Switching Insulin Brands

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Kathleen and Fred

Kathleen and Fred

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Fred has been on ProZinc for the last 2 years. From time to time we've been OTJ, but over the last 3-4 months, his numbers keep going up. Nothing else has changed and I've tried various methods of administering the insulin per suggestions from this forum. Would I be better advised to switch to another brand? If so, will I use the same needles, etc.

Thanks for your help,


Kathleen & Fred
 
Why are you wanting to switch brands?

I changed from a U-40 insulin (caninsulin) to a U-100 insulin and I did have to buy all new syringes bc the concentration is different. The U-40 are less concentrated then the U 100. so using syringes that are calibrated for that specific insulin concentration is vital.
 
Fred's numbers have been in the mid 200's to low 300's and I've been shooting 3-4u using U-100 syringes. This is considerably up from 6 months ago when he was ranging from 150 to 200 -- and almost on the verge of going OTJ. The vial is low, however, and I may need to buy another batch. But, if I get Levemir, can I buy it from a regular pharmacy? (I pay $100 for each tiny vial of ProZinc at the vet's.) Can I use the u-100 syringes and where can I find a chart for dosing properly? Is there any reaction when switching, apart for improved numbers?

Fred it not showing any signs of distress. And, maybe his numbers are up because he's gained a little weight during the colder months when chipmunks aren't coming out to play!! But, I think ProZinc may be a little too hard to control. I'm seeing where others are getting better results with just little changes in dosing. I don't get that with ProZinc.

Thanks,
Kathleen & Fred
 
Kathleen and Fred said:
...over the last 3-4 months, his numbers keep going up. Nothing else has changed and I've tried various methods of administering the insulin per suggestions from this forum.
Click to expand...

Kathleen

Sorry, I'm not familiar with your and Fred's situation.

Has Fred been to the vet recently and had dental infection, bladder infection or stones, etc. ruled out?
Dental infections can hide, so absence of red gums and tartar is inconclusive; a dental x-ray can show hidden abcesses below the gum line.

Have you tried dosing every 8 hours, or split dosing? That can smooth out a glucose curve for some cats. I didn't see a spreadsheet for Fred in your signature, so I'm not sure what his glucose levels are doing.

Both Lantus and Levemir can be purchased at a human pharmacy. Both should be purchased as pens (3 mL), not vials (10 mL), so you don't waste any insulin. Some hospital pharmacies will sell the pens 1 at a time; there can be a real price hike doing that. CostCo and Sam's clubs sell 5 packs, and some Canadian pharmacies sell them to US customers with a valid prescription.
 
Fred's a large (17lb.) tall cat. He's been showing no other troubles and diabetes seems to not worry him. His last vet visit was in the Fall and nothing was noticed, beyond the antibiotic needed to defend against a cat bite. He eats and drinks as usual. I haven't noticed any difficulty with urination or drinking water.

I'll upload the chart, but I've been told it's too small to read. I put it on excel because I can't figure out how to download the one created for this site. It's rather large. Sorry! I do them by years, so you might want to look at just the latest numbers. I dose twice a day, more or less the same time, although lately that has been difficult with my schedule.

Thanks for reviewing.


Kathleen & Fred
 
Sorry for the delay. I just can't get the spreadsheet you all use to come up effectively. I'm going to include a recent look at Fred's #'s. I'm using this when I see the vet this week. When I "connect the dots", it looks like he goes up at the end am and pm test/shooting. I am at the end of the ProZinc vial and it may have lost it's staying power. Also, we did a test day yesterday, which is pretty typical of his daily numbers.

Any ideas?

Oh- I send my vet the paper from the Canadian vet on Levemir. My vet is good about reading things I send.

Thanks,

Kathleen & Fred
 
Kathleen and Fred said:
, if I get Levemir, can I buy it from a regular pharmacy? (I pay $100 for each tiny vial of ProZinc at the vet's.) Can I use the u-100 syringes and where can I find a chart for dosing properly?
Click to expand...

Levemir and Lantus can be bought at any Human pharmacy with a prescription. Most people buy the insulin pens (Levemir FlexPen or Lantus SoloStar pen) than the 10 ml bottle. A box of pens costs $225 or so but there are 5 pens in the box which is at least a 5 month supply.

You can only use U100 insulin syringes with Levemir or Lantus or any other Human insulin. You do not use a conversion chart when using U100 insulin syringes with U100 insulin.

If you have any leftover U40 insulin syringes (or those new ProZinc 12 unit insulin syringes), either throw them away or donate them to a member on this board who can use them. That way you won't accidentally use the wrong insulin syringe with Levemir or whatever Human insulin you end up using.


Kathleen and Fred said:
Sorry for the delay. I just can't get the spreadsheet you all use to come up effectively.
Click to expand...

Recently updated instructions for the spreadsheet are here: http://felinediabetes.com/FDMB/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50130
 
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