Maureen & Sammy
Active Member
Is it best to import the stuff from England? Canada? Or use the stuff they're pushiung here.
PZI Vet Replacement
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Larry and Kitties
Very Active Member
I am not aware of any PZI in Canada. You can get PZI from Britain but I would guess that it would cost a lot for shipping not to mention the cost itself. I consider the replacement, ProZinc, for PZI VET, like the PZI Vet itself too expensive as a first choice. If you want to use a bovine PZI I would opt for BCP PZI. I used it in the past and had no problems with it. It seems that most people here use Lantus, a human insulin.
DO you have any specific questions?
DO you have any specific questions?
Gia and Quirk
Active Member
Hi Maureen,
Your post brought back memories! Once upon a time we did have to import PZI from England unless our vets were willing to enter the cats in a trial for what (much) later became PZI Vet. I did that!
You don't need to import, there are several US sources for compounded PZI or you can switch to Lantus or Levemir, two newer insulins with good track records for cats.
Your post brought back memories! Once upon a time we did have to import PZI from England unless our vets were willing to enter the cats in a trial for what (much) later became PZI Vet. I did that!
You don't need to import, there are several US sources for compounded PZI or you can switch to Lantus or Levemir, two newer insulins with good track records for cats.
FurballLover
Active Member
Maureen,
Have you checked out the PZI forum? There's a sticky at the top: 'pzi reading & resources links' listing several of the sources available in the US currently.
Have you checked out the PZI forum? There's a sticky at the top: 'pzi reading & resources links' listing several of the sources available in the US currently.
Maureen & Sammy
Active Member
Okay, so what's the difference between Levemir, ProZinc, BCP PZI and Lantus? One of the doctors touting ProZinc tells me I've been doing it all wrong and that Sammy should be keep between 150 and 200/250. That driving him below 100 is too dangerous.
Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin
Very Active Member
Maureen & Sammy said:
I think a lot of vets say that because they've treated so many hypo cases. My acupuncture vet who is also an emergency vet in St. Louis freaked when she heard Gandalf gets down to 50 and literally told me 50 is a *hypo* number. Those who've tested our civvies know they can register in the 50s so it is not an abnormal number for a non-diabetic.
Of all the insulins, Lantus and Levemir have the best ability to maintain stable blood glucose , so you get flatter "curves." Consequently the cat feels better and the possibility of remission is greater because the more level blood glucose allows healing if numbers can be maintained in the normal range. Here's a good article comparing them: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2007 ... ifference/
Please see the stickies at the tops of each Insulin Support Group for more information on each one. viewforum.php?f=5
Maureen & Sammy
Active Member
What's the duration and dosage on Levemir and/or Lantus?
Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin
Very Active Member
Hmm, not sure what you mean by duration? Each needs to be dosed BID - once every 12 hours. Their active "duration" is longer than other insulins, some cats do not experience nadir until +9 or greater, thus there is continuous action from one dose to the next rather than one shot worn off before the next onsets.
Dosage will vary. Some cats need 2U or more, some even less than 1U to become well regulated. It is best to begin with a low dose such as 1U because we use a step up approach to determine optimum dose. Beginning dose too high or increasing too much may surpass that optimum.
Please see these guides for determining optimum dose via hometesting: http://www.uq.edu.au/ccah/docs/diabetesinfo/link4.pdf
http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_6_protocol2.htm
Dosage will vary. Some cats need 2U or more, some even less than 1U to become well regulated. It is best to begin with a low dose such as 1U because we use a step up approach to determine optimum dose. Beginning dose too high or increasing too much may surpass that optimum.
Please see these guides for determining optimum dose via hometesting: http://www.uq.edu.au/ccah/docs/diabetesinfo/link4.pdf
http://www.tillydiabetes.net/en_6_protocol2.htm
squeem3
Very Active Member
Many PZI users have switched to either Lantus (aka glargine) or Levemir and are having good results.
Both Lantus and Levemir are made for Human diabetics but diabetic cats do well on these. You buy Lantus and Levemir at the Human pharmacy with a prescription: CVS, Walgreens, Wal Mart, BJ, independent neighborhood pharmcy, etc. This is unlike pet insulins (PZI, ProZinc, etc) which can only be bought from the vet or directly from a vet pharmacy.
Lantus and Levemir are U100 insulins so you must use U100 insulin syringes. 3/10cc with half unit markings are best for most cats.
Lantus is the insulin of choice for many vets know. There are many published veterinary studies about how well Lantus works for cats. Levemir hasn't been used for pets very long so there isn't very much info out there.
The Insulin Support Groups on FDMB have more info that explains how each insulin works.
Both Lantus and Levemir are made for Human diabetics but diabetic cats do well on these. You buy Lantus and Levemir at the Human pharmacy with a prescription: CVS, Walgreens, Wal Mart, BJ, independent neighborhood pharmcy, etc. This is unlike pet insulins (PZI, ProZinc, etc) which can only be bought from the vet or directly from a vet pharmacy.
Lantus and Levemir are U100 insulins so you must use U100 insulin syringes. 3/10cc with half unit markings are best for most cats.
Lantus is the insulin of choice for many vets know. There are many published veterinary studies about how well Lantus works for cats. Levemir hasn't been used for pets very long so there isn't very much info out there.
The Insulin Support Groups on FDMB have more info that explains how each insulin works.
Jen & Squeak
Very Active Member
Summit in Ontario makes the Canadian version of PZI...
Steve & Jock
Active Member
I generally understand "duration" as how long the insulin tends to last (in hours) before you need another shot because blood sugar is up to preshot level.
With that definition, and with the understanding that every cat differs and some of them differ a lot, I'd say PZI has 8-10 hours duration, Lantus and Levemir have 11-13 hours duration, in cats.
Of course we haven't done a proper set of statistics to determine averages, medians, and outlyers. Plenty of people are finding PZI to last a full 12 hours in their cat. Take my word or take your chances.
With that definition, and with the understanding that every cat differs and some of them differ a lot, I'd say PZI has 8-10 hours duration, Lantus and Levemir have 11-13 hours duration, in cats.
Of course we haven't done a proper set of statistics to determine averages, medians, and outlyers. Plenty of people are finding PZI to last a full 12 hours in their cat. Take my word or take your chances.
Gia and Quirk
Active Member
The proper starting dose when changing insulins is .5 or 1 unit. ProZinc is a new manufactured PZI insulin, BCP is a compounded PZI insulin, Lantus and Levemir are recombinant insulins developed for human use and showing very good results in cats. Do you still have my phone number? pm me if you want the new one.
Vicky & Gandalf (GA) & Murrlin
Very Active Member
Olliecat said:
Yes, unfortunately you do. It's all good though because you want U100 insulin syringes WITH the half unit markings on them like these: http://hocks.com/Merchant5/merchant.mvc ... e=syringes
We have a section on the message board called Supply Closet where you can donate the leftover U40 syringes. Someone would probably be willing to pay shipping for them.
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