Drastic drops four hours post

Discussion in 'Prozinc / PZI' started by bgenick, Dec 14, 2019.

  1. bgenick

    bgenick Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2014
    I have a newly diagnosed diabetic we are trying to regulate on ProZinc. He had DKA but did not stop eating or seem to feel bad like most DKAs. He was hospitalized for several days. He is the littermate of ANOTHER 14-year-old-diabetic who uses ProZinc. So I have my hands full!

    The newly diagnosed cat is wearing a FreeStyle Libre sensor, so I have a lot of info about trends. (Until the cursed thing stops working, which is another subject.)

    He is consistently dropping drastically by four hours. This morning at shot time he was at 360. Three hours later he was at 150, four hours later at 80. I fed him and he is going back up. He does not display any symptoms of a hypo.

    This is a recurring pattern, both day and night. Typically it takes an hour or more after feeding for him to get back up to around 150.

    Without being fed, I have seen him drop to 100 and then head back up (that was nice!), but I have also seen him drop into the 60s (at which point of course I was feeding and reaching for the syrup).

    His vet, which is a very highly regarded clinic, is not concerned. But I am, and I have learned to have the courage of my own convictions! I have already lowered his dose from the 2 units they recommended (that only lasted one day!) to only 1, and I am still seeing this.

    I would like to keep him on ProZinc if possible, so I don't have to deal with two diabetic cats using two different insulins.

    Any thoughts? SHOULD the regular drop to 80s scare me? I could reduce the dose to .5, I suppose, but at shot time he is consistently in the 300-400 range.

    I can't stay home forever to feed him at four hours post.

    Thanks for any thoughts.
     
  2. bgenick

    bgenick Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2014
    His last 24 hours

    upload_2019-12-14_14-41-4.jpeg
     
  3. bgenick

    bgenick Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2014
    Food at 830 am and pm shot at 9 am and pm
     
  4. MrWorfMen's Mom

    MrWorfMen's Mom Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2015
    It appears your kitty is staying in safe range and while those huge drops are scary they are unfortunately not unusual.

    Diabetics get used to being in higher BG range and their body begins to think those higher BGs are normal. When they receive insulin and BG drops, their body defences click in early mistakenly thinking that the BG is dropping too quickly or too much and hormones are released to allow stored glucagon into the bloodstream to bring BG back up to levels the cat has learned to think are normal. Some cats are more prone to big bounces than others. In most cases, the bouncing will ease up once kitty gets used to those lower BGs again but it can take some time.

    ProZinc while a gentler in and out insulin, can pull BG down more sharply than the longer lasting insulins like Lantus or Levemir and that may be contributing to the problem. Feeding at strategic times during the cycle might help to slow the drops and prolong the time your kitty spends in "normal" BG range. You might want to consider a timed feeder to provide snacks just before the drops are occurring. As an alternative, freeze some wet food and leave it out as a snack for kitty to eat in your absence. Feeding only with shots rarely works well and multiple feedings through the day/night help regulate kitty better.

    We are extremely data oriented here and without seeing BG patterns over a period of time, we can't comment on dose or exactly when to recommend snacks. If you could set up one of our spreadsheets and plot in the readings from the Libre, it would help us help you. The instructions for setting up the spreadsheet are HERE. There is also a document explaining HOW TO USE THE SS.
     
  5. bgenick

    bgenick Member

    Joined:
    Nov 6, 2014
    very informative, thank you.
     

Share This Page