New Member Prozinc timing

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Laura Brown

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My cat has been on Prozinc since July. She free feeds throughout the day. I never try to stop her from eating before I test...because she always has food. For instance earlier today I came home from work and fed her canned Nulo and then had to go for an appointment. When I got back from the appointment, she was eating. About 45 later, I tested her glucose and for ketones. So...according to what I read on the Prozinc forum - I shouldn't shoot based on that number? She gets 1 unit twice a day...but her glucose was only 204 even after eating...so I shouldn't give her insulin? I'm kind of confused by that.
 
My cat has been on Prozinc since July. She free feeds throughout the day. I never try to stop her from eating before I test...because she always has food. For instance earlier today I came home from work and fed her canned Nulo and then had to go for an appointment. When I got back from the appointment, she was eating. About 45 later, I tested her glucose and for ketones. So...according to what I read on the Prozinc forum - I shouldn't shoot based on that number? She gets 1 unit twice a day...but her glucose was only 204 even after eating...so I shouldn't give her insulin? I'm kind of confused by that.

Tagging a Prozinc user for you
@Suzanne & Darcy
 
Mean time
Can you set up your signature
Your signature should be in gray letters, do you see mine at the end of my post
This is where you can set up what we call your signature, it's at the end of everyone's post in gray letters. Just tap on your name up top then tap on signature and add this information. You will link it to your spreadsheet

  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Can you set up our spreadsheet where we track our cats BG numbers
This Link will also explain how to use it , it's very easy
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

@Laura Brown
 
Last edited:
Mean time
Can you set up your signature
Your signature should be in gray letters, do you see mine at the end of my post
This is where you can set up what we call your signature, it's at the end of everyone's post in gray letters. Just tap on your name up top then tap on signature and add this information. You will link it to your spreadsheet

  • Add info we need to help you:
    • Caregiver & kitty's name
    • DX: Date
    • Name of Insulin (do not include dose or frequency)
    • Name of your meter
    • Diet: "LC wet" or "dry food" or "combo"
    • Dosing: TR or SLGS or Custom (if applicable)
    • DKA or other recent health issue (if applicable)
    • Bexacat or Senvelgo (if applicable) and dates
    • Acro, IAA, or Cushings (if applicable)
    • Spreadsheet link. Please put the signature link on the bottom line of your signature information, on its own, so it is easy to find.
    • Please do not put any information about your location in the signature for security reasons. If you wish to add your country location, please add it to your profile.
Be sure to click the 'Save Changes' button at the bottom. If you need help urgently it is important we know these things at a glance. We don’t want to waste valuable time finding out information.

Can you set up our spreadsheet where we track our cats BG numbers
This Link will also explain how to use it , it's very easy
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/how-to-create-a-spreadsheet.241706/

@Laura Brown
I tried to update it. I kept getting a message that I had too many characters and too many lines...
 
I tried to update it. I kept getting a message that I had too many characters and too many lines...
Your signature looks fine ,so does your spreadsheet :cat:
@Laura Brown

Laura can you go back to your title and add New Member in front of Prozinc timing
To do this look to the right and tap on Thread Tools, then tap on Edit Title and add it then tap save
 
Last edited:
Your signature looks fine ,so does your spreadsheet :cat:
@Laura Brown

Laura can you go back to your title and add New Member in front of Prozinc timing
To do this look to the right and tap on Thread Tools, then tap on Edit Title and add it then tap save
I can do that...but I'm not really a "new" member. I've been a member since July. I just have been more active on the FB page than the forum.
 
I would not have advised you to skip the dose based on tonight’s preshot number. I would like to see a few more mid-cycle tests here and there and/or a curve run on a day off or weekend (if you are away from home during the day and that is the reason for not many tests during the day.)

What medications is your kitty taking? I see she has hypertension? I would not skip the amlodipine at all. It’s very important to keep her blood pressure under control as she could have seizures or go blind. In addition, the high blood pressure will damage her kidneys and possibly other organs.
 
Some observations from Bootsie’s spreadsheet. The 1 unit dose was held way too long. Of course, with no tests other than the preshot tests you can’t know how low the dose is taking Bootsie (the nadir) so it makes dosing decisions just a shot in the dark. With doses that are held for too long and leaving the cat in high numbers like those pinks, you can get glucose toxicity where the cat’s body gets very accustomed to being always in high numbers. This makes it more difficult to get the cat regulated so we really want to stay on top of the numbers— which will indicate when to increase the dose (or obviously when to decrease.)

More recently, I see a lot of dose changes up and down that I do not understand the reason for. I would recommend choosing a dosing method, and I will help you with it.

Welcome to the FDMB! (I know you joined in September, but welcome anyway!)
 
