Which insulin is the best choice??

Discussion in 'Feline Health - (Welcome & Main Forum)' started by suite, Jan 11, 2010.

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  1. suite

    suite New Member

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    Jan 8, 2010
    Hi, this is my second post about Blue. I decided against Humulin and cancelled the order. I am getting a week's worth of PZI today from my vet to get Blue back on track. There so many kinds of insulin, I don't know what to do. Blue did best on the PZI they stopped making, and not as well on the BCP PZI. The vet changed him to Vetsulin which he did much worse on. So am going back to PZI (BCP) for now. Any thoughts? Also, what is the best canned food for Blue (low carb, low sugar, high protein)??? Please advise. Can I get a free glucose meter and supplys? Money is very tight. Please help! confused_cat
     
  2. Jen & Squeak

    Jen & Squeak Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    There have been lots of discussions on the old FDMB (see http://www.felinediabetes.com and click on message board and then click on think tank), and some interesting ones here too if you can read through some inflammatory stuff.

    Basically, if he didn't do as well on BCP as the IDEXX then I'd suggest either lantus or levemir, and I don't know that there is much of a difference. I can say that there are far more people using lantus than levemir.

    Jen

    edited to add: forgot the new PZI named Prozinc, as mentioned in later posts. There are a few cats here on it, I've not read on the PZI forum to see how it is working for them.
     
  3. Sue and Oliver (GA)

    Sue and Oliver (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    This is one of the constant questions on this site, suite. Everyone has their favorite. We used the original PZI and it was very successful for us. Right now, I would say the majority of the people on this site are using Lantus, or secondly Levemir. This may be because the formula for PZI has recently changed, and there isn't as much data on it. Have you looked at the ISG forums? There is one for PZI and for Lantus and Levemir. You could read through some of the posts and get an idea of how each insulin is working for various people.

    It's one of those things you have to decide for yourself after doing some research. In my very humble opinion, each insulin has its pluses, and a cat can most likely become regulated on each. In every case, it takes hard work and lots of hometesting and diligence and most often, a wet, lo carb diet.
     
  4. Hillary & Maui (GA)

    Hillary & Maui (GA) Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 28, 2009
    I concur with what Sue wrote.

    Many people use Lantus as that is a more familiar insulin than Levimer. Honestly, they work in very similar fashion and either choice is a good choice. It's very possible that your vet may have heard of Lantus (glargine) and not Levimer (detemir).

    Regarding meters - if you look at the sticky above, you can send an email to Cindy & Mousie and ask her to send you a starter kit.

    While money is always a concern, you may find that purchasing the Walmart Relion meter and strips is the economical way to go. It's a good meter and only requires a small amount of blood. I haven't used it, but many on this site have and have good things to say about it.

    Regarding food, it's best to NOT feed any dry food and refer to Janet & Binky's food chart and look for foods that are under 10% carbs. You don't have to purchase expensive food to healthily feed your cat. Friskies, Fancy Feast are good affordable options.

    Janet & Binky's Food chart
     
  5. Lisa and Witn (GA)

    Lisa and Witn (GA) Well-Known Member

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    Dec 28, 2009
    I have used both BCP PZI and Lantus and had good results with both of them. However, as we all know, ECID (every cat is different). There is also a new insulin called ProZinc that I believe is supposed to be similar to the formulation of IDEXX PZI. However, I have never used it and cannot offer any advice on how well it works.
     
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