Dosing Prozinc when cat is running normal

[BethMc]

Hi, There is such a VAST wealth of info on this site I am overwhelmed so apologies if this info is on the site somewhere.

Jimmy is on 3 units of Prozinc and a recent change to Fancy Feast has helped his sugar get closer to normal & sometimes in the normal range. We use a Libre 2 sensor to monitor because this works well for us & for him. We realize this has a range of about 30. He is also megacolon which is very important to manage.

The thing I can't seem to wrap my head around is all of the info about 'not' dosing if cat is normal. But sugar is normal 'because' of the insulin. And sugar will rise when when he eats. And SO much info to not constantly change the insulin dose. So how to people manage their cat's insulin if they are in the normal range before eating? If you continually skip doses sugar goes back up. I find this very confusing.

Also, how do you manage the cat's insulin when they are consistently reading normal when it's the insulin that is the reason? Continually skipping/changing doses doesn't seem like a logical approach when I've also read not to change doses too often.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Cali22]

My understanding is you only skip a dose if the PRE-SHOT number is below 150. A normal pre-shot number is mid 200's. Dosing when the pre-shot is below 150 increases the risk the Nadar will drop to dangerous hypoglycemic levels.

 

[BethMc]

Thank you @Cali22. I've found different ranges the cat should be in. My vet says normal is 70-150. Merck's website says 120-300. PetMd website says 80-120. The range of numbers is all over the place, so I am not sure what to think is the correct range Jimmy should be in.

 

[Cali22]

I'm new here, but will answer as best as I understand it.

Your vet may be using a blood glucose scale adjusted for cats. Here in the Feline Diabetes forum, we use a human blood glucose scale since many members use human blood glucose meters. Be sure to check if your meter is designed for humans or animals.

I follow the ranges explained in the "Prozinc Dosing Methods" thread pinned at the top of this forum.
Sticky - PROZINC DOSING METHODS

Scroll down to How to handle a lower than normal preshot number when following SLGS under the section START LOW GO SLOW (SLGS).
Just above that, read Reducing the Dose to know when to make adjustments based on the Nadar value.

A well regulated cat has a blood glucose preshot value in the mid 200's and a Nadar roughly in the range of 90 to 120.
Hope this helps.

 

[Marje and Gracie]

Hi, There is such a VAST wealth of info on this site I am overwhelmed so apologies if this info is on the site somewhere.

Jimmy is on 3 units of Prozinc and a recent change to Fancy Feast has helped his sugar get closer to normal & sometimes in the normal range. We use a Libre 2 sensor to monitor because this works well for us & for him. We realize this has a range of about 30. He is also megacolon which is very important to manage.

The thing I can't seem to wrap my head around is all of the info about 'not' dosing if cat is normal. But sugar is normal 'because' of the insulin. And sugar will rise when when he eats. And SO much info to not constantly change the insulin dose. So how to people manage their cat's insulin if they are in the normal range before eating? If you continually skip doses sugar goes back up. I find this very confusing.

Also, how do you manage the cat's insulin when they are consistently reading normal when it's the insulin that is the reason? Continually skipping/changing doses doesn't seem like a logical approach when I've also read not to change doses too often.

Thank you in advance!

Good question but as you said, it’s the insulin that is causing normal numbers. If you stop the insulin too soon, the BG goes up.

As the insulin starts supporting their pancreas and the liver calms down, the kitty earns reductions. For PZ users doing SLGS, that comes when the BG drops below 90.

Each reduction is 0.25u and the kitty that continues to earn them, comes down the dosing scale and, eventually, when they earn a reduction from one drop, we do a trial at remission.

If you arbitrarily do increases and decreases without a method, it will take much longer for your kitty to become regulated.

Not shooting below 150 is for new members. Members who have been here for a while doing SLGS will shoot anything above 90. We teach you how to gradually shoot lower.

Beth we can help you more if you create a spreadsheet and link it to your signature. We do not usually give any dosing advice without a spreadsheet. If you have any issues doing one, please PM me and I’ll do it for you.

My understanding is you only skip a dose if the PRE-SHOT number is below 150. A normal pre-shot number is mid 200's. Dosing when the pre-shot is below 150 increases the risk the Nadar will drop to dangerous hypoglycemic levels.

This is not actually true. We have members doing the Modified ProZinc Method who shoot every number above 50 just as the Lantus users do.

We only have new members doing SLGS skip below 150 until we can work with them in gradually reducing that shot number to 90.