Neuropathy

Diabetic neuropathy is one of the symptoms of prolonged hyperglycemia. In humans, the excess glucose oxidizes the tiny capillaries that nourish nerve cells, and the resulting constriction starves the nerve cells. (See Wikipedia:Diabetic neuropathy.) In dogs and cats the mechanism[1] seems different: the nerve axons dwindle and atrophy, and the spaces between them become clogged with glycogen deposits.

See also gastroparesis, which is a neuropathy of the stomach, and retinopathy, which is a neuropathy of the eye.

Symptoms

The practical result is that nerves in the legs are progressively damaged, leading to tingliness, pain, numbness, and weakness or paralysis. In cats, this often shows first as weak hind legs, progressing until the cat cannot stand on his toes as usual, and walks on his hocks (heels) or sits down more often. Jumping becomes difficult, then impossible. Eventually the cats' legs seem to slip out from under them and they become unable to walk. The symptoms are less common in dogs, but do occur. Many dogs have hind leg weakness when they are first diagnosed with diabetes. This is sometimes the symptom which brings the pet to the vet's office. It's often falsely attributed to "getting older" by the caregiver. With treatment and regulation, most dogs also have reversal of neuropathy.

This abstractindicates that both the neuropathy and low blood pressure returned to normal following the control of the diabetes with insulin.

Reversal

Fortunately, in early stages this damage is reversible. A combination of reducing the attacks on the nerve cells (by regulating blood glucose levels), and Methylcobalamin supplements that promote nerve regrowth, is effective in many cats in just a few weeks.

Effective regulation alone has been known to reverse neuropathy in cats, though perhaps not as quickly as with the Methyl-B12 supplements. Methyl-B12 (aka Methylcobalamin, Xobaline) is a special form of vitamin B12 that can be absorbed in the spinal fluid, and is not the same as regular B12. Supplements alone don't help if blood glucose remains high.

You can pill the animal or crush the pill into the pet's wet food. Some caregivers give their cats 3mg a day; some less. If you can only find 5mg pills, that's ok too-- the vitamin is water-soluble and the excess will be urinated away. Many pills come with small amounts of glucose or fructose as flavoring, but diabetic cat owners have not noticed significant blood sugar changes as a result of these small amounts.

External Links

• Where to buy Methyl-B12 (Laurie and Jasper)
• Why and how to use Methyl-B12 (Laurie and Jasper)
• Methylcobalamin and diabetic neuropathy by Fujiya et al.
• More on Methyl-B12 in diabetic pets
• FDMB discussion on more recent sources and forms of Methyl-B12