Anyone ever heard of a panicky pancreas?

[cocokitten]

I'm new here, but definitely not new to my cat and his diabetes. Kitten has had diabetes for a year and a half. He went into remission twice and is currently on 2 units of Prozinc. He eats-and I love this brand-Nature's Variety (lamb and venison-they have little to no carbs). Here's my question to everyone....I've read that we should give our cats shots based on their numbers. For example, Kitten's level is say 200, so I should give him 1 unit, 300 2 units, 400 3 units. My vet DOESN'T like this method. She says this can lead to a, "Panicky Pancreas" and she recommends keeping him on the same unit for a week and increase him .5 every week he stays high.

What do you all think?

Currently Kitten is between 300-high 400's the time of his shot and his 6 hour time, he's around 200 and maybe lower. We're giving him 2 units and he's been on that for a week. Last week he was 1.5. I think we should raise it to 2.5. But what happens if we test him shot time and he's in the 200's or lower? Would we skip shot?

Thanks everyone!

BTW, we test Kitten's sugie by stabbing his paw. Works really well for us.

 

[KPassa]

I've been on this board for almost two years and have never heard of a "panicky pancreas." I wonder if she means the potential to cause pancreatitis or maybe something else?
confused_cat

With ProZinc, you do have two options with dosing. From the ProZinc Protocol:

ProZinc and PZI are unique in that they can be dosed in two ways, depending on how the car responds. Some cats seem to do best if a specific dose is held for several cycles. It seems to take that long for their numbers to really change. Some cats respond to a sliding scale, getting a different dose for different preshot numbers. Collecting data will help you see which regiment works best for your cat. If you need help with a sliding scale, ask people on the PZI forum to guide you.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

We have put together a protocol for ProZinc that might be helpful.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewforum.php?f=24

There are two ways to dose the insulin. One suggests a similiar approach to the one your vet prefers - staying with a dose 3 cycles before increasing by .25 or. .5 units. The other is a sliding scale, changing the dose depending on the preshot number while taking into account the lowest midcycle number also. Some cats do well with one approach, some the other. You don't know until you try.

If he is in the 300s at preshot and drops to 200 at midcycle, I would think you could increase by .25 or .5. As for a low preshot, once you have some data, you can shoot lower than 200. Until you have data, you can try stalling. So if the preshot is under 200, wait 20 minutes and retest, without feeding. If he is rising and at or over 200, it should be safe to shoot, but maybe a little less than the previous shot.

 

[cocokitten]

Panicky pancreas is when you give too much insulin too quickly and instead of getting the numbers down, they go up. Kind of like Somogyi Effect. That's why my vet likes that we try him for one unit for a week and then slowly increase each week. Kitten has never been higher than 2 units in his life as a diabetic. I'm nervous to go up to 2.5. I've seen him go hyper on me once and it was scary! That was when I didn't have a meter because my vet said it wasn't necessary! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Anyway, last year we were able to do the shot by current level method and it really worked! But that was on Lantus. Not sure if that's ok with Prozinc.

I will read what they say about the insulin. Thank you folks for the help. BTW, he suffers from heart disease too, but it's hard to juggle all his aliments. We do our best though! If you see his photo, his personality is as gorgeous as he is!

Jessica and Kitten

 

[cocokitten]

OH and what is a cycle? Is that a day???

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

A cycle is 12 hours.

 

[cocokitten]

Oh wow! Ok! Time to adjust his insulin. I was waiting 7 days. Thanks so much for your help. This forum is wonderful!