New ProZinc User, Could Use Some Guidance

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Wulfwin

Wulfwin

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Hi all! My cat Rain was recently diagnosed with diabetes (I suspect steroid induced as she had had a steroid shot for her asthma 3 weeks before). We've started on ProZinc and I could use some guidance/input with her numbers. She seems to have a relatively late nadir (+8 or +9) and a long duration. I think the duration is what's really throwing me off, as it doesn't seem to be consistent (or maybe I just don't have enough data yet) and I've skipped a couple shots as a result which results in her BG be very high at time of her next shot. She is unfortunately free fed a prescription dry kibble (Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein due to food allergies) so I can't at the moment regulate her feeding the way I'd like to, not to mention the higher carbs.

This is the first time I've used ProZinc (my other sugar cat Jason was on Lantus before he went OTJ) and I could really use some guidance from more experienced users as I'm just not sure where to go with her numbers. I did read Carl's post about carryover and overlap, so maybe Rain has more of a variable duration going on? Should I be more flexible about timing of shots instead of trying to do them every 12 hours?
 
Hello Sarah! It's possible that Rain does have a later nadir. Let me ask you this, are the 4 days you have on the SS all the data you have? Was Rain diagnosed before that and you weren't testing then? I just ask because with so little data, it's hard to say for SURE what's going on.

I will say you didn't need to skip the shot last night. We suggest not shooting below 200 for newbies. I know she was close to that, but since you were able to test after, I would have shot.

So you free feed? Does Rain eat just throughout the day or do you put down a certain amount in the morning and evening and let her nibble throughout the day after that? It would be great if we could get her on lower carb food, though I understand the food allergies. Do you know what she is allergic to specifically?

You're doing a great job with testing! I don't have much advice for you yet. Some more data and the questions above will help us figure out what's going on. I can tell you that we're happy to work with you and help you figure out this sugar dance and how it works with Prozinc!!
 
Hi Rachel!

Her first shot of insulin was on 4/18. I do have some numbers from the week and a half before that but she wasn't on insulin then. The delay in between her diagnosis and her starting insulin was due to her randomly testing a 109 at home 2 days after her high fructosamine test so we waited a few days with me doing some spot testing at home before we decided to start insulin.

Yeah, I know I probably should have shot last night. I think I'm just still nervous and unsure about how she's reacting to the insulin. Those drops down into the high 60s and 70s I think are making me hesitate to give a full 1 unit with a pre-shot that low. Maybe I should have just done a half unit. I know Rain's eating habits are playing into my hesitation - with my other sugar cat Jason, I could count on him eating anything offered if his numbers dropped too low; with Rain, I can't count on her eating when I want her to.

Yes, she's a free feed grazer with food available throughout the day. I've discussed trying to switch her to scheduled feedings with my vet, but we decided to hold off on that right now as she's very picky about her food situation and easily stressed about it (resulting in her not eating at all). Unfortunately, I don't know what she's allergic to. She had chronic vomiting of undigested food for years (along with scaly itchy ears). She's been on science diet adult, Wellness Core, and I/D in the past. The hydrolyzed protein diet has been by far the best with the vomiting (she still vomits occasionally but I think that's related to her habit of ingesting/chewing on foreign bodies and hairballs, not the food).

Testing is one thing that I'm very comfortable with thanks to my other cat Jason! Thankfully, Rain's been tolerating it really well. I also work from home during the week so I have a lot more flexibility when it comes to testing during the day. I guess what I'm wondering right now is if it's ok to give different doses based on her pre-shot number, or if that's totally off-base. I was thinking about doing 1 unit if her pre-shot is above 300, and a half unit if her pre-shot is between 200-300.

Thanks for the welcome and any help you can offer is much appreciated!
 
Just wanted to say welcome back...sorry that you have another sweet kitty, but as you know, this site is the best place to be for advice and support. :bighug:

With having had steroids a few weeks back that could be factoring into the odd numbers. It can take a few weeks for the effects of the steroids to completely clear the system. Since you are testing regularly and know "the drill" I have no advice to offer since I have never used Prozinc myself, but I do want to wish you all the best for a (hopefully) quick regulation and (anti-jinx) remission.
 
Hi Mary Ann (I think I'm reading the sig right; if not, my apologies)! Thanks for the welcome back - I was hoping to never be an active member again, but oh well :) I do still say that this forum is the main reason why my sugar cat Jason went OTJ and has stayed that way for the last 5 plus years (not to mention knowing how to home test saved his life from an unexpected hypo episode last summer)

I hadn't thought about that with the steroids. I thought the effects of the shot would be gone after two weeks, not still possibly being a factor.

Thanks for the wishes! I'm hoping for that too (although it's a running joke at my vet and the animal shelter clinic that I work at that I always have 'interesting' pets!)
 
Welcome Sarah,

It sounds like, as with many FD kitties, you have several issues to deal with. I would explore food options first. We suggest wet low carb food in the 8-10% carb range. For example, the Science Diet is 35% carbs. A vet has a website with excellent suggestions for transitioning and info on why dry is not a good diet for any cat here: www.catinfo.org. She is a big advocate of raw diets; I don't know if that would be an option for you, but it is great for allergic cats because you control exactly what is in the food. You might also start a thread on Health for asking for help with allergies and diabetes diet. There will be more eyes and I know we have cats with these issues. And include the steroid issues. There are options best for FD cats.

I am with Rachel. The huge variations in your numbers (which look like they have the chance to be generally in nice ranges.) are due to skipped shots. What would you think about lowering the dose to 0.5 for a few cycles, test and see how low that takes her and see if it gets you two shootable preshots a day. Because she is dipping low so early in this sugar dance, and responding well to the insulin, I'd be very careful if you decide to change the diet to low carb and transition slowly, testing often. That might be all she needs to get into low ranges and perhaps off insulin (anti jinx)
 
Hi Sue,

I'm familiar (and agree) with the low carb wet food diet (my other sugar cat Jason is diet controlled on Fancy Feast); I originally had Rain on Wellness Core precisely because it was one of the lowest carb dry foods available (11% according to Janet and Binky's chart) and it was my compromise at the time that if Jason ever got into it, at least it wouldn't be too bad carb wise for him (not to mention better for my civies). The food issue is something I'm still exploring. I have two main problems I have to figure out: 1) I don't know what exactly she's allergic to, which makes picking a different food difficult; 2) she's incredibly picky about her food (as in multiple day hunger strikes when I've tried to transition her slowly to something she doesn't like; I've never gotten her to eat wet food voluntarily) so any transition will likely be a months long process. I'll start a thread over on the Health forum about this as well, thanks for the suggestion!

I like the idea of dropping her dose down to 0.5 unit for a few cycles. I'll start her at that today. This weekend might throw a wrench in the works as I was planning on bringing her with me to work (I work at an animal shelter vet clinic during the weekends) and I know that will stress her out. I'm just not sure I'm comfortable leaving her home without monitoring for 10 hours after her shot.
 
It may not be food allergies. It could be inflammatory bowel disease. If so, a raw diet has helped some IBD kitties.

There are some customizable home prepared recipe options (ex Balance It) and some vets will know about them. Also, Dr Pierson of Cat Info consults on feline nutrition for a fee.
 
Hi BJM,

True. My civie Kaleigh (GA) had a presumptive diagnosis of IBD (presumptive because I opted not to do the biopsy to confirm) and vomiting was her main symptom; she was controlled on a low dose pred regimen before her passing. In Rain's case, my vet and I believe it's actually a food allergy instead of IBD because she also has scaly itchy skin on her ears and is prone to ear infections. I think I'm going to have to do some investigating and trials by error for her diet.
 
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