Progress possibly? Caninsulin

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Alexi

Alexi

Member Since 2016
So three weeks in we have:

A cat back to her normal behaviour
No ketones - ever, urine still showing a lot of glucose
A cat with a much improved body condition although still a little underweight
One cat minder who can give injections (although I still have to draw them up) and check blood glucose
Pre-shot levels drifting downwards (with some hiccups along the way)
Experimenting with feeding programme (although she is still helping herself to the other cats food as she still seems hungrier than her norm) to cut out snacks and just leave down what she doesn't finish at mealtimes
Glucose nadir at 5 hours on recent vet and home curve
No more low episodes
One AMPS of 13.2 (no idea how that happened but I reduced her dose by 0.5 as advised by the vet as I was worried and bumped her back up at her next shot)
No bouncing!

Once I have finished today's curve I will email the vet but I assume her pre shot readings drifting down and less dramatic falls is what I should be seeing at this stage?
I am trying to balance getting her weight up with her BG levels not following which is a little tricky - any tips?
 
It sounds like you are on the right track!

With my kitty, finding the right food was absolutely crucial to his treatment. He is extremely sensitive to carbs so my choices are limited, but sometimes one food that says it's low in carbs, let's say 3% just as an example, will raise his BG more than another food that says it's 4% (again, just an example). I try to be very careful to use foods with nothing starchy listed in the ingredients; the manufacturers sneak those fillers in under the guises of healthy contents that your kitty "needs" - not!

When Squalie needed to gain some weight I started feeding extra, smaller meals throughout the day and this helped, but that's hard to do unless you're home all day or have someone else who can feed for you. Lots of members have had real success using an automatic feeder, too!
 
The curve/response you are seeing is typical of Vetsulin/Caninsulin a steep drop to a relatively high number to a good. low BG at about 5 hours and then back up to a relatively high BG. I would ask your vet about changing to a longer lasting insulin like Lantus, Levemir or ProZinc
 
I am in the UK and ProZinc is only just licensed here, I have had the conversation with the vet who is consulting with the diabetes specialist so in the longer term that is the option I am looking at, the drop is becoming less steep so I am hoping I can get her numbers down a bit further.
 
Alexi said:
I am in the UK and ProZinc is only just licensed here, I have had the conversation with the vet who is consulting with the diabetes specialist so in the longer term that is the option I am looking at, the drop is becoming less steep so I am hoping I can get her numbers down a bit further.
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It might be no harm to discuss both Prozinc and Lantus with your vets before deciding on which way to go, Alexi. Although not formally approved for use in cats, it's possible to get a Lantus Rx under cascade rules.

For general information, the remission rates for cats on TR using Lantus are higher.


Mogs
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I have had a read of the Lantus forum, the big issue for me is the 12 hourly dosing schedule as well as the testing regime, ok if I am home all day but my working days are unpredictable sometimes more than 12 hours so I would struggle. I am still thinking Prozinc may be better as it is not depot and there is some flexibility in the schedule. The Prozinc forum doesn't seem as active though. Is there any information on remission rates in Prozinc use?
 
Alexi said:
I am still thinking Prozinc may be better as it is not depot and there is some flexibility in the schedule. The Prozinc forum doesn't seem as active though. Is there any information on remission rates in Prozinc use?
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I don't know if anyone in the Prozinc/PZI forum would be able to give you info, Alex, but DO ask there.

The RVC had good success with Prozinc in their remission trials.

Whilst Lantus is a good insulin for cats I see that none of the (majority) 12/12 schedule users seem to have posted in this thread yet... Might be worth canvassing a few more views before making a decision....? (Just 'my 10 cents'....)

Eliz
 
If I recal I did same dose unless the PS dictated otherwise. I did have to remember that for the evening dose the next shot wuld be in 8 hours so I frequently gave a different dose AM and PM
 
Interesting - so how did you cope with the testing regime? What sort of a glucose drop from pre-shot tests is normal with Lantus?
 
Larry and Kitties said:
If I recal I did same dose unless the PS dictated otherwise. I did have to remember that for the evening dose the next shot wuld be in 8 hours so I frequently gave a different dose AM and PM
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Thank you for this, Larry.

With my own health issues I'm fighting a losing battle on keeping to a 12/12 schedule. It is really helpful to hear about heterodox Lantus dosing techniques which, with appropriate monitoring, might offer a safe alternative method of treatment; it's invaluable information for those of us whose circumstances may not be conducive to maintaining conventional dosing schedules.


Mogs
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Had a discussion with the vet who is happy on progress so far. Cappuccino had another AMPS reading of 15 for no apparent reason so if she does it on a day I can do a curve I will give her the full 2 iu dose and monitor instead of reducing her dose, if she is not going too low then the vet does want to try increasing her dose again to see if we can push her numbers down a bit more. Overall though - not bad for 3 weeks work!
 
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