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#1
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
Our 12-year-old cat developed diabetes suddenly. He's now
on Glipizide. How critical is the dosage size? This cat's behavior now is not anywhere near his original kittenish feistiness. -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org |
#2
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
Its very critical that the cat get the correct dosage. Too much or too
little can kill the cat you need to work with your vet on this. Celeste "Charles Packer" wrote in message ... Our 12-year-old cat developed diabetes suddenly. He's now on Glipizide. How critical is the dosage size? This cat's behavior now is not anywhere near his original kittenish feistiness. -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org |
#3
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
On Apr 7, 7:35*am, "Spot" wrote:
Its very critical that the cat get the correct dosage. *Too much or too little can kill the cat you need to work with your vet on this. What would have happened if that cat hadn't been treated at all? Except for a lot of drinking water and peeing, his behavior otherwise was normal. If his condition were fatal, at least we would have a memory of him as normal up to the end. But he's my wife's cat, and she decides what gets done. -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org |
#4
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
On Apr 8, 6:18*am, Charles Packer wrote:
On Apr 7, 7:35*am, "Spot" wrote: Its very critical that the cat get the correct dosage. *Too much or too little can kill the cat you need to work with your vet on this. What would have happened if that cat hadn't been treated at all? Except for a lot of drinking water and peeing, his behavior otherwise was normal. If his condition were fatal, at least we would have a memory of him as normal up to the end. This is absolutely not true that you would have a memory of him as normal up to the end. I have a friend that works for a vet clinic as a diabetes technincian, and she told me that the use of Glipizide is "old-school" thinking and rarely works in cats. Diabetics need insulin or they risk developing fatal ketoacidosis/kidney failure. It is likely that's where your cat is headed right now, and why he's not acting right. If this cat doesn't get the right treatment quickly, he could very well end up dead. The good news is if the cat is immediately put on a low-carb, canned- only, grain-free diet (she uses Wellness Beef and Chicken, Turkey, and Turkey and Salmon for the diabetics she works with), the owners home- test blood sugar using a glucometer such as the One Touch Ultra and keep the cat's numbers within the normal range using insulin it is more likely than not that the cat will go into remission and insulin will no longer be necessary as long as the cat is NEVER fed dry food again and is kept on the right diet. Implementing a weight loss program for obese diabetics is also important, but this is simple to do considering that a diabetic cat should NOT be free fed and should eat measured amounts of canned food on a 12 hour schedule. If you want me to hook your wife up with my friend for a consultation so she has a better understanding of what's involved email me and I'll see what I can do. She has so far had a 100% success rate with getting diabetics off of insulin. |
#5
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
On Apr 8, 12:24*pm, "cindys" wrote:
The good news is if the cat is immediately put on a low-carb, canned- only, grain-free diet (she uses Wellness Beef and Chicken, Turkey, and Turkey and Salmon for the diabetics she works with), the owners home- test blood sugar using a glucometer such as the One Touch Ultra and He's at least moving toward a low-carb diet by default, since my wife is trying to find tasty food in which to dissolve his Glipizide dose. I would question the use of Glipizide too, on the grounds that, based upon what I read in Wikipedia, he's been prescribed a human-sized dose -- 5 mg -- albeit twice a day instead of every 5 hours, the way humans take it. But my wife and I agree that we don't want to be sticking him with a needle regularly, for any purpose; she because she'd have to do it -- this is where I say "It's your cat" -- and I because it seems ridiculous to torture an animal so it can be your companion for a little while longer. -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org |
#6
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
"Charles Packer" wrote in message ... On Apr 8, 12:24 pm, "cindys" wrote: The good news is if the cat is immediately put on a low-carb, canned- only, grain-free diet (she uses Wellness Beef and Chicken, Turkey, and Turkey and Salmon for the diabetics she works with), the owners home- test blood sugar using a glucometer such as the One Touch Ultra and He's at least moving toward a low-carb diet by default, since my wife is trying to find tasty food in which to dissolve his Glipizide dose. I would question the use of Glipizide too, on the grounds that, based upon what I read in Wikipedia, he's been prescribed a human-sized dose -- 5 mg -- albeit twice a day instead of every 5 hours, the way humans take it. But my wife and I agree that we don't want to be sticking him with a needle regularly, for any purpose; she because she'd have to do it -- this is where I say "It's your cat" -- and I because it seems ridiculous to torture an animal so it can be your companion for a little while longer. -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org Lantus would be a much better choice, and this would not necessarily prolong your cat's life for only "a little while longer." It also is not torture. People who deal with diabetic cats have had a very high response rate -- nearly 100% -- if they adopt cat food without grains (cats do not need carbs), monitor blood glucose regularly, and administer insulin precisely as needed. This is likely to be temporary if you and your wife will stick to the routine because cats often go into remission in a very short period of time. To answer your specific question: Dosage is *critical.* You need to check blood glucose levels at home (very easy to do) and not merely "guess" at the correct dose. Please read Rene's message carefully. It is excellent advice. MaryL |
