Can someone with Prozinc experience take a look at this thread please

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Has a spreadsheet been set up for Phoebe yet?
Don't understand why Phoebe's getting 1 unit ProZinc after a pre-shot BG of 127 - that's awfully low to shoot. (Definitely needs close monitoring of BG# to avoid going hypo.)
 
Robin &BB,
Thanks for your reply.

No, no spreadsheet yet. And I don't know what I'm doing quite yet that's why she got the insulin! Phoebe did not develope any symptoms of hypoglycemia after giving 1U at BG127. So I did shoot her again today: BG 148, +2 135.
Phoebe tested at the vet, with an Alphatrak2, at 240 on Monday (March 30). On March 23th her diagnosing BG was 236; 3+ glucose urine - these numbers came from blood work sent to the lab (vet didn't contact me with results until March 26th). Phoebe tested at home with the relion confirm at BG 127 on Wednesday (April 1) right before her first insulin injection. I figured the relion confirm BG 127 was similar in value to the Aphatrak2 BG 240. Yes, I did freak out after someone told me BG 127 on a relion confirm is generally considered normal. Phoebe's BG was +2 81 after shooting 1U prozinc at BG 127. I didn't test anymore after that. This morning her pre insulin BG was 148, +2 135. I thought I was catching on to this home testing, but now I am all confused again. Should Phoebe go back to the vet for another BG using their glucometer, and mine to compare results on her (as opposed to using the clinic kitty)? She majorly stresses at the vet. We did compare results between the two glucometers on a healthy resident hospital kitty: Alphatrak2 = BG 74; relion confirm = BG 45. How am I supposed to know how to interpret the relion confirm results? If 45 = 75, then what does 127 equal? And one cannot really make a comparison with only one result, correct? I cannot afford to take Phoebe in to the vet every day for BG monitoring so I must get a firm understanding on how to interpret BG numbers at home using my relion confirm. Oh, and I should mention that Phoebe was on a high dose of prednisolone, 5mg twice a day, for gastric lymphoma(she is also on Cerenia, metronidazole, fluoxetine). The pred was reduced to 2.5mg once a day on March 26th.
I hope I got all that correct. I hope I've made sense of what's going on.
 
So the Pred can make this more complicated because it impacts the numbers, but not always in the same way. Each cat can process it differently.

What kind of food does she eat? If dry, that may explain why the insulin isn't taking her super low even though you are shooting some pretty low pre shot numbers.

BJ put together some notes on the differences between pet and human glucometers. It should help.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oI_34_EgqeKdpyttFW0oLoG1mbw16IkATAWHhoQD2JU/pub
 
Thanks @Robin&BB and @Sue and Oliver (GA). I had a feeling I'd read somewhere that the no shot limit for Prozinc was higher, but I didn't want to cause panic unnecessarily either. And of course there were no immediate alarm bells for me shooting a 127 because it's fine to do with Lantus!

I'm glad Phoebe's doing OK and doesn't look as though she dropped too far too fast from the 1 unit. :)
 
Hi, cookieLu - Thanks for the additional info on meds; prednisone (as well as other meds & any other illness she's dealing with) can definitely affect how your kitty processes the insulin. For example: My kitty's numbers changed once she stopped taking antibiotic Orbax.

have the same question as Sue: What do you feed Phoebe? And when/ how much? How's Phoebe's weight?

Please be aware that not all cats show easy-to-see symptoms of hypoglycemia (my Bat-Bat doesn't show any symptoms whosoever) - so it's very important to recheck/ monitor BG levels, steering with syrup/food as needed (whatever works best for you) if Phoebe's #s head into the hypo-zone.

Most nadir #s on ProZinc usually happen between +4 and +7; you may want to do some tests in that zone, as she could still be dropping after a +2 or +3 check; testing only at those times won't give you as clear a picture of where she's going. Can you do a full curve over the weekend? This would really help you know what's happening with her.

Is there any way you can wait & retest at shot times for her BG to rise, so that you could be shooting at more like a (safer) 150?

I know everything's confusing at first, but trust me - you will get the hang of this! And I can totally relate about Phoebe stressing out in a big way at the vet's office. Bat's like that, too - she freaks out so badly that the vet couldn't hospitalize her on the day of her diagnosis, which he said would have done with any other (less jumpy) cat.

So the good news for you is: Testing her at home will help her get better faster! I would just email that nice chart that BJ put together for you over to your vet's office - then let the vet do the conversions; that's not something you need to be worrying about. (I send my spreadsheet over to Bat's vet every few days ... & he's thinks that's a marvelous help.)

Maybe someone's already told you this, but you should be testing for ketones, too, if at all possible. (See the protocols.) Keep us posted on how it's going - will look forward to seeing a spreadsheet once you have time to get one up & running. Thinking good thoughts for you & Phoebe! - Robin
 
Hi cookielu,
Take a look at Mitz's SS. I've been using an Alphatrak but am in the process of transitioning to a human meter (Akray Glucocard Vital which I understand is the same as one of the Walmart Relion meters). I'm testing with both meters and recording the numbers on 2 spreadsheets. I feel like I'm starting from scratch again because I need to learn how to understand a new set of numbers. I've got about a week's worth of dual tests recorded, starting March 29. All but one of the tests is from the same drop of blood. I'm finding a bit of variation with the differences. Most of the time, the human meter is 30-50 points lower, but it's been as little as 24 and as much as 81 points different. Like others have said, the vast majority of members here are using a human meter and so have plenty of wisdom and experience to guide you. Mitz usually reaches nadir (lowest BG numbers) between 5 and 6 hours after her shot (ProZinc) so on weekends, I test her at + 4 and + 6 (or +5 and +7). There have been a number of times when I was surprised by low numbers but was able to keep her in a safe range by giving a little high carb food.

Just keep testing and recording your results and it will start to make more sense. And keep posting questions here!
 
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