Could I have a worthless bottle of Prozinc?

We're almost 3 weeks on no carb cat food. We were doing 1 unit twice a day and just increased to 1.5 units.

So far BG #s are: 306, 347, 247, 373, 410, 299. Today pre-food (he ate a little, so this was about 10 minutes after he ate) 371, and an hour an a half after 1.5 units, 370. I am 100% sure the shots last night and this morning went it. I'd give us about 90% success on shots so far. We tested our other cat and his number was 76, so I'm confident our AlphaTrak meter is working fine.

I have a message in at the vet to see what we should do. I'm not concerned about hypo at these numbers, but how quickly can I increase his dose? Should I be seeing results from the food change or even the 1 unit insulin by this point? Should I demand to switch to Lantus?

He seems to be feeling better. When we first took him to the vet, he was staying in his kitty bed or upstairs and now he's being more social again. But I am concerned that his numbers aren't improving.

Any advice would be welcome. The bottle is stated to expire in March 2019, keeping it in the fridge and mixing prior to injecting. Maybe my fridge is too cold?

 

When was your kitty diagnosed? We often recommend giving an insulin 6 months to properly assess unless the kitty has a very obvious bad reaction to it like an allergy.

If the vial is stored and handled properly it should be good for 3+ months. It's more likely that you haven't yet found the good dose range.

Here's some info and ways you can help us to help you:
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It would help us if you set up your signature (light grey text under a post). Here's how:

• click on your name in the upper right corner of this page
• click on "signature" in the men that drops down
• type the following in the box that opens: kitty's name/age/date of diabetes diagnosis/insulin you're using /glucose meter you're using/what he eats/any other meds or health issues he has.

Another thing that will help us help you now that you've started BG testing at home is to set up a spreadsheet like the one we use here. We can all see it and look at it before offering advice: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/
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Here's the basic testing routine we recommend:

1. test every day AM and PM before feeding and injecting (no food at least 2 hours before) to see if the planned dose is safe
2. test at least once near mid cycle or at bedtime daily to see how low the BG goes
3. do extra tests on days off to fill in the response picture
4. if indicated by consistently high numbers on your spreadsheet, increase the dose by no more than 0.25 u at a time so you don't accidentally go right past a good dose
5. post here for advice whenever you're confused or unsure of what to do.

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Here's an explanation of what we call "bouncing". It explains why a kitty's BG can go from low to sky high:

1. BG goes low OR lower than usual OR drops too quickly.
2. Kitty's body panics and thinks there's danger (OMG! My BG is too low!).
3. Complex physiologic processes take glycogen stored in the liver (I think of it as "bounce fuel"), convert it to glucose and dump it into the bloodstream to counteract the perceived dangerously low BG.
4. These processes go into overdrive in kitties who are bounce prone and keep the BG propped up varying lengths of time (AKA bouncing).
5. Bounce prone kitty repeats this until his body learns that healthy low numbers are safe. Some kitties are slow learners.
6. Too high a dose of insulin can keep them bouncing over and over until the " bounce fuel" runs out and they crash - ie., have a hypo episode. That's why we worry so much about kitties that have had too high a starting dose prescribed by the vet and the owner isn't home testing.

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Here are some tips on how to do urine ketone testing (VERY important if BG is high and kitty isn't eating well!):

• put the end of the test strip right in his urine stream as he's peeing
• slip a shallow, long handled spoon under his backside to catch a little pee - you don't need much
• put a double layer of plastic wrap over his favourite part of the litter box and poke some depressions in it too catch pee.

Most test strips have to be dipped and allowed to develop for 15 seconds before viewing the colour change in very good light.
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I covered quite a bit here. Read it over a few times and ask a lot of questions.

 

Thank you very much. I just updated my signature, hopefully it worked. Spreadsheet next.
I need to work on getting my cats to eat when I give them food. They eat a little and then come back and graze so I think it's throwing off some of our testing numbers.
I guess I was just hoping for one of those miracle cats that got better just from the food change Fingers still crossed.

 

I think you haven't got the right dose yet... Or given it enough time. My cat didnt even see a number under 300 for the first three months. Not until were up to three units. It's a marathon.

 

Just checking: you aren’t shaking the prozinc right? Just a gentle roll between the hands?

Also all wet food correct?

What exact ProPlan?
Which FF classic?
What Beyond food?

 

All wet food: Pro Plan True Nature Chicken and Liver, FF seafood pates, Beyond Grain Free Wild Salmon. I have freeze dried chicken treats for after shots and sometimes a little canned tuna in place of a small can of food. My cats aren't very picky but seem to prefer fish. They really go to town on the Fancy Feast.

Yes, rolling in the hands until it's uniformly cloudy.

Will work on spreadsheet this week. Edison has my power off at home so can't get #s from husband's computer. We're going to do a curve on Sunday since we'll be home all day. He is fighting less when we give the shots, so we're getting a higher hit rate.

Thank you all again for your help.

 

Keep us informed!!! I totally agree with the FF fish my cat is nuts about it

Have you tried this one: The Fancy Feast Fish and Shrimp Feast FLAKED ? It’s zero carbs... so be careful I don’t feed her solely that as she needs SOME CARBS (I believe).

I feed a low carb FF like 1/2 can then (after a shot which we are not doing anymore) then I give her 1/2 can of this one - she gets tired of that sometimes BUT she always eats it ... and she seems to really respond to low carbs high protein!!!

 

I was just reading that he's doing well OTJ, congrats. My fingers are crossed for you.