200 or less to avoid having her go TOO low. If you haven't already checked with your vet, you might ask if there's a level where you shouldn't give insulin. I have no experience with Lantus, so I don't know if it'd be a different level, etc.

Caroline

 

[Yvonne & Andy &BJ (GA)]

Yvonne,

I've been using plaque off for several years, probably 6 - 8 years, if I had to guess. We're giving PZI (ProZinc Insulin) since Shadow was diagnosed back in April of 2019. She was eating the evening "group" wet food that had it in there at the time, and I had to adjust her insulin almost in half. As I started giving her Wellness Core Turkey and Duck pate in the mornings, though, she started eating less of the "group" wet food in the evenings, so she wasn't getting the plaque off (seaweed) supplement. I noticed her glucose levels have gone up and she's needed larger doses of insulin than she did back when she was eating it, but I didn't realize it might have been lowering her glucose. I started her back on the plaque off after I saw your post, and we'll see how it goes. She hasn't needed more than the recommended amounts of insulin, so I wasn't too freaked out, but was starting to look back to see why she might be needing closer to the recommended amount instead of the half she had been needing. We'll see if she goes back to needing only half the amount. I was making slight adjustments as well, as my vet suggested I do. I test just before giving her insulin since she free feeds, and then try to test 3 - 4 hours later when I expect it to be at the low point. That has worked well for us. My vet told me to not give her insulin if her glucose level was 200 or less to avoid having her go TOO low. If you haven't already checked with your vet, you might ask if there's a level where you shouldn't give insulin. I have no experience with Lantus, so I don't know if it'd be a different level, etc.

Caroline

Thanks for the info. I have not seen as drastic a change in Andy's bgs but maybe because he is on Lantus and it may take more time to level out. I don't give him insulin if he is 90 or less and I use a lesser amount under 200 - over 200=1; 101-200=.75; 91-100=.5 (and depending on why I think he is higher maybe 1.25) My vet practice does not use Lantus but Andy is the most stable on it so I use my best judgement. I have tried following the TR method more than once with little improvement and it stressed me out too much. Plus he's been on PZI, N and Vetsulin but the Lantus keeps him lowest the longest.
My other diabetic is also on Lantus but only .5u and he rarely goes over 200.

 

[majandra]

I've been using Healthy Mouth for Rhubarb and Mel. I mix it up in a 500ml container at a time and fill the water dish with it, and add some to Rhubarb's food. Been using it for a month or more, but not sure if it works cause I can't see into either cat's mouth!

 

[Bron and Sheba (GA)]

@Yvonne & Big John & Andy
I notice you are not taking any tests during the cycles now... or are you just not writing them up?
If you are not getting any mid cycle tests in, I would strongly advise you to get them for safely and also you have no way of knowing how low the dose is taking Andy.
Dosing on the Preshot, which you are doing, is not how Lantus is supposed to work. This is not a criticism, I am just trying to help you get the best out of your Lantus and to keep Andy safe.

 

[Car0line]

I've been using Healthy Mouth for Rhubarb and Mel. I mix it up in a 500ml container at a time and fill the water dish with it, and add some to Rhubarb's food. Been using it for a month or more, but not sure if it works cause I can't see into either cat's mouth!

I had tried healthy mouth when my Siamese mix was having teeth/gum problems, but could not get it into him no matter what I tried, so I don't know if it works or not, either. The pet dentist I go to had recommended it, and he didn't sell it, so it probably does do some good when they'll take it.

I try to take a quick peek into my cats' mouths every time I trim their claws. Some times are more successful than other times, and it took awhile for them to get used to me doing it. If I think something is wrong, I try to take video when I try to look into their mouths and have sometimes been able to see things on video that I couldn't in real time

 

[majandra]

If I think something is wrong, I try to take video when I try to look into their mouths and have sometimes been able to see things on video that I couldn't in real time

Lol I do this with my horse a lot, only a couple times with cats- it is so much easier to see some things on videos. And it is handy to show the vet too, to avoid a visit if possible!

 

[Car0line]

Lol I do this with my horse a lot, only a couple times with cats- it is so much easier to see some things on videos. And it is handy to show the vet too, to avoid a visit if possible!

Very true about showing the vet! I've had vets see things in the videos that I didn't catch, not as much with videos of the mouth, but when my Baron was young and his kneecap was slipping out of place every now and then. The vet was able to see him getting up and walking, which of course, he wouldn't do at the vet's office, he just wanted to hide.