I forgot to mention…. The reason for the “no food for two hours prior to the a.m. and p.m. preshot tests is that we need to be able to obtain a reliable preshot test number in order to know if it os safe to shoot insulin or if a reduced dose may be warranted. Let’s say your cat was eating right up to test/shot time and you het a number of 200. The number has been inflated by food. Without the food the number could have been lower. You don’t really know whether or not you should shoot… shoot the full dose… a partial dose or what? You go ahead and shoot the full dose and the food wears off and your cat’s BG may drop too low when the insulin kicks in. For members who have a lot of data and know how their cats responds to food it’s possible to feed them and make these dosing decisions - so more experienced members who test a lot may occasionally choose to feed something during that two hour window (although even then it’s not usually a lot of food and only low carb wet food.)

Tell me what he’s eating? Which Fancy Feast flavors and which Nulo flavors? Do you know the carb percentages of these foods. The FF Classic pates are okay from a carb standpoint.

I do not generally recommend feeding much at all after nadir because it can shorten the duration of the insulin and cause BG to rise prematurely before it would without the food. Diabetic cats on ProZinc generally do better with multiple small meals during the early portion of the cycle (up to about +6 or the cat’s typical nadir hour.)
 
I forgot to mention…. The reason for the “no food for two hours prior to the a.m. and p.m. preshot tests is that we need to be able to obtain a reliable preshot test number in order to know if it os safe to shoot insulin or if a reduced dose may be warranted. Let’s say your cat was eating right up to test/shot time and you het a number of 200. The number has been inflated by food. Without the food the number could have been lower. You don’t really know whether or not you should shoot… shoot the full dose… a partial dose or what? You go ahead and shoot the full dose and the food wears off and your cat’s BG may drop too low when the insulin kicks in. For members who have a lot of data and know how their cats responds to food it’s possible to feed them and make these dosing decisions - so more experienced members who test a lot may occasionally choose to feed something during that two hour window (although even then it’s not usually a lot of food and only low carb wet food.)

Tell me what he’s eating? Which Fancy Feast flavors and which Nulo flavors? Do you know the carb percentages of these foods. The FF Classic pates are okay from a carb standpoint.

I do not generally recommend feeding much at all after nadir because it can shorten the duration of the insulin and cause BG to rise prematurely before it would without the food. Diabetic cats on ProZinc generally do better with multiple small meals during the early portion of the cycle (up to about +6 or the cat’s typical nadir hour.)



Hello! I didn't get any notice that you posted back! I just logged in and saw your posts. Thank you!

My vet never wants to change the dose on her insulin - she says 1 unit twice a day and her numbers "aren't that bad." That is an internal medicine vet!

So, Bootsie eats whatever I can get her to eat...sometimes she'll eat pate but more recently she will only eat FF gravy foods...and I know those aren't carb friendly...but she maybe eats 2-3 entire cans of those a week - so I have to get her to eat something! That is why I change the doses...because if she won't eat - I don't feel comfortable giving her a full dose. I usually give her her meds (dexamethasone twice daily, pepcid and zofran SQ as needed, cerenia nasal drops and sometimes gabapentin - although I think that makes her not eat too well) and then I test her glucose...and THEN I try to feed her. If she just turns her head and won't eat - as she did this morning - I adjust the dose. My vet told me not to give any insulin if she won't eat...but I feel like I should give her something if it is above 200. She free feeds throughout the day though. So my point was, if I get home from work and test her - I'm not sure she has been food free for 2 hours and I can't wait 2 hours to test her because then the injection would be late...

She also eats Nulo minced foods. So, the turkey/duck, beef/mackarel, and salmon/turkey. I don't know the carb counts in those. They aren't pate. She won't eat those. I have spend hundreds of dollars trying to find pates - or really anything - she'll eat. I have Wuruva gravies that she will sometimes eat - of course - not this morning. She has IBS vs SCL and adrenal cell carinoma that was surgically treated several years ago and she was doing great - but it came back last year...Now she just won't eat sometimes. I have tested her for ketones several times and she never has them...We also go to the vet pretty regularly - about once a month for blood work - because part of the adrenal cancer is that the tumor is aldosterone secreting - and that lowers the potassium...and she won't take the other meds she is supposed to take - amlodipine or spironolactone...so I give her potassium supplements too and we check it every 4-6 weeks. She used to take all her meds in pill pockets really well! But then in September she just stopped taking anything. So most of her meds are given SQ now. I try to limit what I give her to those that just make her comfortable. She is almost 17 and I'm not going to be able to cure her of anything...I know that. I understand people who want tight regulation of their cat's diabetes - but that isn't my goal. I just want her to not be miserable and not harm her.
 
Laura --

Just an FYI. You don't get a notice that someone posted to your thread. The only time you get a notice is if someone sends you personal message if you have your Alerts inbox configured to send you a notice. Anything. that comes to your general post on a forum relies on your checking the thread.
 
Laura --

Just an FYI. You don't get a notice that someone posted to your thread. The only time you get a notice is if someone sends you personal message if you have your Alerts inbox configured to send you a notice. Anything. that comes to your general post on a forum relies on your checking the thread.
That is weird because I got an email that I had a message...which is how I saw your message!
 
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