How did you decide on PZI and PZI type?

My cat, Curly, is currently on Humulin-N 1.5 units twice a day. He is pretty obviously not being controlled very well. I only recently got a blood sugar monitoring kit but its clear by his inability to put weight back on, the condition of his coat, the amount of urination, etc that he is not doing well on this insulin. I have been told that he would probably do better on either Lantus or Levemir, or PZI. As I work on-call and do not have a regular work schedule where I can stick to a strict 12/12 dosing schedule PZI was recommended.

How do you figure out which kind of PZI is the best, or is it trial and error? Have others on here been on the Humulin and done better when switching to PZI? The only other insulin he has been on was Vetsulin, and then he was switched to Humulin-N, first at 3 units twice daily, then he was taken down to 1.5 units twice daily as the vet was worried he was having a rebound effect. But still he is not regulating and I think he clearly needs to be on a different insulin- I am wondering if I should be going for the 100% beef insulin if he is not regulating well on the human insulin, or if that matters?

Thanks for any input you can give me- I am in and out these days as I don't have a computer at home and have to check in whenever I do work but I would appreciate any advice from other PZI users.

Thank you!

 

My feeling is that for each person the reasons for using PZI are different.

To answer the which question, let me ask you which ones are you considering? Are you in the US?

We were on PZI Vet which has been discontinued. We went though our bottle of PZI Vet and needed a replacement. Our other choices were ProZinc and BCP. I chose ProZinc because it is a manufactured insulin [not compounded like BCP] and because it is AVAILABLE. Many vets stock it and so do many local pharmacies that also sell pet meds. I did not want to be dependent on an insulin that I would have to special order for somewhere else and have shipped in. That being said, BCP is also another great alternative and since it is made of bovine insulin it is a closer match for kitty insulin. Both ProZinc and BCP have their advantages, neither is a bad choice. BCP may cost a little less if done correctly [have script sent to BCP do not buy it from your vet], but I have not been able to confirm this. Also if you go with BCP, you will want to ensure you get the BCP in the U40 strength. ProZinc has a 2 year shelf life while BCP has a 6 month shelf life - this would effect your overall price if your kitty did not need much insulin.

The type I would avoid, if you can, are locally compounded Humulin N+PZI combos that are often made by compounding pharmacies. These insulins are not bad but they are not optimal. Again, if you do get any compounded insulin, make sure to get in in U40 strength.

PZI was recommended by one of our vets for no other reason other than that certain place always recommends PZI. As it turned out it is the best insulin for us because H has appetite issues [and other issues] and he can go from eating very little one day to eating a lot the next. PZI allows me to quickly react to these changes without having to worry about built up "shed" or building up a "shed." Beyond that critical advantage, we are of course able to capture the other advantages of PZI like it's flexibility timing & dosing wise. I shoot using a bit if a sliding scale which has worked out well for us with the timing [sliding scale generally takes time as less of a consideration or not into consideration at all]. Although, it's fairly rare we are more than +/-1 hour from his last shot.

The info at the top of this forum in the sticky may also help you.

Hope this helps.

 

There are only two type of PZI I would consider, ProZinc and BCP PZI. The ProZinc is probably more consistent because it is made on a large-scale basis using same techniques used for human insulin. However, it might not work as well since the amino acids in the human insulin differ more from a feline's insulin than the bovine insulin used in BCP PZI. Also ProZinc is significantly more expensive than BCP PZI on a per unit basis. ProZinc is a U40 insulin and thus there are only 400 units per 10 ml vial.

I used to use PZI Vet but changed to BCP PZI because of the cost of the PZI Vet. The BCP PZI worked fine except for Bailey. I then switched to Lantus for Bailey's sake. The Lantus works a little better than the BCP PZI for Bailey but not as good s I would like. The Lantus is working great for the other three on Lantus.

 

Larry, unfortunately I cannot find anyone who will confirm pricing info for me for BCP. I would like to add some info on how to source BCP to the sticky here in PZI. Perhaps you can help me find someone who is willing to answer some questions for me about obtaining BCP [best method to get best price, price, volume and strength obtained and any other important details]?

 

To find price, why not put a post on diabetic health asking in the title? When I used BCP PZI I would get the U100 strength since it was significantly less expensive per unit than the U40. I also used to buy two vial at once to save on shipping. However, BCP say it is only good for six months so buying two vials of U100 might not be that good for most people. When I used the BCP PZI I think I had three cats using it.

 

The vet just diagnosed Insuvet PZ, so didn't have a choice. Will learn by experience hopefully what's best for Puss. I guess it's trial and error.