Prozinc questions- vet appointment tomorrow

[Babee's mom]

Hello all,

Babee is going to the vet tomorrow and I am going to request Prozinc. My vet is not helpful at all with insulin questions. I don't even think he knows about Prozinc, so this is going to be a challenge. Babee has been on PZI Idexx for almost 2 yrs and seems to have done well. We weren't home testing on a regular basis and she was only on 1.2units of PZI. Babee started on Vetsulin right after DX and didn't do well on it. Her numbers didn't come down much with Vetsulin.

My questions:

Is prozinc like vetsulin? I am concerned about prozinc being a human insulin vs a animal insulin like PZI
Idexx.

How do I get prozinc? I called the company and they said you can only get from your vet. My vets says he doesn't carry insulin anymore.


I thought about using BCP PZI but was concerned about it being compounded and less stable than Prozinc. I am so stressed about changing insulins. I am going to try testing again after the switch.

Any comments or thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Laurie and Mr Tinkles]

ProZinc is a veterinary insulin, so it generally is not available at human pharmacies. You can ask for a prescription and check with other vet offices near you to see if they have it, or order it online. It is worth checking around for the best price. There are some sources in the stickies in the PZI insulin support group, the prices are outdated though. viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1979#p56456

Some PZI people have switched to BCP PZI, and seem to have very good results with it. I would not get locally compounded PZI, as there are concerns about consistency.

ProZinc is NOT like Vetsulin, it is similar to other PZIs. It is a little quirky during the first 45 days, but IMHO it is an excellent choice if you are looking for a PZI. You just need to be patient during the transition...but that would be the case with any change in insulin.

I would consider posting a thread with these questions in the PZI ISG, and get some other current users' feedback.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

ProZinc uses human recombinant insulin as the base insulin and mixes it with protamine zinc to extent its duration. PZI vet used a mixture of 10% porcine (pig) and 90% bovine insulin as the bas insulin and mixes it with protamine zinc it extent its duration. Vetsulin is a lente insulin, Vetsulin is classified as an intermediate-acting insulin. It is an aqueous suspension of 40 IU/mL of highly purified porcine insulin, consisting of 30% amorphous and 70% crystalline zinc insulin. The zinc additive is like the protamine zinc for the Prozinc/PZI Vet but results in a different and different duration.

You can Google for ProZinc and find that there are places that sell it with a prescription. When you check prices make sure you add shipping. It think it requires overnight shipping that adds quite a lot to the final cost.

 

[squeem3]

Is prozinc like vetsulin? I am concerned about prozinc being a human insulin vs a animal insulin like PZI
Idexx.

ProZinc was formulated specifically for animals so it is an animal insulin like PZI.

How do I get prozinc? I called the company and they said you can only get from your vet. My vets says he doesn't carry insulin anymore.

ProZinc is only available from the vet or from a veterinary pharmacy with a prescription. Ask your vet to write you a prescription and then look online for a veterinary pharmacy that sells ProZinc. Try DrsFosterandSmith.com or 1800PetMeds.com or PetCareRX.com

Human pharmacies do not sell animal-specific insulins or medicines or even supplies like U40 insulin syringes.

 

[Larry and Kitties]

In reality Prozinc is considered a human insulin for veterinarian use only. It uses recombinant human insulin as the base. PZI Vet and DCP PZI are considered animal insulins since they use animal insulin as their base insulins). Here is the headlines from a vet journal when ProZinc wad released:
"FDA approves first human insulin for veterinary use"

Is prozinc like vetsulin? I am concerned about prozinc being a human insulin vs a animal insulin like PZI
Idexx.

ProZinc was formulated specifically for animals so it is an animal insulin like PZI.

How do I get prozinc? I called the company and they said you can only get from your vet. My vets says he doesn't carry insulin anymore.

ProZinc is only available from the vet or from a veterinary pharmacy with a prescription. Ask your vet to write you a prescription and then look online for a veterinary pharmacy that sells ProZinc. Try DrsFosterandSmith.com or 1800PetMeds.com or PetCareRX.com

Human pharmacies do not sell animal-specific insulins or medicines or even supplies like U40 insulin syringes.

 

[Meleksmommy]

One great thing about ProZinc is that the insulin molecule in this formula is more stable and has a longer shelf life, so depending on the size dosage you're using, it can last longer and be less costly for you. Perhaps if you explain the cost-effective aspect of Prozinc to your vet, alon with its merits as an effective insulin for cats, he/she might open his/her mind?

 

[chriscleo]

i think we've seen some pretty good results with prozinc on the board. of course it's newer so we have less experience with it. i wouldn't hesitate to ask for it.
if your vet feels more comfortable switching you to lantus, tho, i'd go for it. you can buy it from a canadian pharmacy (with prescription) for a decent price, $129 incl shipping from canadadrugsonline.com. they'll have a fax number your vet can fax the prescription to. one good thing about it is that you can get it at a regular pharmacy, which is important in an emergency if you run out. i've gotten mine from there and it's stayed good even tho it took about 6 days to get it (as opposed to paying extra to overnight it). it was well packaged in a styrofoam box, and i put it straight into the fridge once i opened the box.

the lantus board here on fdmb is pretty active and has a lot of experience with the insulin so you'll get a lot of help with it. plus it's been around longer than prozinc so your vet may prefer you switch to it.

don't let your vet's attitude stop you if you want to try the prozinc. lots of us here don't get things from our regular vets--we shop around--so it's not critical that you get your insulin from your vet as long as you have other sources.