Very High Dosage, Concerned

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Ash&Bump

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Hello,
My cat was just diagnosed today and the vet told me to give 5 units of Prozinc twice a day. I would be giving the first injection tomorrow morning. I posted this in my introduction here on the forums and there was immediate concern from a few members that this dose is way too high for a newly diagnosed cat. He is overweight (about 18 pounds which is more than probably why we are in our current situation) but I'm still concerned that this is too high of a dose. I'd love some advice from you all on how to move forward. Thank You!
 
You have good instincts. Our preferred beginning dose is one unit. Our thinking is that you can always raise the dose as needed, but giving too much can be deadly. You can give the dose you feel is safest- vets are unlikely to be unhappy if you are worried about keeping your kitty safe.

If I were you, I would give one unit. Learn to hometest and get some data so you know how the dose is working. If you need to increase, do it slowly and carefully, and safely. As soon as you are confident testing, consider switching the food to wet low carb -'it can lower the levels by 100+ points.

We have a beginner's guide for ProZinc and a protocol. They are in my signature in blue.
 
Did your kitty have DKA? Was he hospitalized? If so, the dose might be increased, but 5 units is still very high, and I would say too much.
 
He was not hospitalized, and nothing was mentioned about DKA (I would have to look up what that even stands for tbh)
 
DKA is when the cat has an infection, has very high blood glucose levels and isn't eating. He would need to be hospitalized. Cats in DKA are very ill. It doesn't sound like he had this condition.

In that case, one unit would be a good starting dose.
 
Yeah, the only symptom I've noticed is the neuropathy in his back legs, which is what prompted the vet visit. Other than that, he's eating and drinking fine and moving around as much as his legs will let him.
 
My old vet prescribed 7 units twice a day- no matter what. My cat was only around 10 pounds. Amount eaten and BG reading didn't matter according to him. I didn't think that sounded right and gave half because he didn't eat all of his dinner and then found this site after I gave him his 3rd shot (7, 3.5, 7). He was going hypo! This forum saved him!
I now have a new vet! She's wonderful.
His BG reading was 560+ at the vet- after switching to only wet food he was averaging 350ish at home. I am a fan of the low and slow. It can be frustrating because my cat is harder to regulate but these wonderful people here are sometimes the only thing that keeps me sane!
 
Well, after a long day on the phone, I ended up taking Speedbump for a second opinion at a different vet. I liked this one much better, he was much more willing to work with me and talk through different options. He felt that while 1 unit would probably be a little low based on the new profile that he did in the office today, 2 units twice a day was more than sufficient, and that's a number that I felt much more comfortable with too. He seems to have done well today with his first dose, next one will be at 9 tonight. We are also going to work on getting him switched over to a canned diet. Oh, and I'm going to be picking up a human meter tomorrow and start teaching myself to homecheck.

I am so glad I posted here last night instead of just listening to the first vet. Thanks so much for the advice everyone, Speedbump and I both really appreciate it!
 
Ash&Bump said:
Well, after a long day on the phone, I ended up taking Speedbump for a second opinion at a different vet. I liked this one much better, he was much more willing to work with me and talk through different options. He felt that while 1 unit would probably be a little low based on the new profile that he did in the office today, 2 units twice a day was more than sufficient, and that's a number that I felt much more comfortable with too. He seems to have done well today with his first dose, next one will be at 9 tonight. We are also going to work on getting him switched over to a canned diet. Oh, and I'm going to be picking up a human meter tomorrow and start teaching myself to homecheck.

I am so glad I posted here last night instead of just listening to the first vet. Thanks so much for the advice everyone, Speedbump and I both really appreciate it!
Click to expand...

The new vet sounds much more knowledgeable about feline diabetes than the first one. Based on the recommended starting dose of 0.10 units per pound for an 18 pound kitty that is much more in line for what Speedbump should start at. Great to see that you will be starting home-testing tomorrow!!
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Please do start home-testing before you start the switch to an all wet low carb diet. Some kitties have had their glucose numbers drop a lot with the change to a proper diet and the insulin needs have dropped as well.

Here are some wonderful tips on home-testing:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/hometesting-links-and-tips.287/
 
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