NORTH AMERICAN PZI USERS?

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cellosmom

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Not sure if I should post this here.

I am in Canada and want desperately to try PZI with my cat but I've gone to three vets in Canada, they all say they can't get it and I've found a friends vet in the states (Philly) that also says they can't get it (but maybe can get it compounded)

So where are people in North America getting PZI?!

I'm in Ontario Canada specifically.....
 
Welcome! I think all US beans get PZI from the vet. It takes a prescription here and since it is not a human insulin, it can't be found in most pharmacies. (although I have heard some Costcos carry it). In Canada, you could get a human insulin without prescription, but not sure about an animal one. Your vet can, at least in the US, also get a compounded form called BCP PZI. It is very successful for some cats, not so much for others.

I am surprised your vet can't get ProZinc in Canada. Have you called around other vets just to see if they are prescribing it?

Also, as others have said, both Lantus and Levemir work very well for diabetic cats, if PZI seems impossible to find.
 
thanks!! I've been to 3 vets in canada, 2 of which said they used to be able to prescribe it but not anymore. It seems to be becoming less and less available, even though they all said they had success with it!!!

I will go to Lantus if I can't get it, but I really want to try.
 
i think the problem could be what it's being called. the vets are probably thinking of pzi by idexx which was indeed discontinued and not sold any longer. it's name WAS actually PZI Vet. they might not realize that some people are inadvertently referring to prozinc as pzi even though it's name IS Prozinc, not pzi, so maybe rather than asking for pzi, ask for prozinc.

confusing? yes. i've tried to straighten out the whole prozinc/pzi name mixup since it came out but it just doesn't seem to stick :-)
 
ya, the name thing so confusing!! It is not available in Canada, but you can get it compounded. My vet isn't thrilled about writing me a script for this since there can be changes in the compounding process and not all batches will necessarily be identical, but they seem willing to try since I'm pretty willing and able to do home testing and monitoring, so fingers crossed this works outl
 
If you get the compounded, be sure to find out if it is U100 or U40 insulin. It can be either, and you want to get the needles that match the insulin.
 
I’m about 90 miles north of Philadelphia, and I have gone to two small town vets that have regular ProZync, not compounded. Let me know if you need me to do some philly vet research for you. I get into the city a few times a month and have plenty of friends that live there.
 
I used BCP PZI that was shipped to me from Veterinary Pharmacies of America in Houston TX. ECID, but it worked well for Bob.

Carl
 
I found a place that will compound it for me in Ontario. My vet will write me the script if I do a curve on Cello off insulin (just diet control) to make sure his levels aren't fluctuating during the day. She wants to be really safe about trying it because she has never used it, but I'm excited to try it because I want to try TR on him....
 
Glad that you are getting it. I'd like to put in a plug for waiting on the TID. I would start low at one unit, do the 12 hour schedule for a few weeks at least. That way you can see how he responds to the insulin, what dose goes where and how the insulin is working during the cycle. When you have that data, TID is much easier to do.
 
Sue and Oliver (GA) said:
Glad that you are getting it. I'd like to put in a plug for waiting on the TID. I would start low at one unit, do the 12 hour schedule for a few weeks at least. That way you can see how he responds to the insulin, what dose goes where and how the insulin is working during the cycle. When you have that data, TID is much easier to do.

Thanks for the advise! Since he is being SO GOOD for the home testing I'm def. going to do that instead of immediately using the chart, especially because he had a crazy harsh reaction to Caninsulin
 
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