Update after new Diagnosis

Status
Not open for further replies.
ErinCarpenter

ErinCarpenter

Member Since 2012
Well, my sugarcat (Eddie) is doing pretty good after his diagnosis two and a half weeks ago. Here is a brief rundown...
DX 9/08/12, BG was 430 on that day. Started 2.5mg of Glipizide 3x per day with canned food. At one week follow-up, BG was down to 337. I expressed my concerns about Glipizide to our vet but she said that Eddie is overall healthly and should respond well to the Glipizide considering that he has no other health issues at all (kidneys are good, liver is good etc). They changed his dose to 5mg 3x per day with more food at each feeding. We took away all but 1/4 cup of dry food for the whole day, working on getting rid of it all together. He is still currently overweight but lost 9oz in the first week of starting on the low fat food. Starting Zobaline soon to help with the neuropathy.
He has more energy now and is awake more during the day. He's a bit more playful but I know the neuropathy is what is making him so sluggish. Once I can help him with that then I know he will start to be his usual self again.
Hoping all continues on a good path.
 
I'm afraid that I can't help but reply. In general, the reason that a cat becomes diabetic is because the pancreas is not 'happy' for some reason. An unhappy pancreas is one that is not producing enough insulin to process the carbs that the cat is eating. So I see 2 problems here - first, dry food is being fed and dry food is too high in carbs and second, glipizide is forcing an already unhappy pancreas to work harder. This combination is, in my opinion, not likely to result in the diabetes going into remission. I hope that someone will correct me and point out how many cats have gone into remission on this program.
 
In addition to the concerns of using glip vs. insulin, I have to question the dose amount. The initial dose sounds high to me and then doubling it sounds dangerous.

I know that when using insulin, it's recommended to start at a low dose and slowly over time (with home testing data) to adjust the dose in small increments. We've never recommended doubling the dose. So, I need to question this thinking.

Are you home testing? If not, are you willing? It's the only way to really understand what is going on and to treat this issue. Humans test themselves all the time, it's really no different.
 
To clarify the food situation, Eddie is currently 14lbs 4oz, much too overweight right now. We are working on losing weight. This is the reason for the W/D (lower fat and lower carb). Our vet thinks that if we get his weight down, the glip dose will come down with it. I've suggested insulin to our vet at our last apptointment and we decided to give Eddie a little more time to lose some weight and wean him off of the dry food (this is why he only gets 1/4 cup per 24 hours). He has another appointment on Saturday and we will see what his numbers are then.
What is the main concern with Glipizide? I've done some reading on it and the only thing that is said about it is that it is not always effective in cats but some respond well.
 
I don't know the details of why it's not good, I know it has something to do with adversely affecting the kidneys and pancreas.

May I ask, why the resistance to using insulin?

Regarding weight loss, if you remove the dry food, and feed low carb wet food and if you want low fat too - you will have better results than feeding dry food. Have you seen Dr. Lisa's site that discusses why dry food is not recommended for cats no matter what? www.catinfo.org
 
We're weaning him off the dry, soon he will be canned only.
I have a bit of resistance to insulin as Eddie is a very scared and skittish cat. He freaks out when we give him his liquid vitamins. I'm trying to see if the path we are on is an option that will work for him without having to stress him through the roof with the insulin shots and home testing. But I understand that if his blood sugar is not under control soon on the glip, insulin will be the next step for sure.
 
You are doing great with Eddie- and some cats take MONTHS to get down to 1/4 cup because they want their crunch :lol: .

I didn't see that you are home testing- sounds like the only two tests have been done at the vet. You need to keep an eye on his levels as you wean him off the dry food because his levels will drop. Get him used to that right now- you might be dosing too high and he is rebounding- which is the only thing your vet sees (plus the spike in his levels b/c he's at the vet). Not home testing is like playing Russian Roulette each time you dose.

Just remember that proper low carb/high protein canned food will help with the weight loss. It is like a human trying to loose weight when they are eating candy bars and chips and chugging it down with soda for a good 1/4 of their calorie intake- it doesn't work that well :oops:. And on the canned Eddie should loose it safely so he isn't in danger of the liver problems that can happen when they go too far too fast.

The W/D might not be the best for him as it still reigns it at 8% but better than any dry at 20+%. I just hopes he continues to eat it as most cats won't. Just to let you know the makers also make Fancy Feast and the like. All you are doing is paying for the label and providing income for the vet.

I have no opinion on the glip- to be honest I have never heard of it. If your cat is skittish you try what you can. Get him used to the home testing and maybe he won't freak out over the shoots. But I agree that doubling any dose sounds dangerous unless the vet has a sound, reliable information to back it up (read- HE'S DONE ACTUAL RESEARCH AND HAS GIVEN IT TO YOU). That doesn't happen with my vets. I do the research and I tell them what I want done because the first was, well, lazy, the second has a thriving practice that takes ALL of his time and he will read through what I want and decide from that.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top