? Was OTJ but got into greenies; expired ProZinc

Hi all! Vinnie was briefly on insulin after what we assume was steroid-induced diabetes. He has been OTJ since May 3 and he's been great - good weight, good numbers (glucose and fructosamine), healthy. Well yesterday while we were away, it appears he knocked over a tub of greenies (meant for the other cats) and ate some. His glucose shot up to 325 last night but the ProZinc I have in the fridge is 4 months old so I need to order another one. I haven't tested him yet today.

Does this type of setback generally pass quickly or do I need to prepare myself for daily testing and shooting for a while? Also, is it safe to use 4-month-old insulin or should I wait until a new bottle comes in?

 

Just tested and he's down to 187 this morning. I hate to order a new bottle of insulin if he won't be using it, but if he needs it or if it's good to have it on hand, I have no issues with getting it. Thoughts?

 

Hi there! I would not panic about the contraband food. He will come down soon from the 300s, but Vinnie (handsome boy and I love his name, I'm an art person!) might benefit from a small dose of insulin. Most cats who successfully achieve remission here on the FDMB have glucose levels below 100. I have a civvie who I poke every once in a while out of curiosity and her BGs are always below 90, sometimes even lower. Every vet I've ever met always wanted me to take Ruby off insulin, but I was always looking for her to stay in those "normal" numbers. She's now on steroids so remission is not a goal anymore, only regulation.

Hopefully someone else will chime in here to advise on Prozinc as I've never used it.

 

Thank you! Yeah, I'm thinking it's probably a good idea to have some fresh insulin on hand. He's kind of on the border right now of where I would give him a small dose, but I'm hesitant to do it with the 4-month old vial. Good luck with you and keeping Ruby reglated!

 

How is Vinnie doing today? I just found this in the Insulin Care and Syringe Info stickie:

• As long as properly cared for, a vial of PZ can potentially last up to six months. If regulation is lost before then or the insulin changes color or develops particles, a new vial should be started.

And as long as there are no floaties or particles, I think a 4 month old vial of prozinc may be fine. If Vinnie's numbers are still up, you can give it a try and see.

 

Thank you for the info! I just checked and there's a little floating white bit, but I think it disappeared after I rolled the vial for a bit. Do you happen to know if that's okay? Or is it bad that I saw the floaty at all? I'll see if I can find more info on the sticky...

 

Actually, I found the sticky and it does say if the floaties persist AFTER rolling then it's bad so I'm thinking it is still good. Thank you so much for the help!

 

As long as no floaties are there after rolling it, you're good to go!

 

Well, he was 289 this morning so I guess we're no longer OTJ Gave him some insulin this morning and will resume the regular testing...

Is it normal for them to have a setback for more than a day or two after getting into carbs?

 

I don't have experience with cats getting onto contraband, but I do think it won't hurt to give Vinnie a small dose of insulin and then monitor his BG to be sure that it isn't on its way down. And if he is out of remission, getting insulin sooner than later is a good idea. Hopefully, he'll be back at the falls in no time!

 

I was just glancing at Vinnie's SS. It may not be a bad idea to keep dosing him until his AMPS number remains in the greens rather than the blues. You can adjust his dose to smaller amounts, as needed. Keeping them on insulin for as long as we can, and until the BG's are in the greens, allow for stronger remissions. Good luck!