How time sensitive is PZI?

[tecwmn]

The foster of the cat I adopted was doing his shots at 5 a.m. ( :shock: ) and 8 p.m. I would like to shift those times but don't know what the ramifications of doing so would be and don't want to do anything I am unsure of....

Fin get's 3 units twice a day and I would like to do a 7/7 shot schedule.

Is this a gradual thing or can it be done rapidly?

Thanks!!

 

[LynnLee + Mousie]

are you gonna hometest your new kid? if so, i see no problem with just switching right over to the new schedule with the pzi insulins. that was one of the best features of pzi if you ask me, it's flexibility. so much so that if my life doesn't calm down some i might just have to go back to it. LOL!

the general rule of thumb has been if it's been more than 6 hours since last shot and cat is over 150, it should be safe to shoot pzi.

now, my only problem with that is you're like a newbie basically and i don't know 1. if you're gonna hometest, 2. what you are feeding and 3. how did he get to that much insulin?

if the foster wasn't testing and you don't have numbers thruout the day here and there and he's been getting food he shouldn't have, then i'd raise the no shoot number from 150 to at least 200, encourage you to get to testing and collecting data, and see if that dose is right or too high. i know you've been reading while waiting for your new kids so i also want to mention that if foster was feeding dry or higher carb foods, you can't switch over to a low carb one right away and keep that dose at 3 units.

you either have to lower the dose and change diet or you have to leave dose and diet as is, test & collect data, and make diet changes as it is safe to do so.

 

[tecwmn]

I am going to home test Fin so I can get him off the dry food and hopefully lose some weight.

He is eating Purina DM, both hard and soft. The foster was combing the dry food Purina DM with Wellness dry food and letting him free-feed because she was gone for about 14 hours a day. The goal is to get him off the Purina DM dry and over to wet only. Not feeling the wet Purina DM either, I think there is something better than that. Still researching available foods here on the island.

She was not testing and just doing occasional curves at the vet. He gets 3 u BID of the ProZinc.

I am so nervous about doing this wrong, that I think I will start testing him (as soon as I get my nerve up) and collect data. No one seemed to know anything about his numbers. Once I see where he is, then I will do the diet change safely.

 

[tecwmn]

Ok, got the courage up and took his first blood glucose and it was 452 on an AlphaTrak monitor. Seems high...but I have no numbers to go on with him as he wasn't home test and no one had info on his last curvet curve. He got a 3 u shot this morning at 7 a.m.

I am not feeling confident with any course of action because this is all so new...

Do I give him less insulin or less food at his next feeding or should I test him again then??

Nervous,

TecWmn

 

[Nancy and Cody]

You might find the health tips link helpful- (transitioning off dry, etc) sorry if you know that stuff already, but if you are nervous, knowledge is power:
viewforum.php?f=14

As for the food, you can feed the canned Purina DM. The new formula last fall (silver top cans) has 5% carbs and it is very dense, so you get more food per can than any other food I've used. I do add some other high quality protein to supplement the liver as the main ingredient, such as chicken, (egg and/or salmon). You will use less insulin as soon as you get rid of the dry, so you are going to need to keep a close eye on that with regular testing while yo transition away from the dry.

Prozinc is easy insulin to use, but as with any, you will do better if you test a lot so you know what is really happening through the course of the day.

The stickies at the top of the forum talk about typical duration , nadir, and onset for Prozinc, but of course every cat is different.

The strips for the alpha trak are pretty expensive aren't they? You might want to consider a meter with cheaper strips so you can test more often. Relion from Walmart or Maxima from Hocks (Green link above)

Once he gets off the high carb dry food he will likely lose some weight automatically, so I wouldn't restrict his wet food at all. Cats can't really use the carbs, so they turn to stored fat.

Are you home during the day to get mid cycle readings? If you are planning on shooting before 12 hours, the main thing with PZI is that the numbers are clearly rising (like 30+ points) before you dose again. A few folks had luck shooting 3x/day at approx 8 hours apart. I found this difficult, because many times we weren't at a shootable rising number at +8 hours, and next thing we knew he was due a shot in the middle of the night :? :sad:

Welcome and we will help as needed. just ask