Higher numbers but happy kitty - increase dosage or switch to Lantus??

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Monica & Josie

Monica & Josie

Member Since 2017
Hello everyone, I need some advice please on what to do right now as I am really not sure..
Posted this on the main forum but didn't get much response and was recommended to post here as well..

Josie is 13 years old, we've been doing the sugar-dance since April 2017 plus after several vomiting incidents diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis 5 weeks ago.
Started on 1 unit of Caninsulin but gradually reduced her dosage as she seemed to be responding well plus had a couple of hypos that made me very cautious.
She has occasional pancreatitis flare-ups that pushes her numbers up or down, in her most recent one she hardly ate anything for a week so had to reduce her insulin.
Lately she's not happy for us to test her at times ( but very chilled and purring at other times..?) which is quite frustrating as I can't get reliable data.. so I apologise for the lack of readings, whatever we manage to get we consider ourselves lucky as sometimes it takes several attempts and test strips with tears..

Would like to get her BG numbers down obviously as I know it's not good for her long term if staying where she is but Im not sure at this point which way to go.

Increase her Caninsulin dosage further? Although oddly yesterday from almost red 21.3 amps she went down to blue 9.5 at +5?! It's quite a drop all of a sudden and not sure where it came from..?
We increased her dose from 0.75 to 1 unit 10 days ago but it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

Or change her insulin to a less drastic one ( Lantus ) which she might respond better to and maybe even out her numbers more as surprisingly they just seem to be all over the place at the moment..:banghead:

She had a couple of promising periods recently with nice consistent low ps numbers in the yellow and I actually thought we were finally getting somewhere but then the numbers started creeping up and stayed up even with the dosage increase.
Just changed her diet recently after pancreatitis diagnosis from Sheba Flakes 2.4% carbs to Ropocat/Mac's Sensitive single protein source 1% carbs so the food change shouldn't affect her readings too much..

She just had another blood test to see if her pancreatitis got any better but the results came back the same, she is still off the charts with no actual improvement..

On the other hand my DH pointed out and I have to agree that although she's been running on higher numbers Josie seems very happy lately, she is eating very well, very sociable, playful, bouncy, no signs of illness and she's not drinking excessively like before. She can jump with ease these days as well. Considering I actually thought she was going to die a few weeks ago she certainly bounced back well!
So her overall happy behaviour is contradicting her high numbers and gets me thinking if we should poke the bear with some drastic changes..?

An insulin change would be risky but might just be the right solution? I really don't know.

Any thoughts and suggestions from your experience would be much appreciated!
Thank you for taking the time to read my rambling post, hope you are all having a nice day!:cat:
 
Hi Monica.

I think most people feel that Caninsulin is not really an ideal insulin for cats. Lantus and Levemir are gentler and give a better chance at regulation and even remission.

Monica Lewis said:
On the other hand my DH pointed out and I have to agree that although she's been running on higher numbers Josie seems very happy lately, she is eating very well, very sociable, playful, bouncy, no signs of illness and she's not drinking excessively like before. She can jump with ease these days as well. Considering I actually thought she was going to die a few weeks ago she certainly bounced back well!
So her overall happy behaviour is contradicting her high numbers and gets me thinking if we should poke the bear with some drastic changes..?
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The problem with running in higher numbers for long periods is that you risk kidney damage, and the possibility of developing ketones, which can escalate very quickly and require expensive hospitalization.

I may be biased, as I had a lot of success with both my cats on Lantus and have seen so many people do the same, but if it were my cat, I would give Lantus a try. Is your vet agreeable to making a switch?

Have you read the stickies at the top of the Lantus & Levemir page? There is a lot to learn when switching to a depot insulin. You've got some of it down already, feeding low carb moist and getting those preshot tests every time. If you can just convince Josie to let you get a couple more mid-cycle tests, you'd be spot on! Have you read this post? It contains some great tips for testing.

Ask lots of questions. The more you learn, the better equipped you are to help Josie.
 
Hi Tricia,
thank you so much for your detailed reply I really appreciate it!
Will read up all the info you mentioned.
As for the vet approving the insulin switch she seem to be very sensible so hopefully she will but if resisting I've been told here not to be afraid to be a bit more pushy..
I am very nice person but when it comes to my kitty's health I can be like mother lion wanting what's best for her so I'm sure I can get my vet on board!:)
Thanks again!:cat:
 
Hello, just an update to say that I emailed the vet and she replied saying:

'I'm not convinced that changing the insulin will make a difference but if you want to give it a try we can give it a go. Pro Zinc is licensed for cats and often works well. Lantus is not licensed for cats but I have used it in the past, it can have a longer period of action but not always'

Now it's a question between Pro Zinc and Lantus... Will have to read up about the pros and cons and ask more questions..

What do you think @Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey ?
 
Monica Lewis said:
Hello, just an update to say that I emailed the vet and she replied saying:

'I'm not convinced that changing the insulin will make a difference but if you want to give it a try we can give it a go. Pro Zinc is licensed for cats and often works well. Lantus is not licensed for cats but I have used it in the past, it can have a longer period of action but not always'

Now it's a question between Pro Zinc and Lantus... Will have to read up about the pros and cons and ask more questions..

What do you think @Tricia Cinco(GA) & Harvey ?
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We have people on this site that use both. I am not really familiar with ProZinc, as my first diabetic cat was prescribed Lantus because the vet said it was currently considered the best insulin for cats, and it worked very well for him. We automatically started with that with the second one when he was diagnosed. Lantus is more commonly prescribed in the US now, by vets who are up to date on the latest research.

You might try starting a new thread here on the Lantus page, asking for opinions. You could do the same on the ProZinc page - maybe ask "Why did you chose this insulin, and why do you think it's better than ProZinc/Lantus?" or something like that. Read all the stickies on the Lantus & Levemir page to learn more about depot insulins. Also, since you are in the UK, look into the research done by the RVC. They are into some really cutting edge stuff. You are lucky that your vet is willing to consider either, despite not thinking it's necessary. Nothing worse than having to fight with your vet to get what your cat needs.

I can tell you that everyone I have spoken to whose cat was on Caninsulin was much happier with the results when they switched off of it. It's really more ideal for dogs, is my understanding. Canine diabetes is very different from FD.

ETA: I asked some other veterans, who have experience with other insulins, to give you their thoughts.



 
Hi Monica,
I see you are in the UK, that might have something to do with your vets choice of insulin. I believe there's some protocol that they are required to follow as regards prescribing insulin for cats.

I'm going to tag a member who's from London, both her kitties are diabetic, she started on caninsulin, then prozinc and finally lantus. From talking to her she felt that both her kitties did better on lantus.
She hasn't been on for a while hopefully she'll get the tag.
@Sue484

In the meantime you can take a look at her profile and look at Roms and Frankie's ss.
 
My Neko started on Caninsulin. We are in Canads, and it's what my vet knew best cause most of her diabetic patients are dogs. I saw a locum vet there and he got us on Lantus and he pointed me to FDMB. Neko wasn't getting great duration on Caninsulin. She was spending quite a few hours in high numbers before preshot. Granted she had two high dose conditions which meant we got up to 5 units of Caninsulin before seeing blues. But she was much happier when we switched over to Lantus. From what I've heard Prozinc also lasts longer in cats, so I don't think you'd go wrong with either one.
 
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