Neuropathy in Dogs

[Dog Mom]

Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone else's Dog has developed Neuropathy because of their Diabetes. Buddy has seem to have developed it in his back legs. He goes to Acupuncture once a month but I am not sure if there is more I can do for him. Other than that, he has been doing great all these months. He did have another bout with Hepatitis but I figured out it was because of the Herbs I was giving him. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!!

[eileen]

Re: Neuropathy inn Dogs

Several years ago when my diabetic cat was first diagnosed with the disease he developed diabetic neuropathy in his rear legs, he began walking on his hocks.

At the time I researched possible solutions and did read of some who were finding the supplement, Methyl B-12 to benefit.

I personally never used the supplement as once I gained control over his glucose levels he regained full use of his legs.

I do recall my vet telling me of the importance of continuing to exersize his limbs even if that meant manually rotating his legs.

I know with cats it is neuropathy that they are affected by with high bgs and with dogs the concern is cataracts.

Maybe this link can be of some help.

http://www.delano.com/Articles/Methy...etic-pets.html

[k9diabetes]

Re: Neuropathy inn Dogs

In six years, I've mainly seen neuropathy in two groups of diabetic dogs - those with sustained very high blood sugar and those who have better blood sugar but who also have some other type of nerve deficit, like degenerative myelopathy, that's contributing to the lack of nerve function.

I suspect that excess glucose in the blood layers on top of whatever else is imparing spinal cord so makes whatever else is going on in those dogs even worse.

And I think you also can have a dog who is just extra sensitive to moderately high blood sugar. Hard to say if they have an undiagnosed problem or are just very sensitive.

We don't see a lot of neuropathy in dogs - they tend to tolerate high blood sugar in that regard better than cats do. Among cats it is pretty common.

The other thing about neuropathy is that it will usually fade as the blood sugar comes down into a better range. So if the blood sugar is good and the neuropathy remains, then there's a good chance it's caused by something else.

And it can be hard to distinguish between neuropathy, arthritis, muscle wasting from inflammatory processes, even a combination of a couple of those things.

I haven't had a chance to check back in your history - has he had a quick neurological exam to see if his spinal cord seems to be compressed or pinched somewhere? Any x-rays done?

Natalie

[ozzi]

Re: Neuropathy inn Dogs

Hi,

My Ozzi had severe hind leg weakness when he was diagnosed with diabetes. At that time his glucose was over 600 and he was in diabetic ketoacidosis. Within a day or two of starting insulin, he returned to baseline. Whenever his sugar went up, his hind legs went down. Once his sugar was managed better, his weakness improved.

I took him to a neurologist for back pain, and in addition to having diabetic neuropathy, he was diagnosed with cauda equina syndrome (lumbosacral stenosis) which caused multiple neurological deficits.

If his hind leg weakness persists, and his sugars are controlled fairly well, I would suspect other reasons for the neuropathy and have your vet check him. He might need spinal films to look for disc disease, stenosis, etc. My understanding of acupuncture (which was a treatment suggested for Ozzi, but it became almost impossible to get him in the car so we never did that), it helps pain from neuropathy, but not the neuropathy itself. Hopefully his pain is better with acupuncture, but if you still see symptoms of hind leg weakness, I would not necessarily assume it is diabetic neuropathy, and would want to explore it further.

I was wondering what you are actually seeing that makes you or your vet suspect neuropathy. Has his gait changed (e.g., stiff), do his paws fold under him when he walks, does he have problems rising? It would help if you could define what it is that you see, and how it has been progressing.

Kevin

[Dog Mom]

Re: Neuropathy in Dogs

When he walks, there are times his left back paw folds under him and he doesn't seem to notice. Most of this happens when he goes outside on the lawn as it is a little uneven. I will try to tickle the pad of the foot and he doesn't flinch whereas he does somewhat with his right leg. He is a little slow in getting up but not that bad.