Ella & Rusty & Stu(GA)
Very Active Member
Hello. I need some advice. Our cat, Stu, now 12-years old, 15.8 lbs., was diagnosed with diabetes in January 2006, when he was a little over 9 years old. He was put on 2 units of Idexx PZI Vet (bid) and we immediately changed his diet to low carbs. To this day we feed EVO cat & kitten/ turkey & chicken/ wet food (a little less than a 5-oz can a day, doled out in 4 feedings) with a little EVO dry food available all the time for snacking. We have never home tested for blood glucose. Over the last 3 years Stu was gradually raised to 5 units bid of PZI Vet (based on occasional testing at the vet's). In October of 2009, when it became impossible to get PZI Vet, he was switched to Lantus. The vet at first put him on 4 units of Lantus bid. Stu was tested after 2 weeks (+5 hours after his morning insulin shot) and his blood glucose numbers had soared (to above 300—with PZI Vet his nadir numbers were around 130). The vet raised him to 5 units bid. The next time, in early December, he tested at almost 400 (same time of day: + 5 hours). He was raised to 7 units. Several days ago, after receiving 7 units bid for about 3 weeks, he was again tested (same time of day) and his blood glucose was 78!! Through it all, and I mean since Jan. 2006—not just since he was switched to Lantus) he seems unchanged: he is active, healthy, friendly, drinks and urinates about the same as always (he has always drunk a lot of water), has good appetite, and still weighs 15.8 lbs. He has never had a hypo episode. He is very even-keeled. The vet says to bring him in for testing in another 2 weeks and if his numbers are still low, he (the vet) will begin to reduce the insulin dose. I, however, am worried that his dose is way too high, especially after reading the posts on this website. I reduced it to 6 units the very day we returned from the vet! I would be interested to hear comments from you experienced people. I am seriously considering home testing and would like advice about meters other than the Walmart Relion (the nearest Walmart is 100 miles away and not easy to get to in the winter; ideally I would like to order something online). My other question is about the new PROZINC PZI. My vet has been reading up on it, but since Stu's blood glucose was so much lower the last time he tested, the vet thinks we should stick with Lantus. Any thoughts about this? Thank you so much for your help.
You're gonna see some gasping about the dosing decisions that have been made for Stu, and I don't want you to be offended. It's scary for us to see this kind of dosing protocol, especially with the lantus decisions. Lantus can't be raised like that without causing significant problems with the kitty. I am thinking your vet probably didn't know how it was supposed to work, and that lantus requires very minor adjustments rather than full unit increases. You were right to decrease Stu's dose, as it was the safe thing to do. A 78 at the vet is very very low, especially when you consider that stress, such as being at the vet, actually increases bg's. It's likely that his HI's were caused by his dose being too high. Lantus is fairly well known for showing no, or very minor, symptoms at hypo numbers. It's possible for a lantus cat to have a symptomatic hypo, but it's often they show none. 