ProZinc

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mislissa777

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Hi everyone,
I was just wondering if I could get some opinions on ProZinc. I have to start it tomorrow on Trina & I am worried about it. She has been diabetic for 4 years & started on PZI, when it was discontinued she was put on Vetsulin. She has done great on both of these insulins. But from the research I'm doing ProZinc is made of human recombinant insulin & the others she has taken were made from beef or pork. I also read that human insulin is the most NOT like a cats normal insulin. Beef is supposed to be the closet to a cats normal insulin. So I am nervous about starting Trina on ProZinc tomorrow & am praying she has a smooth transition. I would appreciate hearing anyones experience with ProZinc. (I hope I hear good results!!!!) Thank you
 
Hi & welcome!!! I don't use it, but several here do, and have gotten good results. From what I can tell, it works very well. Hopefully some of them will chime in with more specifics - I don't know how the human/beef/pork angle affects them, sorry, so can't comment beyond saying that most cats I've seen here on it have responded well.
 
We started with ProZinc and used it for 3 months, just switched to Lantus. I was very happy with PZ, but Tinkles has a URI that won't go away, and I'm hoping the flatter curves with Lantus will help get rid of the infection. I would say ProZinc is an excellent insulin, and you should expect to get very good results with it. One thing I would say is have patience, the first 45 days your results may not be as predictable as you would expect them to be. The nadir may move around, dose adjustments need time to settle.

Other members here have switched from other insulins to ProZinc, hopefully they will chime in with their experience.
 
Joanna & Laurie thank you for sharing your info.! It truly makes me feel better about starting PZ. I'm still nervous about it but I have to do it. It's just so upseting that manufacturers keep discontinuing insulin for our babies! This is the third time she needs to start over on another insulin. And Laurie thanks for the heads up about being patient for 45 days. I probably would have started to panic if she wasn't regulating soon. I hope Tinkles does well on Lantus.
One thing I get very nervous about is if Trina's sugar would drop too low while I'm at work. I'm gone from 6:30am - 5pm. I give her shot before I go to work. I am going to try to have family stop in & check on her for the next few weeks while she's regulating on ProZinc. I took tomorrow off so I can be home with her & I'll be home the weekend to keep a close eye on her too.
 
Hi Missy,

Harley and I switched from Lantus to Prozinc because I also work 10 hours a day and couldn't be home to test as much as needed.

We started Prozinc on the Fourth of July so I can't give you a testimonial because we are so new at it.

But is seems that Laurie is right, his nadir moves around. He throws me odd numbers. But we havn't gotten to the 45 day mark yet so my fingers are crossed.

Welcome to PZIsland. We'll be looking forward to you posts.
 
Hi Rob & Harley,
I hope that ProZinc ends up stabilizing & working well for Harley! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you too! (and Trina too!)
I have never home tested before. I asked my vet about it 2 years ago & she wasn't for it so I"ve trusted her to do the testing all along on Trina. You haven't had any hypo episodes have you? How much are you giving Harley? I'm so worried about her going to low when I"m not home.
 
Wow, I could go on and on here.

My vet also didn't believe in home testing, mostly because if you home test then you won't pay them to test for you. Full disclosure, my vet is my daughter in law.

Then I found this site and started home testing against her advise (insert family issues here) but testing him and knowing his bg # before every shot I know that I won't give him insulin if his bg# is too low for insulin, therefore no hypo.

That is why I have not had a hypo event since his first week on insulin 1 year ago.

Right now Harley is getting 1.2 units of Prozinc. I'm try to fine tune his dose. I also work full time so I understand your fears

Look into setting up a spread sheet & profile in the tech forum so people can see where you have been bg wise and give you advise.

Welcome to PZIsland.
 
I think hometesting is smart I"m just not sure if I can do it but I'll look into it. I'm sure your daughter in law wasn't too happy you went against her advice but you did the right thing! Thanks alot for your help!
 
Honestly it's a little nerve racking at first, but once you figure out what works for you and Trina it becomes very easy and routine.

There are alot of knowledgable and caring people here willing to help you with anything that comes up. Just ask.

There are videos on You Tube showing how to home test. It looks so easy, I thought yah, easy for them but I did get the hang of it. If you post on Health for help learning to home test you will get all kinds of tips and tricks to make it easier.

My daughter in law forbade me to home test. She told me all kinds of scarry things would happen if I did, so I came here and asked if any of that were true and of course it wasn't. Scarrier things can happen if you don't home test.

Besides, Harley is MY cat, I get to decide what is best for him, so for my peace of mind and to keep him safe I test.

Human diabetics never inject themselves with insulin without testing their blood sugar first, our kitties deserve the same level of care.

Keep asking questions.
 
I, too, just switched from ProZinc to Lantus this past weekend (last Sunday, in fact. While on ProZinc, I did see a few good days, however, it wasn't working as well for my cat, Blackie. Don't forget... ECID (every cat is different), and Blackie is a different cat. She requires a different insulin. There are a lot folks on here that have success with ProZinc.

My vet also forbade me to hometest in the beginning. After about 3 months of going back and forth to the vet's, though, I decided to do some research on feline diabetes, and came across this message board. I'm glad that I did. A lot of folks on here suggested that I start hometesting Blackie. So, I did some more research, and found some YouTube videos that showed how to hometest, as well as give shots. Yes, I was nervous at first about hometesting, but not anymore. I'm almost a poke-aholic. LOL Almost.

As one or two of the posters on here said... There's a lot of people who'll be able to help you by giving you advice. They won't steer you wrong.
 
Thank you all for the advice on home testing! I am going to look at some videos & do some research. The thought of actually doing it does make me very nervous but it would be the best thing for Trina. Thanks again!
 
I didn't test Lucy for the first year she was on insulin. She had UTI after UTI; it cost me a fortune. And she was sick, very very sick. The folks here pushed me to test (against my vet's advice) before i made the decision to PTS. Within a month, she was OTJ. She had been bouncing around in rebound for who knows how long. I was scared to test and Lucy wasn't very cooperative at first. But I truly believe that she realized it was helping her and stopped fighting after the first few days. That was 5 years ago. I would never go back to shooting blind. Testing is better for Lucy which makes it better for me and for my pocket book. This is definitely one of those situations where there may be some short term pain while you are learning, but the long-term gain makes it all worthwhile.

One more thing. Cats need insulin twice a day. Vets who don't advocate hometesting often keep cats on a once a day schedule as a safety precaution. In other words, they make the decision for you to shorten your cats life by under-dosing and preventing hypos. But if you are testing, you can give her enough insulin to protect her kidneys, extend her life, and improve her quality of life.
 
Hi Terri, thanks for sharing info.! You are right, there would be some short term pain in the beginning & then it would be ok once I learned how to home test. In the beginning I couldn't even bring myself to give Trina her shot. It really freaked me out & now it is nothing! Thanks again!
 
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