Humulin N

[janara]

My cat has was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago and is currently on 1 unit of Humulin N twice a day. I have recently read that this is not the most recomended brand of insulin for cats. Does anyone have experience with Humulin N or other advice on insulin brands?

 

[Blue]

My cat has was diagnosed about 3 weeks ago and is currently on 1 unit of Humulin N twice a day. I have recently read that this is not the most recomended brand of insulin for cats. Does anyone have experience with Humulin N or other advice on insulin brands?

I believe that N is more of an old school type of insulin; it is harsh and not that long lasting.
Humulin Primer Info

Some notes from Monique:

Most people are using the long-acting insulins today. Most of the other types are only used by humans or in some cats with special needs (ie. high dose cats with Acro etc.) Many of the short and intermediate insulins have been done away with.
Short acting insulins are usually designated by the letter R (Humalin R, Novalin R) they are never used alone, typically they are given as a bolus at Preshot to bring the BG down quickly in the first few hours of the cycle before the basal insulin (a long acting) begins to take effect. This is used by high dose cats with conditions like Acro or insulin resistant antibodies. It may also be used in an inpatient setting to manage a cat with ketoacidosis.

Intermediate insulins (Lente) are insulins like Vetsulin (Caninsulin) and NPH, some of the human insulins have N in thier name (Humalin N) although some vets are still prescribing them they are becoming less used. Espcially since Vetsulin has been taken off the market in many countries. The more successes with long acting insulins have encouraged many vets to avoid these once typical insulins. Many are however still used with good results in dogs with diabetes (dogs have a metabolism more like humans and these insulins work much longer for them) the animal approved insulin (Vetsulin, in Europe/Canada sold as Caninsulin) was made primarily for dogs.

Long-acting insulins are the synthetic analogs such as Lantus and Levemir. PZI and Prozinc are simular to these however thier duration is often somewhat shorter putting them "in between" intermediate and long-acting. Several other long acting insulins are no longer manufactured (Ultratard, Humalin U)

I would recommend Levemir or Lantus, but others are using vet insulins PZI. Any of these insulins would be better than N, and your chances of getting your cat off insulin improve with the longer lasting ones.

Home testing is really the only way to tell how your cat is doing on any insulin, so you may think about testing your cat at home. Human diabetics test themselves before every shot, so there is no reason why you would not do the same with your cat. You can pick up any blood glucose meter at the pharmacy, don't get the Free Style as they do not register properly.
Testing on cat’s ear


Please ask all the questions you may have; there are plenty people here who can help you.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

My Twigie did great on N. I could maintain her BG below 11 on about one unit twice a day.
I also used N with Tones. He did good on 9 units Levemir and 5 units N twice a day. That is not the norm.

 

[BJM]

Humulin N lasts roughly 6-8 hours in a cat, which means that after that, the glucose level starts climbing again.
One way to cope with that is to pick up all the food at 6 hours post shot. This can result in a hungry, cranky cat.
Another way to manage is to dose every 8 hours. Most folks schedules don't mesh well with that.

Neither of the preceeding options are particularly convenient for most of us, least of all the cat!

That is one reason why it is preferable to use one of the newer, longer acting insulins. The other is that the insulin provides a sustained, gentle onset and withdrawal, so the levels of glucose aren't jumping around steeply, which can make some cats feel unwell (people too!)