? Prozinc or Lantus or other?

Hiya! After switching to low carb food and getting a dental done Roo's numbers haven't gone down, in fact they seem to be going up (from mostly yellows to mostly pinks). He seems to be acting like his normal self even though the numbers have been trending upwards, and has seemed more comfortable now that the infected teeth have been pulled.

I am taking him in to the vet on Monday to get started on insulin and wanted to know y'alls thoughts on which insulin to request. I know a lot of people have gone with their vet's reco for something that isn't as effective, so want to make sure I'm going in with as much info as I can to get what's best for kitty.

Schedule wise, I should be pretty flexible to stay home and test for the first few days to find a good dose, but on a regular basis as you can see on my SS, I can pretty much only take an AM and PM test with maybe a +2 or +3 at night. I usually leave for work around 8:30am and get home around 6:30pm.

Any and all feedback would be appreciated!

PS: tested pee yesterday - positive for glucose, negative for ketones

PPS: when I brought him home in April from the shelter, he was mostly walking on hocks and couldn't jump well. Since then, he has begun walking mostly normally (still a little stiff, vet thinks arthritis) and can jump much better (doesn't use the box next to my bed as a step as much).

 

My kitty was diagnosed this past March. I researched the many different insulin’s and decided that Lantus would work best for me and my kitty. I needed a long acting insulin that would be effective for 12 hours. My schedule is 9 am and 9 pm. He has never had any dramatic BS drops during that time period while on the Lantus. I performed every 2 hour blood glucose monitoring for several days while he was on the Lantus. It kept his BS in good control throughout the 12 hour period. I bought the Kwik pen and used u-100 syringes to withdraw the dose from the rubber tip of the pen. His blood sugars went from highs between 400 and 550 but now his blood sugars are now a consistent 100 to 180 tops. He has not needed insulin for a couple weeks now. His diet is Fancy Feast pates with occasional tablespoons of tuna. He only goes above 200 when he steals some of his sister’s kibble on the sly. She is also on a lo carb high protein diet but she loves her occasional kibble treats. I use the u100 insulin syringes that have 1/2 unit markings as I only need to give my diabetic kitty a 1/2 unit dose when he gets to 190 to 215 and he responds well with that. I had to do a lot of experimenting and fine tuning cuz every cat is different. Once you’re dialed in to what works best for kitty it becomes a lot easier managing the diabetes. I would recommend Lantus.

 

Prozinc, Lantus and Levemir are all good, long-lasting insulins. People are going to recommend based on their personal experiences, but keep in mind that every cat is different. What works best for one may not be what works best for another. Lantus and Levemir are longer lasting than ProZinc, and for that reason, I would say start out on one of those. I chose Levemir for Mia after doing my research, but Lantus is also very good. There are more people using Lantus, but I think that has a lot to do with the fact that it has been used in cats longer than Levemir. Here is a previous thread I recommend reading through: http://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/why-is-lantus-so-much-more-popular-than-levemir.195958/

 

Thanks, I'm pretty sure I'm thinking Lantus or recently Levemir as my top choices. My vet did mention she's had success with both Prozinc and Lantus so I'm glad she's at least heard of it them vs. Vetsulin.

 

When I told my vet I wanted Levemir, she had never heard of it. She went in the back and looked it up (I think just to confirm it is in fact used for cats) then was fine prescribing it.

 

Would my schedule affect which one to choose? I read that levemir has a later onset than Lantus?