Starting Prozinc on Tuesday

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TempestsMum

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so I'm going to be starting Tempest on Prozinc on Tuesday.
I've to get a lesson on how to inject etc when I go in.
I have some concerns about this mainly as this is the only cat the practice has with an FD cat so I feel like I'm drowning a little and this is the only place I have to get some experienced answers.

My main two questions are this. Sorry if they've been asked before.

Will I see Tempests behaviour change when she starts the insulin? If so what way?

How common is hypoglycaemia?

Thank you
 
Hi Tempests mom, welcome to the ProZinc Forum! What would you like us to call you? It's scary at first. I remember following my cat around after the first few shots, worried about a hypo. I saw in your other thread that you are home testing. That's great! When you start the insulin, be sure to get a test before you give the shot. Make sure Tempest has not had food for 2 hours before that test so the result is not food influenced. By doing that you will have a much lower risk of a hypo. Also you need to get some tests during her cycle to see how well the insulin is working. Have you seen this http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/protocol-for-prozinc-pzi.109077/ read through it, and ask all the questions you have.

Here's the link to your Health post
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/where-to-start.162366/#post-1742592
 
Welcome to the forum. It is all a little overwhelming when first starting with a diabetic kitty, but it does get easier as you go along. Prozinc is a good insulin and works well for many kitties. There are some very experienced Prozinc users on here that can certainly help you out as you go along.

Tempest should start to show improvements as her glucose levels get more regulated. The excess drinking and peeing and hunger starts to tone down as the numbers get better. Many people start to see their "old" kitty emerging again as regulation improves. This does not happen overnight since it takes some time to get your kitty's body adjusted to having external insulin added in.

Hypoglycemia can happen with any kitty if the dose is too high or if your kitty reacts strongly to the insulin. This is why it is always suggested to start with a low dose and gradually increase until improvement is seen. Also if you are transitioning from dry food to a diet of wet low carb food, that can sometimes cause numbers to drop much quicker. This is why home-testing is important, so that you can see how well or how quickly your kitty is responding to treatment. Here is some good information on home testing:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Although some kitties are more difficult to home test in the beginning, with time, patience, setting a regular pattern for testing, and of course some treats for afterwards...either low carb food or just extra cuddling they do respond well.
 
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Welcome! So glad you are testing at home - it's the best way to keep your kitty safe. I'd suggest getting the testing down pat as you wait for the insulin: get a low carb treat she loves and only use it for testing, mess with her ears, get her used to having them warmed. And get some tests in now so you have a baseline. Will you be using a human meter?

Can we help you get started with a spreadsheet? It is a wonderful color coded tool that lets you share her history with your vet and us - when you want dosing help. We have an World version so it will switch back between metric and US values. Here are the directions:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

If you need help, just ask.

Have you found a food and treats that she likes that are low carb? This might help:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-mMJBQ_r05GdDBEY0pWbURmRE0/view

I would ask the vet to start low and go slow - numbers at the vet can be much higher due to the stress of being there. Then doses based on those numbers can be too high once you get home. We suggest starting at one unit or lower, and raising slowly as your home numbers suggest.

There isn't a person who responds to your post that wasn't terrified at first. You'll find the more you learn, the more confident you become. Read a lot, ask questions. We'll be glad to help.
 
Oh my name is Tara so by all means call me that :)

Yes I can easily see myself following her around after lol I do keep a jar of honey in my cupboard so I can get to that in seconds. One good thing about a bungalow!

I want to set up the spreadsheet that everyone is talking about. I will make a google account on my iPad - I have to admit setting the spreadsheet up is stressing me the most as I'm really bad about these sorts of things.

I'm not sure if there's much point in doing a curve for it until she starts on insulin so the practice one today and (Sunday probably) I want to do as a practice and also as I know her levels will be up as soon as she's at the vets so hoping it will give the vet a better idea of what it actually is so he can tell me the correct dosage to start with. Not sure if this will help but it seems logical to me in the sense that her glucose test will be higher at the surgery and lower at home therefore if they go by the level on Tuesday it will be incorrect.

