Anyone have advice about Vetsulin successes or failures?

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Puddles' Person

Member Since 2014
Hello friends,
Since Lantus didn't work for Donut, the vet wants to try her on Vetsulin. I have been trying to find out what I can but just got this news a couple of hours ago and am very interested in hearing from Vetsulin users, pro or con. As always, thanks for all help. Donut hasn't been regulated yet and am having trouble getting her to eat. Is this to be expected while her sugar is high? She runs around 300-350 without insulin, much too high I know. Thanks so much!

Donut's mom Molly
 
When you say lantus did not work what do you mean by that. I just switched from vetsulin to lantus cause the vetsulin only worked for 6 hrs. He would peak in 3 hrs and be back to his preshot numbers. How many units of lantus were you giving? And what were BG numbers. How long have you been using lantus. Do you home test. Do you feed your cat low carb wet food? These are just some questions that will help when others chime in.
 
Hi Darin and Charlie,
I wrote a l-o-n-g earlier post about how Lantus would make my cat Donut extremely ill within an hour or two of injection. I would always test beforehand, give her a good meal, etc. and the dose was tiny, first 1U then at vet's suggestion .5U. It didn't budge her numbers. I tested her every hour or two trying to make sense of it. There is just something in the Lantus that affects her adversely. The first time it happened (on a 1.5 unit initial dose) I thought she was going hypoglycemic, she was so limp and non-responsive. The vet kept lowering and lowering her dose till it was practically imperceptible. 10-12 hours after her shot she would begin to feel and act like herself again. Neither the vet nor I can understand her extreme response. So anyway, that's the reason he is going to try her on another insulin. He says all cats are different and what works for one might not work for another. But that's $200 I wish I had back! (the Lantus cost). Yes, I do feed lowcarb wet food. On the day of Donut's diagnosis I took away all dry food (much to her heartbreak, as she loved to "graze") but she adjusted fine to canned. I feel if I had done it sooner maybe she never would have gotten diabetes so I blame myself, although I was following the previous vet's advice as to the food choice (Royal Canin GI.) Her BG numbers (unregulated as of now) run between 275-350. We tried the Lantus for 5 weeks and the outcome was always her acting severely ill but no lowering of BG. Thanks for responding. Did your kitty have any adverse response to Vetsulin other than the short duration time?

Molly
 
Charlie had been on vetsulin since Nov. Never had any kind of bad reaction. There is also pzi that others on this board use and have good results. And yes every cat is different. So vetsulin or pzi may be the answer for your kitty. I just did not like that vetsulin duration was so short.
 
Charlie had been on vetsulin since Nov. Never had any kind of bad reaction. There is also pzi that others on this board use and have good results. And yes every cat is different. So vetsulin or pzi may be the answer for your kitty. I just did not like that vetsulin duration was so short.
 
I myself would try ProZinc first since it lasts longer than Vetsulin. However, ProZinc is about twice as expensive as Vetsulin. Based on your Lantus experience Wither would be a better choice.
Where are y located? Maybe someone is nearby and will purchase the remaining Lantus
 
If your cat is having a bad reaction to the Lantus itself, I would try Levemir (detemir). It works similarly to Lantus but it is a different insulin. Or, if that is not available, Prozinc would be a good choice. Vetsulin does not work well in cats because it doesn't last long enough to consistently keep their blood sugar under control.
 
We started out on Caninsulin (aka Vetsulin) but it pooped out after 8-10 hours and Neko was always high and starving the last part of her cycle. I'd also recommend either Levemir (what Neko is on now) or Prozinc as both are long last insulin and there is lots of experience here in both to help you out.
 
Hidey didn't do too well on vetsulin. His numbers barely dropped and that was with diet change. After 2 months I hit my limit and had him switched to Prozinc after fighting with my vet. Hidey was on it for a very short period and I am happy to say he has been OTJ for about 2 months and is diet controlled. Of course every cat reacts differently, but I think since Prozinc is a longer working insulin it kicked his pancreas back into gear. Good luck :)
 
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