Disease progression and increased PZI dosage?

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Los Gatos

Los Gatos

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It's been almost two years and the spreadsheet is getting long. Last year he had a near fatal case of pancreatitus but came through (june 15). There is a gap of no testing nor shots as he was on YA and relatively stable when randomly tested. Since last year, I've tested and shot trying to get his numbers out of the magenta/red with very little success and just lately increased his dosage from ~<2u to 3+ which moved him out of the red.
My question is, as diabetes progresses will he require more insulin given that the food/quantity does not change? It looks like I'm getting nowhere giving him dosages from 1-2u which worked previously. I'm not really able to test for the nadir except maybe on the weekends which is why I've kept it low. Never given him too much insulin but with the episode of Pancreatitus, the ketones did build up.
His weight dropped last year but has slowly increased along with his appetite.
 
Hi Kevin. Some kitties do require more insulin. Some don't. It's just dependent on the cat really. It does look like the numbers are mostly staying high, indicating he needs more insulin possibly. If his appetite is increasing, that may be a sign he needs more insulin as well. I know it's tough getting nadirs. I used to get them just on the weekends. I usually did a before bed test at around +2 or +3 in the evenings. That can help too. If we can get some nadirs, that will help us figure out a good dose. It looks like 3.5 gave an okay drop last night...I'd try a few more cycles at that number and then go from there. What was his preshot this morning?
 
Hi Kevin - I hear you - if you look at Murphy's spreadsheet, his insulin requirements seem to go up and down every month or few weeks - sometimes below 2 units, sometimes above 2 units. Murphy also has IBD and chronic pancreatitis; I think it's due to fluctuations in inflammation inside his little body So I figured I just have to keep testing and adjusting as needed. Rachel is right about getting some mid cycle numbers whenever possible - since Prozinc is dosed based on pre shot readings and nadirs So happy the Snowcone's weight and appetite are up! I took a look at your website - such stunning photos!!
 
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Rachel,
It was 366. It is in the line above since it was done at 4am and not the usual 5am. ( one of the reasons I don't do much during the week).

Carol,
Thank you. I've been trying to find a dosage that works for him since June. I didn't think that it would go from ~1.5 to over 3. He isn't having any issues like Murphy other than getting into the cookie jar and eating the others kibble.
 
Carol & Murphy said:
Hi Kevin - I hear you - if you look at Murphy's spreadsheet, his insulin requirements seem to go up and down every month or few weeks - sometimes below 2 units, sometimes above 2 units. Murphy also has IBD and chronic pancreatitis; I think it's due to fluctuations in inflammation inside his little body So I figured I just have to keep testing and adjusting as needed. Rachel is right about getting some mid cycle numbers whenever possible - since Prozinc is dosed based on pre shot readings and nadirs So happy the Snowcone's weight and appetite are up! I took a look at your website - such stunning photos!!
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Carol,
I saw you were using DM, I tried it at first and then proceeded to find out how many carbs were in it. Noticeable drop in numbers after switching to YA. Fancy Feast classic does not seem to move his numbers, Evo dry will and I did try a bag or two of the Epigen. It didn't go over well, he'd rather starve. Now on the YA mature? zero carb. I think it is tastier, or at least he likes it more.
 
Los Gatos said:
Carol,
I saw you were using DM, I tried it at first and then proceeded to find out how many carbs were in it. Noticeable drop in numbers after switching to YA. Fancy Feast classic does not seem to move his numbers, Evo dry will and I did try a bag or two of the Epigen. It didn't go over well, he'd rather starve. Now on the YA mature? zero carb. I think it is tastier, or at least he likes it more.
Click to expand...
Hi Kevin - Murphy has chronic pancreatitis, IBD, chronic low appetite - he will only eat something for a few days at a time and wet food has a history of causing vomiting/? pancreatitis going back years. Since he is such a poor eater, I always start each meal with a little high calorie kibble to try to get maximal calories into him - I use the same ones as you - Young again zero carb mature (Love this one - doesn't raise #), Evo (raises his numbers some), Epigen 90 -note he wouldn't eat Epigen 90 for months then one day he started eating it, so go figure - yours may do the same thing - it does not raise his numbers. Another food you might try is called Waggers - it's a semi moist no grain no starch food that doesn't raise his numbers- http://www.waggers.com I keep some Royal Canin glycobalance and dry DM on hand when he won't touch any of the above foods and won't eat any wet. He is a real problem eater.
 
Got it Carol. In desperation at times I've given my cats KMR which has lots of calories and they like drinking milk anyway.
 
For nadirs, you might try the occasional, middle of the night test. its usually easier to wake on an multiple of 45 minutes after going to sleep, so aiming for maybe 3 hours (4*45 min) after going to sleep might work. it helps to drink a large glass of water so there's a physical need to wake, too.
 
Not getting enough sleep as it is so that isn't going to happen. At least with this latest change to over 3U he is back into the green. He has not been there in 12 months and with the 61 he just got almost 18 months for the low.
:cat:
 
I gave him a spoonful of Fancy to offset that a bit. His low tends to be at that point and he was as happy as can be. It is easier to give in 1/4u increments with the Sol M syringes. I used to get him to react to 1/4u changes.
 
I'm not familiar with the Sol M syringes - I have both U40 with half unit markings and U-100 with half unit markings - the U-100s are easy to dose in .2 unit increments trying to use up the U-40s so whenever I give 2 units or 1.5, I'm using the U-40s, otherwise I use U-100s with the conversion chart
 
$.10 ea I used to buy Ultimed which are a bit sharper but harder to come by. I picked up 600 on my last purchase, I tried 200 the first time. Only once or twice have I found one that wasn't as sharp as it was supposed to be. California vet supply, I'd go there again for sure.
 
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