Changing from Caninsulin to Prozinc

[Lesley]

Hi

I have a 12 year old who diagnosed diabetic January 2015, we're based in the UK and were prescribed Caninsulin, which has been successful in controlling the BG levels.

My vet spoke to me about Prozinc as an option, does anyone have any experience in changing from Caninsulin to Prozinc? I hear it isn't necessarily an easy swap

Thanks in advance

 

[Tuxedo Mom]

I will tag @Elizabeth and Bertie to give you some information on the switch. She is familiar with both insulins and I believe she also transitioned from Caninsulin to Prozinc.

 

[Lesley]

Thank you for that, any insight will help steer me in making a decision on what to do

 

[JanetNJ]

What is his reason for wanting to change? Is it not working long enough?

 

[Lesley]

My only option to date is Caninsulin and whilst I have good control of his BG with it, I'm open to other options to improve even further

 

[Elizabeth and Bertie]

Hi Lesley @Lesley , and welcome to FDMB!
Waving 'Hi' to you from Surrey

In general terms, Prozinc is considered a 'gentler' insulin than Caninsulin.
Caninsulin was 'designed' to last 12 hours in dogs, and cats have a faster metabolism than dogs. Therefore, Caninsulin can drop the blood glucose very fast in some cats, and can have quite a short duration (that is to say, it can often 'time out' after 8 - 10 hours).
As a general rule, Prozinc drops the blood glucose more gently/slowly, and has a longer duration. Prozinc is much more likely to last over a 12 hour period. ...There are, of course, some cats who do just fine on Caninsulin. And, if your cat is newly diagnosed, and is doing well on Caninsulin, then there may not be a reason to change...

If your cat's blood glucose is dropping fast in the first few hours of the cycle, or your cat is not getting good duration from the Caninsulin then either or both of those could be very good reasons to try Prozinc.

My own cat did very badly on Caninsulin, and did much better on a veterinary PZI insulin that was similar to Prozinc.

I hear it isn't necessarily an easy swap

What have you heard, Lesley? What are your concerns?

Eliz

 

[Lesley]

Hello there Elizabeth from Nottingham!
And thanks for such a quick response.

Here's Macbeths history: he has been taking Caninsulin since January last year; he started off with BG level around 30 with all the usual symptoms. It took a while to get his numbers down but - he tends to spike on a morning in mid-high teens, coming down to 6 following with a second peak in low teens and a drop again to similar 6.

He got into a fight recently which has impacted his numbers a bit, hence his vet visits, as I was leaving today one of my vets mentioned Prozinc in passing (that was today) and so now I'm doing some research before I discuss it with my practice.

In respect of the concern of swapping, I read here:

http://www.diabeticcatcare.com/COK/InsulinScales.htm

about the possibility of a tricky transition - obviously I have no idea how reputable this information is, hence me finding my way here...

I think I'll be having a serious chat with my vet... Macbeth is really doing great on Caninsulin, but if Prozinc works for him even better, I'll take that any day. Just don't want to undo the great progress we have made.

Thanks for your insight, much appreciated

Lesley