PZI - Any ideas? Odd number jump

So my cat is over his honeymoon and the diabetes reappeared 3 weeks ago. Our vet put him on PZI since his old Vetsulin was recalled. Did our first curve last week with all numbers still in the 400's (using 1unit twice a day). The vet recommended we jump up to 2units twice a day and give him a curve today. Well his first bg test at 8am was 357, then at noon it was 359 and now it's at 457!!! What the heck could possibly be going on?? I even tested myself to make sure the test strips and glucometer were working ok and they are. Does anyone have any ideas or input? I have to call the vet tomorrow and of course I'm paranoid over my big guy!

TIA!!!

 

BUMP: PZI EYES PLEASE

I'm sorry I'm not familiar with PZI, but if u add PZI to ur subject line it will get PZI users attention.

 

Re: Any ideas? Odd number jump

Well, a one unit jump is pretty big. Most of us would do .5u more. Your vet is sure there is no infection present? Did they check?

 

Re: Any ideas? Odd number jump

I asked her if she wanted check and she said 'no', but when I call tomorrow I'm going to ask again. Because otherwise I know we'll be going up to 3 units twice a day which seems like quite a bit!

When we started him on the one unit there was honestly no movement at all towards a lower bg. It's so odd, normally he could get regulated within a week or so but this seems just very very different.

 

With PZI, we usually recommend increases of only 0.5u units. Sometimes with a 1 unit jump you can miss the right dose, and their response to a dose that's too high can be high #s like that, so it can be harder to sort out with big jumps like that. For my cat (originally on Vetsulin and switched to PZI), I found that the response on PZI seems more subtle, until you get a dose that really works. With Vetsulin I would see more drop even if the dose was too low, whereas with PZI we had more of a "breakthrough" once it started working well, rather than seeing much drop before that. It takes some getting used to the differences in the pattern, but I've been much happier overall with PZI.

What kind of food is your kitty on? That can make a big difference - my guy needed about 4 units when he was on dry food, but more like 1 unit when I got him on low-carb canned. If he's an ex-honeymooner :sad: I'm guessing you already have him on LC? If so, I'd try lowering the dose, maybe 1.5u, and see if you get a better response. Do you have all your #s posted somewhere? It's hard to say for sure without reviewing all the data.

[ETA: xposted on PZI forum to get more eyes...]

 

He's on a mix of dry and wet M/D food. The vet said that was better than the DM and I've seen other information where the DM isn't very good. I did have him on Wellness Grain-Free but of course my vet said the M/D was better.

I'm not sure how to post previous curves in my profile for the new board so here they are:
Recent honeymoon over with a BG of 497
Started on 1 unit of PZI on 1/18/10
Curve #1 on 1/31/09
8am: (pre-shot and pre-food) 488
noon: (after shot and food) 466
4pm: 475
8pm: (after shot and food) 490

Started on 2units PZI on 2/1/09
Curve #1 on 2/7/09
8am: (pre shot and food) 357
noon: (after shot and food) 363
4pm: 478
6:30pm: (after shot and food): 466

That does make a lot of sense regarding the PZI and the quite jump could screw with his numbers. I find this board to be much more informative than the vet's office even though I love my vet, lol!

Does anyone else get extreme anxiety worrying about their kitty?? I seriously am so worried lately I have trouble sleeping :sad:

 

You are going to want to change the food to a low carb wet food diet ONLY. M/D wet is not ideal. I believe that M/D is a high fiber food? And fiber has shown to not be such an effective means at controlling DM [in humans and cats].

You want to try to find a food that is below 10% carbs as %Kcal. Here is Janet & Binky's list that can help you select an appropriate food.

http://binkyspage.tripod.com/canfood.html

Further the ingredients in prescription food are very average quality.

The Wellness is a very good food & a good choice for diabetic cats.

I've had crazy anxiety over all of this, it gets better the more you learn.

 

oh yes, we ALL get worried about our kitties. your a perfectly normal loving kitty mama.
my kitty tomtom just fell out of remission about the same type your baby did.
i'm not having your #'s but i do notice this time around is a completly different ball game.
is there any way to get you cat on an all wet food diet, that can shave 100 bg's off. i've seen it. also check out the food list, (janet and binky's food chart) and stay with the flavors and variety's under 9 carbs.
i wish i could send you a "dear mom" letter. anyone know where that is, she needs one.
i'm on pzi too and i'll be looking for your spreadsheet, come over to pzi when you get a chance ok.

 

OMG, it is anxiety central around here some days, LOL!!! It gets a lot easier once you can get them a bit more regulated. Are you checking daily for ketones? If not, pick up some Ketostix from the drugstore, you just stick them in their pee when you can catch them going. For me, that helped aliviate some of the anxiety when my cat was in higher #s. As long as that is negative and their behavior is reasonably normal, you know there is no immediate crisis.

The M/D & DM are actually both a bit high in carbs (lower than other prescription foods, which is how they can bill it as the "diabetes" food, but not nearly as diabetes-friendly as the lower carb over-the-counter foods). I used them for my cat (dry version) and his BGs were really high. Even the canned though is fairly high. Have you already checked out Janet & Binky's food charts? They list a ton of info about all kinds of food. I think the recommendation is canned food under 10% carbs. I feed mine stuff that is about 4%, and that has worked wonders. You might want to try changing foods (more people will give you info on this, I'm not a food expert at all) as a starting point. If you do that, you might also want to go back to 1 unit, in case his BGs drop a lot.

 

Thank you everyone!!! You really helped me feel like I'm not going off the loony truck!! I think I'm going to switch back the Wellness Grain-Free, I'll talk to my vet tomorrow about it and also ask her about a possible infection. Why are vets not open on Sundays, lol!!! Good thing I don't have her home number :lol:

 

Hi, After my cat had her hypo attack I thought the m/d was good also. The wet especially. It is I believe 14% carbs and diabetec cats need I believe 4% or less. I switched her to friskies canned special diet beef and chicken and the turkey and giblets. Since I switched her I have had no problems. Also the friskies is a lot cheaper than the m/d.

David