Gonzalo lived in Tijuana, Baja California (Mexico) at the time when he was diagnosed as diabetic. He was 7 years old . The symptons were clearly the classic ones ( thirsty, hungry, lot of time at the litter box...) and were confirmed at the time by lab blood analisys . He never had any symptom of neuropathy.
First option the vet offered was the euthanasia. Of course, i send him to hell, since Gonzalo was not suffering. He was even more alive than ever, hunting every piece of food he could find, even broccoli.
Then, the treatment offered was twice a day Humulin-N insulin shots (1 U.I.) . I learned how to do it, but i could find a lot of information on the web, specially in felinediabetes.com and in petdiabetes.wikia.com. I begin to study EVERYTHING that i could find about the topic. Not only the wiki pages, but the references and the discussion forums. Specially, i studied and comparaed all the scientific publications and the Dr. Rand studies and revisions . I send this articules and information to two or three vets, but had no answer or interest from them, and they treated me like if i was crazy or wanted to make their job.
After 3 or four months, i decided to change Gonzalo to a tight regulation with Lantus , after changing all the diet ( no carbs!) and saying good bye to free feeding. I bought a glucometer , learned how to use it and taught to Gonzalo to be quiet. It was hard, but not too much. I decided to use the german protocol .
First day with Lantus shots, the results were amazing ( see the Graphs ) and in 3 days, i had to cut the dose by half. In a week i had to cut the shots at all. I had to be very careful, since he began to produce his own insulin and readings were really low some times (below 50) and had one or two Corn Syrup episodes, just in case. He entered remission in only a week of Lantus. I was pretty sure that, after 4 months of Humulin ( and 400 BG average) that was not going to be possible, because de beta cells could or should be damaged but...
I think the lessons are that you must give a try to Lantus, but you have to be ready for really-fast results, and be prepared to know what to do in this case. Do not ever throw in the towel.
Actually it has been almost 3 years without a shot and with diet strict control only. An he is in a really good shape, living in Mexico City ( the altitude factor could be important),