Is there a Pro Zinc standardised dosage chart?

[MC18]

Hi, Thurmond is 11yrs old and 12 pounds. He was diagnosed 4 months ago. Since then, I strictly followed the vet recommended treatment. At first, he had a curve done once weekly for a month, then every two weeks, then every month. I did not do any home testing, and went with the recommended PZ dosage per vet in conjunction of the curve results. Thurmond was also put on Hill's Science W/D first wet and then dry. His last curve reading was: 125, 143, 178. View the numbers, the vet recommended that I continue to give him 2 units of PZ in AM and PM, 12 hrs apart. I thought that I was doing the right thing UNTIL I began to read both forums three days ago!! First of all it seems that his current food is a no no and that home testing is a must. I want to switch him to a low carb wet food such as Friskies pate chicken flavor. Also, I want to start home testing him BUT I am scared. Recommendations are to transition him to the low carb food slowly. Does that mean that I should mix the dry with some of the wet? If yes, for how long? Also, is home testing three times a day, ok? and finally is there a dosage unit for each value? Example: reading is 210 should I stay with the 2 unit or go a little higher? I don't feel comfortable changing the dosage myself without a point of reference. I have looked through some spreadsheets on the site already. Lastly, should I have a consultation with my vet before starting anything? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Idjit's mom]

Hi MC18, first of all I am not a Prozinc user, but I do know that testing is the best way to keep Thurmond safe and see what the insulin is doing in his body. Test before every injection to be sure it's safe to do so, and test during the cycles between the shots. Minimum one mid cycle, but more if you can. No cat has the same nadir (lowest blood sugar) and you need to find when that typically is, as well as seeing the patterns emerge.

You don't have to be scared to test. It is a learning process, requiring patience and practice. It's one of the three basic parts of effective diabetic treatment, just like with humans. We all learned and know that this helps us help our furkids.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Transitioning Thurmond to a an all wet low carb diet is a way to lowering blood sugar, and it should be gradual while you are testing, as the low carb food will have an effect, perhaps significantly. You need to see what's happening while you are changing the diet. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/transitioning-your-cat-from-dry-to-wet-food.956/
There are many Friskies pate and Fancy Feast classic pate varieties (as well as other brands) that are low carb: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Read the stickies (yellow tags) at the top of this forum. I do not believe there is a "sliding scale" recommended for dosing, rather the practice of seeing how the current dose is working for a period of cycles, then increasing or decreasing the dose in very small amounts so you don't go past the best dose. That's where the spreadsheet comes in. We use this spreadsheet to record the insulin doses and the testing data to see the trends and patterns, then you will get recommendations from the veteran Prozinc users.
Create the signature now, and set up the spreadsheet so you are ready to begin recording the data:
Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in the menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

Very best wishes going forward.

 

[MC18]

Hi MC18, first of all I am not a Prozinc user, but I do know that testing is the best way to keep Thurmond safe and see what the insulin is doing in his body. Test before every injection to be sure it's safe to do so, and test during the cycles between the shots. Minimum one mid cycle, but more if you can. No cat has the same nadir (lowest blood sugar) and you need to find when that typically is, as well as seeing the patterns emerge.

You don't have to be scared to test. It is a learning process, requiring patience and practice. It's one of the three basic parts of effective diabetic treatment, just like with humans. We all learned and know that this helps us help our furkids.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/

Transitioning Thurmond to a an all wet low carb diet is a way to lowering blood sugar, and it should be gradual while you are testing, as the low carb food will have an effect, perhaps significantly. You need to see what's happening while you are changing the diet. http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/transitioning-your-cat-from-dry-to-wet-food.956/
There are many Friskies pate and Fancy Feast classic pate varieties (as well as other brands) that are low carb: https://catinfo.org/docs/CatFoodProteinFatCarbPhosphorusChart.pdf

Read the stickies (yellow tags) at the top of this forum. I do not believe there is a "sliding scale" recommended for dosing, rather the practice of seeing how the current dose is working for a period of cycles, then increasing or decreasing the dose in very small amounts so you don't go past the best dose. That's where the spreadsheet comes in. We use this spreadsheet to record the insulin doses and the testing data to see the trends and patterns, then you will get recommendations from the veteran Prozinc users.
Create the signature now, and set up the spreadsheet so you are ready to begin recording the data:
Setting up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:
click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
click on "signature" in thttp://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/he menu that drops down
type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using and dosage amount /glucose meter you're using/what (s)he eats/any other meds or health issues (s)he has. You can add your name, and a geographic location (sometimes the time zone matters) Be sure to SAVE when you are finished.

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/understanding-the-spreadsheet-grid.156606/

Very best wishes going forward.

Thank you so very much for your reply.

 

[Djamila]

Lou (Idjit's Mom) has already given you some great information. And she is right about dosing. We don't generally recommend using a sliding scale, but there are ways that we make decisions about increasing and decreasing the dose. The first step is to start testing, and to read all of that sticky information at the top of the forum. Ask lots of questions. And once you start testing, we can help you figure out the dosing so you aren't making those decisions alone for awhile. You'll get the hang of it soon enough, but know that you don't need to go it alone.

On the link Lou gave you for home testing, you'll see some videos of cats being tested and see how relaxed they are. It's really not a big deal once you get the hang of it, and usually more stressful for the human than for the kitty. If your kitty isn't that relaxed, just come talk to me. Mine was just off of feral when we started, and he's now quite content to sit for his ear pokes.