Starting BCP PZI tonight

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ursa68

ursa68

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Does anyone else here use it? Seems like more Prozinc people here. I've been scouring posts and am wondering if I made a bad choice. Although ECID, right?

Even though Colby has been on a high dose of Vetsulin, I think I still want to start conservatively, like .5 twice a day? It's a U40 vial. Unfortunately, I am leaving town and will have to board him Friday-Sunday at the vet. The Dr. will be able to check on him Friday and Sat AM, but I don't want to have to worry about him the rest of the time. I'd rather up his dose when I'm around to keep an eye on him.
 
I wouldn't start that low, given how high he's been on the Vetsulin. Maybe half of what you were giving with Vetsulin, check around +2 for a food spike or a drop (possible active cycle where you'll need to feed the curve), and monitor at the +5 to +7 range to see how he's handling it. Be prepared for his glucose going in either direction, ie, have Karo and high carb gravied food available in case you need to intervene and steer the numbers. Because there is no depot, you'll know pretty quickly if it is too low or too high.
 
@BJM Yikes! really? That would be 4.5 U. What about "start low, go slow"? I'm just scared to start that high, especially since he's been a little "off" lately, w/ his eating and pancreas problems. Although, he does have a preshot number of 578 tonight! I might start at 2U, just to be safe. I think that's what my vet suggested too. This just isn't good timing to start a new insulin, with me going out of town and all, but I have no choice.
 
When you switch to a new insulin, you take into account where you were dosing before. You were barely making it into yellow at nadir on 9 units of Vetsulin, so 1 of 2 things is true: he is a high dose cat (maybe because of chronic, not always symptomatic, pancreatitis) OR he has been chronically overdosed. You can identify the latter if the cat suddenly crashes low when all the glycogen reserves have been depleted. Because he's already had problems with pancreatitis, that may be ongoing whether or not he is symptomatic.

You hold the syringe, so starting at 2 units is completely up to you. If you are boarding him, you may want to provide some guidance to them on testing with respect to the insulin shots - ie, pre-shot, and maybe every 2 days, a mid-cycle test around +6, with a scale to guide dose increases. Alternatively, asking them to test for ketones is an option and if ketones are found in the blood and the glucose is at a particular level, to up the insulin by a unit.
Or maybe discuss the concerns with the vet.

 
Thank you. I know the vet will be testing him. I'm just worried about Sunday, when only a vet tech is there or whomever to do feeding and meds. I will definitely talk to the vet and make sure they test him.
 
It is always an experiment when you give insulin to a diabetic cat. You find out what works and what doesn't under specific circumstances.
When the circumstances change, like a change in insulin, you are starting over with data collection and finding out what does and doesn't work. So, no kicking yourself, OK?

The vet will be there Friday and Saturday, and since this is an in and out insulin, could do some adjusting of the dose, despite the possible vet stress.
 
Yes, I am kicking myself! Now he's back up to HI. I suppose throwing in some Vetsulin would just screw things up for testing tomorrow, huh?
 
I also should add, that was eating off and on up until about an hour ago. All low carb, wet. He gets as much as he wants b/c he needs to put some weight back on.
 
ursa68 said:
Yes, I am kicking myself!
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Aw, be kind to yourself, Cindy. You're doing a good job here. :bighug:

I use a bovine PZI (a UK version) and it's been brilliant for Bertie.

Bovine PZI is a pretty close match for a cat's own insulin, and I've read that cats that show resistance to other insulins can sometimes respond better to a bovine insulin.
If you try the PZI and it doesn't work for you, then you could still try Prozinc at a later date. But let's give the PZI a chance to show what it can do for Colby.

Are you testing Colby's pee for ketones? (Sorry if lots of folks have already asked you that....)

Big hug to you,

Eliz
 
Thanks, Eliz. Yes, testing for ketones. I want to do a higher dose this morning, since last night's 2 U didn't touch his BG. What BJM suggested, starting at half of what he was getting of the vetsulin seems pretty reasonable now. What do you think? He's going to the vet later this morning. Fortunately, he's a pretty chill cat and going there doesn't seem to stress him out too much.
 
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