Using less litter is appealing! Lol I'm having to completely empty it every two days at the moment.
Her behaviour hasn't changed much that I've noticed other than she flops onto her side more and lies there. She's bright and fully alert and she's always done it its just more often now. She had a good play with me yesterday and still catches flies and spiders! So still active. I had noticed she fails in some of her attempts to jump but the vet put that down to her age last time I mentioned it. She's 15.

She's not too bad to home test I think but I find it hard and awkward and she moves a lot as she wants scratches (second pair of hands would be great lol) but I think in time it will get better. She knows I'm up to something but I'm playing it down.. I overdid it the first time and there was blood on me and everywhere! Not loads but I made a mess. The easiest place to test her is on the bed - she sleeps there lots so I can sit beside her and it's handy.
I can only use one ear as the other is torn so it's difficult to get the correct spot and as she's so dark I have to go with the outside edge.

Going by those great videos that seems to work fine. :) I hope someday she will be as good as those kitties.
 
Thank you Sue and Oliver - I think you were replying to me when I was writing my last post so didn't see it until just now.
I have the alpatrak2 meter specially for cats and dogs.
Her favourite treat is chicken or turkey which she adores. I bought some yesterday just for that purpose. :)
Out of the list of foods I was given I've chosen the butchers and hi-life for her as these are available in the local supermarket.

It looks like I'm not too crazy starting the curves before I go then :) that's good!
Should I put those on the spreadsheet as well or only the ones when she gets the insulin?

So many thanks to you all! I can't tell you how grateful I am
 
I will go make an account now then and see how I get on with the 'destructions'
 
Good advice from the others. Welcome to the board. There are some great FAQ here, and helpers here. My Leo has been on the juice for a year and is a high-dose kitty. (Please do not use his high dosing as a an initial guideline).
 
Thank you Rachel :) Jeff J thank you too! So lovely to meet so many helpful people - just knowing you and this boad/site is here is great especially as my vets don't have any other owners with diabetic cats so I only have general information from them. And they don't use prozinc but very kindly ordered it just for me. The vet seems to think I won't have much success with home testing (that kitty will run away all the time when she figures out she's going to get her ear pricked a lot) but I'm determined to make sure she gets used to it so lots of chicken and turkey every time. :)

Reading through a lot of the posts and the faq on this insulin I do feel it's the best one for Tempest and me.

I do have another question. Sorry feels like it's one after another.
My cat grazes throughout the day and at night however I know that come morning time she will have finished her food from the previous night so will not have eaten the two hours prior to breakfast. Should I shift from grazing (which I prefer and she doesn't overeat) to set meals - where she wouldn't get anything until I get home from work and then again before bed and remove the food in between?


My feeding schedule is breakfast which she eats and then grazes the rest throughout the day (no more dried food is available now she's on the high protein/low carb food)
Then when I get home from work and again in the evening before bedtime. I tend to never leave her without food in her dish.
So that's approx 1 tin of food a day
Or 3-4 pouches
 
@Marje and Gracie thanks so much for setting the spreadsheet up for me.
I've put in the values I took yesterday and this morning.
This mornings ones are an hour apart as I tested before breakfast (although she had some food left in her dish from last night so may not be that accurate) and an hour after she ate. :)
Hope I've done it correctly.
 
I can see your SS! Some people prefer to let their kitty's graze, as long as there's no food for 2 hours preshot, I think it's fine. If that might be a problem, you can get an auto feeder that will close at that time so she won't get any food.
 
Yay! Every step no matter how small is making me feel great - like I've just climbed Everest or something lol

That's grand Sharon14 I can easily put out less in the evening and lift it 2 hours before I give her the shot. :) thank you
 
TempestsMum said:
Yay! Every step no matter how small is making me feel great - like I've just climbed Everest or something lol
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I know how you feel! It will get easier though. It's good that you are learning to test her now, before insulin. That will be one less thing to worry about!
 
TempestsMum said:
@Marje and Gracie thanks so much for setting the spreadsheet up for me.
I've put in the values I took yesterday and this morning.
This mornings ones are an hour apart as I tested before breakfast (although she had some food left in her dish from last night so may not be that accurate) and an hour after she ate. :)
Hope I've done it correctly.
Click to expand...
You're welcome! I think that's fine since you aren't shooting yet.
 
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