Prozinc side effects?

[Karen & Rudy]

Has anyone experienced any side effects when increasing Prozinc? We just went from 2 units twice a day to 3. All of a sudden he isn't really eating and just seems really tired. We don't test all the time (please don't yell at me, I am doing what I can with a job and 4 kids plus my sugar kitty), but we did this morning and it was 307, so not too low- but lower than he has had in the past- which is a good thing. I just don't know if dropping this low is new for him so he is reacting? Could increasing the dose cause nausea or anything?

 

[BJM]

He may be developing ketones - have you got any urine ketone test strips? Given how high he has been, that would be my first thought.

 

[Karen & Rudy]

The vet tested him on monday and he was negative for ketones. they said it may be early kidney failure, but not sure what exactly that does.

 

[Sue and Oliver (GA)]

They can develop ketones within a day so it is still a possibility. To keep him safe, it would be best to do a ketone test a couple times a week when he is in high ranges. You can buy the strips cheaply at the drug store (same as for human diabetics) and stick them in his urine stream. There are also some litter products available that will test for ketones.

It is a big jump from 2 units to 3 units. We suggest increasing by .5 at a time, at the most. It may be that he is roller coastering from high to low, which feels crummy.

It is impossible to know what is really happening without a ketone test and a nadir. Ketones kill and fast so I would do that first.

I know it is hard to get tests in, but especially with a dose increase, it is the only way to know how it is working. Even preshots tests daily with a nadir whenever possible will help.

 

[Karen & Rudy]

I do have strips at home and test a few times a week. I'll grab one tonight when I get home to make sure. I think I actually tested Tuesday and he was negative also. Good to be on the safe side for sure.

We tried going slow for the increase it took us three days to jump up the unit, I was just going off of what the vet told me to do.

I can't get a nadir until Saturday, but I'll test before his shot tonight for sure and probably test before shots the next few days also.

Thank you for your support on this. I feel sick to my stomach sitting here at work just worrying about him :-(

 

[BJM]

I hear you! Towards the end with Spitzer, I was driving home every lunch to check his glucose, add a short-acting insulin dose if needed, see if he'd eaten or vomited and needed clean up, food, of urgent vet visit.
It can be rough getting in tests. Sometimes, folks will set an alarm to get an overnight test. This works best if you can time it to the end of a human sleep cycle, which is about 45 minutes long (1.5 hr, 3 hr, 4.5 hr, 6 hr, etc).