Hamilton

I have a diabetic cat Hamilton. He was diagnosed last summer, and I have been feeding him DM wet and dry food, and using prozinc. He started at 1 unit and is up to 7. I want to find a better way. Is 7 units alot? No one will tell me. The vet treating him says no. I am not handling this well and don't think I ever will. I have the test strips and meter, but haven't tried it yet. He will not be easy to test, he is very growly.

 

Welcome.

Yes, it is a very high dose, especially if you are not home testing.

Please post your concerns in the Main Health Forum. (It could take a couple of minutes before you are allowed to post - it's to stop spammers).

Tagging @Kris & Teasel for you. She has Prozinc experience.

 

Welcome! I like your cats name. My girl, Mia, was also diagnosed last summer and has been on ProZinc since. 7 units is a large dose. Testing is very important. It is hard at first for many of us, but it gets easier surprisingly quickly Without testing, there is really no way to manage this well. How has your vet determined when to make dosing increases.. do you go in for curves or fructosamine tests? If you start home testing, you can save Hamilton the stress of vet visits and yourself the money and hassle. Food choices are very important, too. The Purina DM wet food is 6% carbs, but I think the dry food is higher. It is best to choose foods with no more than 10% carbs, and lower is better. Have you considered/tried dropping the dry food?

It is best if you post your questions on the main health forum or the ProZinc forum. You will get lots of advice and support here. There are many of us who live and breathe this with our babies!

 

Yes, 7 units is a very high dose. Please go to the ProZinc forum and begin reading the yellow informational stickies about the insulin. Post all your questions there. We can help.
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/...prozinc-pzi-insulin-for-diabetic-cats.164995/

 

I want to start a spreadsheet for Hamilton. Do I pick the first one on the list? DCIN sent me a Glucocard meter. Do I have to calibrate it?

 

Here's the link to the spreadsheet we use here:
http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/fdmb-spreadsheet-instructions.130337/

Re meter: that's essential the same as the very popular Walmart ReliOn meters that many here use. No need to calibrate it other than to get some control solution (usually a 1-800 number to call) to periodically check that it reads properly. You can always test yourself too.