Kathy, we are here to help you, not make you feel bad. Please don't ever think that.
Kathy knows her cat and situation better than any of us here can. Kathy is the ultimate decision maker. Let me say that again. Kathy makes the choices for her cat Middie Mittens. No one else. ECID. No one should be treated as shabbily as Kathy has been by her vet. Scathing emails? I've gotten them too from my (thankfully) former vet.
We give alternate points of view, ask questions, see if there is something that can be changed. We may not always have the right words and sometimes there is no way to get that tone of voice across to people only using the written word.
Although we tell people how close of a bond they will develop with their diabetic cat, it's a tough decision to make in the first place, to treat the diabetes. It's a financial, social, emotional, stressful choice and can be a real roller coaster. Most people would choose to euthanize their cat or try to re-home their cat, or dump the cat in a rural area or at a shelter upon the diabetes diagnosis. Anyone that finds their way here is to be applauded for deciding to treat their cat and make that commitment. Kudos to you all.
@Diane Tyler's Mom We can all learn something new, so here are 2 links to some documents over in the Prozinc forum.
There is no scientifically studied 'dosing protocol' for Prozinc. We have a
BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO PROZINC/ PZI INSULIN FOR DIABETIC CATS in that ISG forum. There is a
PROTOCOL FOR PROZINC / PZI but that was developed here with input from many members, not formally tested in a scientific study. The TR protocol for lantus was adapted from the original Roomp & Rand study and was adjusted and tweaked over many years of experience here. Not formally published either.
Prozinc is one of those 'in and out' insulins, rarely lasts for more than 12 hours or so. If you were using a 'depot' type insulin like Lantus or Levimir, changing the dose all the time would be more of an issue. Some people do use a sliding scale for dosing Prozinc. Not recommended. When member Sue & Oliver where still able to assist people, she would try to help with that. Maybe not the best way for every cat on Prozinc, but one way. There is no one way of doing things here.
I don't know the ins and outs of using Prozinc (no pun intended). I have never used that insulin for one of my cats, so I'm reluctant to help with the dosing for Prozinc. Other members have been helping her over in the ISG Prozinc/PZI forum. Without reading through all the posts from Kathy, as well as some closer looks at the SS, I would only be 'second guessing' what she is doing and why. I do see some room for improvement, BUT would want to ask questions about why things were done a certain way.
I don't know why Kathy doesn't like her main vet (yelling at me would be a big turnoff and I would have dumped him in a New York minute). I don't know why her vet doesn't want her to home test (has he kept up with the latest research and vet journal articles that encourage pet owners to do just that?). I don't know why he does not want to change the dose (he could be sued if something happened?). I don't know why she is doing so many of the dosing changes she is doing. I don't know a lot about her situation.
We all have busy lives, with jobs or maybe we are unemployed or retired and money is tight. Maybe we have children or elderly parents to take care of. Maybe we are going to school, work 2 jobs, work weekends, live alone and have no one else to help us manage the situation. We need to be aware that we do not know what all of those other commitments are. Everyone needs to do laundry and grocery shop and all those other daily life chores. We all need to renew and refresh our minds and our spirits. Maybe that is going to a movie with friends. Maybe it's going out to lunch. Maybe it's catching up on our sleep so we don't get so exhausted we can't take care of ourselves, let along a sick cat.
Vets can be sued. If Kathy thinks that lying to her vet about how she is treating her cat for the diabetes I think that is risky. It's risky because what would happen if complications develop like DKA and her cat needs to be hospitalized? Or what happens if her cat Middle Mittens develops other concurrent medical conditions like IBS, thyroid, heart, kidney, pancreatitis or a host of other diseases? Where the vet needs to have a full understanding of what is happening to decide on the best treatment? Or since Middie Mittens is an indoor/outdoor cat, what if she gets savaged by a wild animal or a dog or hit by a car and needs emergency medical treatment? Or her cat needs a dental and the vet would be dosing the higher dose while her cat is at the vet clinic for the day?
Vet practices can refuse to treat any patient for any reason they deem fit and do not have to provide a reason. If her vet found out she was lying, they could terminate her as a patient at their clinic. She would have the right to get a copy of the vet records. But then what does she do when she finds a new vet and the new vet asks her about the insulin dose AND who her old vet was and asks for a copy of the vet medical records? Catch-22.
There are a number of us that have decided to ignore how the vet tells us to treat our diabetic cats, me included (37% carb dry food, stop home testing so much, use Metacam and risk acute kidney failure when there are safer alternatives after a dental). Sometimes ignoring what our vet says works out ok, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes when we tell a vet what we know, and can back that up with evidence, the vet says to keep doing what we are doing. But if they really knew how we are treating our cats, would they agree?
We give the best suggestions we can, and try to include the reason why we are making a particular suggestion. It's always the choice of the caregiver to decide what to do. ECID Every Cat is Different, Every Caregiver is Different.
There are ways to dose a U40 insulin like Prozinc using U100 syringes. You have to be very careful if you are doing this and use a conversion chart. NOT for the inexperienced. Don't think she has U100 syringes, because she commented in one of her posts that her vision isn't that good to see some of the tiny amounts in the U40 syringes.
Kathy is trying her very best to help her kitty Middie Mittens. So I'll repeat one thing I said earlier. ECID Every Cat is Different, Every Caregiver is Different. We are here for you Kathy.