#7
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
"Charles Packer" wrote in message news:190ebe08-982a-4911-8ced- He's at least moving toward a low-carb diet by default, since my wife is trying to find tasty food in which to dissolve his Glipizide dose. I would question the use of Glipizide too, on the grounds that, based upon what I read in Wikipedia, he's been prescribed a human-sized dose -- 5 mg -- albeit twice a day instead of every 5 hours, the way humans take it. But my wife and I agree that we don't want to be sticking him with a needle regularly, for any purpose; she because she'd have to do it -- this is where I say "It's your cat" -- and I because it seems ridiculous to torture an animal so it can be your ..companion for a little while longer. Charles, I've treated many diabetic cats- at least a few dozen over the years- and I can say, based on actual experience, Glipizide does not work, over the long run, in the vast majority of diabetic cats. The failure rate in cats is ~75-80%. The most serious- and potentially life-threatening side effect of Glipizide in cats is loss of appetite and nausea. Loss of appetite in a diabetic cat that's receiving Glipizide can result in *profound* hypoglycemia. The higher the dose the greater the chance- and severity of adverse effects. The dose your cat has been prescribed is *twice* the normal initial dose. I strongly suggest you seek a second opinion from a vet who is current in treating diabetic cats. Btw, how was your cat diagnosed with diabetes? IOW, what prompted the visit to the vet or was diabetes an incidental finding during a routine exam? Also, do you remember what your cat's blood glucose levels were and if glucose was found in his urine? This is *very* important. If your cat's BG was high and glucose wasn't found in the urine, he may not even be diabetic. Does your cat get very stressed out from trips to the vet? I need more information to go on before I can make any suggestions. As far a "torturing" your cat, here's a short video of testing a cat's blood: http://maxshouse.com/bgtest%5B1%5D.mpg Giving insulin injections is even easier on them. You and your wife might want to join the Yahoo Feline Diabetes group. http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Felinediabetes/ Get back to me with the BG numbers. Best of luck, Phil |
#8
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
On Apr 9, 11:57*pm, "cindys" wrote:
It's not torturing the animal. The insulin needle is teeny and the injection is right under the skin. It takes a second to inject the insulin. The cat You're right; I should have used "annoy." At any rate, I'll report all these followups to my wife. She might be responsive to the idea of going to another vet, since the one she has been using stood her up yesterday -- left on some emergency without calling her to cancel her appointment. -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org |
#9
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
If your wife is hesitant to check blood glucoses at home, the vet tech will
do it. But if she is willing to check at home, see if you can find a free glucometer. Normally, they cost in the neighborhood of $100, Nowaways, meters can be gotten for a song. Do a search on eBay for OneTouch Ultra Mini (this is the meter my friend recommends to her clients). You can get them for about $10 (including shipping), and they even come in colors. Also, you can get test strips for about half price on eBay. Just watch the expiration dates of the strips and make sure the sellers have good feedback. |
#10
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Did diabetes treatment do this to him?
On Apr 10, 2:40*am, "Phil P." wrote:
I've treated many diabetic cats- at least a few dozen over the years- and I can say, based on actual experience, Glipizide does not work, over the long run, in the vast majority of diabetic cats. The failure rate in cats is ~75-80%. *The most serious- and potentially life-threatening side effect of Glipizide in cats is loss of appetite and nausea. Loss of appetite in a diabetic cat that's receiving Glipizide can result in *profound* hypoglycemia. *The higher the dose the greater the chance- and severity of adverse effects. *The dose your cat has been prescribed is *twice* the normal initial dose. I strongly suggest you seek a second opinion from a vet who is current in treating diabetic cats. My wife read all the postings in this thread and then spoke to an acquaintance who's a vet tech. Pretty much confirmed what was recommended here. The PetSmart vet she was going to had been leading her astray. So she'll take the cat to a vet who will endorse the insulin + no-carb diet, probably. Life will become more complicated, not to mention more constrained for our dear companion animal. Sigh...on the other hand, if we'd all grown up on farms, we'd have a different perspective -- more balanced, perhaps -- on the relative value of human and animal lives... -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org |
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