Looking to switch to Prozinc

The vet looked at Norton's spreadsheet as he had to be hospitalized for an emergency catheterization. Based on his unpredictable response to the Vetsulin we discussed a possible
change of insulin and her suggestion was Prozinc. I would appreciate hearing from anyone
with experience in this transition. Thanks



Norton's Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Erp5A3aMWPhhxfyGw9LPDbxtzOfdtKYqeRo7I/pubhtml

 

I have never used Vetsulin, but from what I have read, it is not as long-lasting as ProZinc. So, ProZinc would probably be a better option between the two. With ProZinc, I was eventually able to get Mia 'somewhat' regulated (meaning she would get down into the 100s or sometimes a little less almost every cycle, and her fructosamine results fell in the range for being well regulated), but her pre-shot numbers remained too high. I was caught in a cycle where if I raised her dose, she ended up going too low, but if I lowered it, she did not stay in the healthier numbers as long as I wanted to see. After 9 months, I changed to Levemir which is even longer-lasting and seems to have a 'smoother' action.. in other words, not such harsh curves/drops.

Different cats react differently to different insulins. (Lots of 'different' in that sentence. ) So, until you actually try one, you cannot know for sure how it will work for your cat. If you are going to switch, my advice to you is to learn a bit about not only ProZinc but also Levemir and Lantus, and decide which one 'on paper' sounds like it would be the best fit for you. For example, with ProZinc, you have about an hour of 'play' time as to when you have to give the shot, but with Levemir/Lantus, the shot times are not quite that flexible. ProZinc is an 'in-and-out' insulin; Levemir/Lantus are depot insulins - you can read the sticky posts at the top of the insulin-specific forums to learn more.

 

Thank you. I am going to take some time over the weekend to look at the info available on the other insulins. I have done some preliminary checking on the availabilty of both Lantus and Prozinc. I can get either one and the costs are not
hugely different, but both are available only in 10 ml vials. The recommendation I got from the supplier is they have a fridge life of only 6 weeks after opening and rough calculation, being optimistic, seems like there would be considerable
waste if Norton were on similar dose (aprox 4 - 5 units daily). What has been your experience?

 

You'd probably use up the ProZinc in plenty of time. Ignore that shelf life number. Most people use the vial for 4+ months. Lantus, though, is a different story. It's a more concentrated U100 insulin so, depending on dose, you might not use up the 10 mL before it loses its oomph. With your dose level of, say, 5 u total per day you'd theoretically get 1000 ÷ 5 = 200 days from a vial. That's at the outer limit of its effectiveness boundaries (6.5 - 7 months). The Lantus pens are a better deal - 5 pens of 3 mL each for not much more than a 10 mL vial. Each pen can be used up completely in a short time and the others are good in the fridge unopened until the package expiry date usually about 2 years down the road. Many people order Lantus from a reputable Canadian pharmacy, Marks Marine Pharmacy in Vancouver, B.C., for about half the cost of the US price.

 

Thank you. I really appreciate the info. It's going to take me a bit to digest all the info about the 3 options. My biggest fear is turning Norton into a "science experiment". I feel a lot of pressure to make the best possible choice for him.
We've done so much testing in the past 3 months and we seem little closer to making him healthier. Thank you for your support and will keep you posted.

 

I found this thread interesting, you may want to check it out: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/why-is-lantus-so-much-more-popular-than-levemir.195958/

 

Thank you...that's a lot of information which I will need to re read several times. Feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the choices

 

I have spent most of the last 5 days trying to figure out what to do to help Norton. Discussed with the vet switching insulins - her thought was Prozinc as she's had some limited success with it.
Since then I have been poring over Norton's ss and think that there is evidence that 3 units of Vetsulin has dropped his glucose very quickly and rather low, but also that his evening glucose
levels were low to the point where I was so worried about dropping too low overnight that ended up holding his PM doses. This I know is not a good thing. On the other hand I think it looks
like 2.25 units of Vetsulin were not adequate. So now my question.....rather than immediately looking to changing the type of insulin, would it make sense to give the Vetsulin a further try at
2.5 units or if necessary 2.75 units, before deciding that it is absolutely not working. I would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...Erp5A3aMWPhhxfyGw9LPDbxtzOfdtKYqeRo7I/pubhtml
Norton is aprox 10 years old,diagnosed March 2018, on caninsulin,use accucheck aviva, feed friskies chicken pate occassional problems with mild loose stools, on elavil 5mg bid for peeing outside the litter box.

 

I answered on your other thread.