[Batty]

so my moms taking me to the doctor and wants to talk about getting me on lantus because she heard its one shot a day...but i on the other hand don't think that's -all- you take, it can't be right? cuz how does it keep your levels normal unless you're on a fixed diet and never eat more than what your diet allows you to for each meal and everyday. someone explain to me excatly how this one shot a day is suppose to control my diabetes that for a while even 4shots of insulin a day could barely manage?

i've looked it up, but how they explain it doesn't really make any sense. its long acting..but it lasts 24hours? none of my long acting insulin ever lasted more than a 8hours...

and apparently "possible side effects may include blood sugar levels that are too low (hypoglycemia); injection site reactions, including changes in fat tissue at the injection site; itching and rash; and allergic reactions. Rare but serious side effects may occur." I don't see how that's really worth chancing it..i've 4 out of 5 of my friends who took a birth control have the side effects and they were less serious than any of these!

[camjen1]

You also take a fast acting with meals such as Humalog or Novolog (I think that is the name)?

[Batty]

right now i'm on humulin R and N, but i've been on Humalog and it did nothing to help control my levels, i actually have better results with R and N over Humalog. but my mom wants to get me on lantus cuz its one shot a day over three shots a day which i do now.

[KickStart101]

Hi Batty: Originally, Lantus was supposed to be used once a day
but as different as people are this treatment became variable to suit the person. Some people have to take half of their initial dose in the morning
and the other half in the evening. The units of their new treatment with Lantus may change also to suit the person.
Being that you are a Type 1, as far as I know, you would also have to use
a fast-acting Insulin, just before meals. You definitely have to get more info
on this from someone here and discuss it with your Endo.
You also still have to stay around the guidelines of eating as a Diabetic or
your BS's will go outta control.
I am not on Lantus so someone else please comment.

p.s. I'm listening to CNN right now and wolf Blitzer(I think) is going to talk about Diabetes as being an epidemic as it is. Just like that article I think Cinnabon posted.

[jen_slc]

You have to combine it with a faster-acting insulin like Humalog or Novolog (or even Regular might work I think) to cover your meals. You will end up taking 1 shot of Lantus (or 2 if you split your dose 12 hrs apart), but you will also still have to take multiple shots of faster-acting insulin according to how/when you eat. As for the side effects, the ones you've listed sound to me like potential effects of injecting any insulin. The only noticeable thing I find with Lantus is a bit more sting when injecting.

[JediSkipdogg]

Jen hit it dead on and beat me too it. Most users on Lantus take 3-5 shots a day minimum. My brother takes 4, one Lantus shot in the evening at 10 pm and then a shot of Humalog with each meal (breakfast, lunch, dinner) based on the number of carbs he eats. If you eat a carbless meal, then you don't need one of those shots.

The major disadvantage with Lantus is that it's unknown if it will last 24 hours for someone until they use it for at least a week. And if you are on the 24 hour one shot method, then you have to religiously give that Lantus shot at the same time every day. My brother must give his every night between 10 and 11 pm. If he misses that by any amount then it can throw his levels off that night or the next night.

My bro also has no side effects or any pain from it that I know of and he has better control on Humalog and Lantus than anything he's been on before.

You say you can't take Humalog, can you explain more of why it didn't work? Maybe you could try Novolog instead, as it's suppose to be very equal to Humalog and I'm actually switching over to it in about a month.

[Batty]

well all of this only shows my point of there being no good reason to take Lantus since you still have to take the other shots. my moms under the impression because everything they tell you about lantus is that its a one shot a day, 24hour fix..that i'd only take one shot a day over three shots.

Originally Posted by JediSkipdogg

The major disadvantage with Lantus is that it's unknown if it will last 24 hours for someone until they use it for at least a week. And if you are on the 24 hour one shot method, then you have to religiously give that Lantus shot at the same time every day. My brother must give his every night between 10 and 11 pm. If he misses that by any amount then it can throw his levels off that night or the next night.

You say you can't take Humalog, can you explain more of why it didn't work? Maybe you could try Novolog instead, as it's suppose to be very equal to Humalog and I'm actually switching over to it in about a month.

in regards to your brother having to take it between 10-11 every night..i don't have that kind of deal with my humulin N right now. i'm suppose to take 32units at 10pm..but i take it anywhere from 9pm-1 or 2am. depending on where i am, what i'm doing and whether i have the insulin on me at 10. it doesn't effect my levels very much if i take it at midnight rather than 10, i'm just a unit or two higher in the morning.

and i can't take humalog because it doesn't work at all. i took it for a few months, and there was an increase in my levels...my mom forgot once that i was taking humalog instead of R and ordered me R a few months later and suddenly my levels started to go normal..we told my doctor and he switched me back, telling me to take the R at breakfast(with my N) and dinner like i was doing with the humalog and then the N before bed..and now my levels are pretty much better than they have been.

[am1977]

I'm surprised you are using R and N too . What is your control like now- A1c?

I guess you have to do what works for you, but if your control isn't where it should be- it's worth injecting more frequently and using a Regimen of Lantus for your basal insulin and Humalog/Novalog for meals.

JMO

[ang]

no, lantus will not mean that you no longer have to take any fast acting insulin for meals or for correction. the benefit to lantus is that it doesn't have a peak when it would work the hardest (unlike NPH or lente) and is supposed to last for 24 hours. so if everything works as it should, if you took one shot of lantus for the day and didn't eat anything your blood sugar should stay stable all day. if you only took your long acting insulin and didn't eat anything your sugar would go low when it hit its peak. if it lasts for you for 24 hours that means you will give one shot of lantus for the day instead of two shots (generally) of another type of long acting.

[JediSkipdogg]

I guess my question is are you only taking one shot of N every day? Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but I thought N only lasted 12 hours max, so what do you do the other 12 hours of your day as a general insulin?

Also, how often do you test your BG a day? What was your last A1C?

Generally N is not reccomended anymore for people because it has a controlling effect on what you have to do and with the peak halfway through it can cause many people to have extreme lows and force them to eat a meal religiously at the halfway point.

[Batty]

Originally Posted by JediSkipdogg

I guess my question is are you only taking one shot of N every day? Someone tell me if I'm wrong, but I thought N only lasted 12 hours max, so what do you do the other 12 hours of your day as a general insulin?

Also, how often do you test your BG a day? What was your last A1C?

Generally N is not reccomended anymore for people because it has a controlling effect on what you have to do and with the peak halfway through it can cause many people to have extreme lows and force them to eat a meal religiously at the halfway point.

I don't take it only once a day.

breakfast - R + N
dinner - R
bedtime/10pm - N

I test maybe once or twice a day now, although i'm suppose to at every shot. i can't be bothered when i am at work during dinner hour and have only enough time to do my insulin and eat. my levels are under control though, i had to do a log for my doctor after my A1C came back and except for christmas eve and christmas day my levels don't go higher than 15(testing four times a day).

my last a1c was 8.3 a single point up from what it was before, because i had moved out a few months before so my eating habits have changed and my doctor took that into account, but it's still better than any of the control i've had before. i used to have a1c results when i was little of 10 and 11. and after taking humalog but switching back and after my teenage hormone years got better, so did my control..using R and N instead of humalog.

i rarely have a problem with highs or lows as it is now.

[JediSkipdogg]

A level of 15 is still considered extremely high. A 10 should maybe be the max you ever hit, but unless you test more than once or twice a day you will never know what you are running and in the long run it can cause more complications than you are trying to solve by not taking 1 minute to test before each shot. That's all it takes is 1 minute, maybe 5 times a day. I guess I find it hard to believe that you don't have extra time in your day to test more often. I guess I don't see how you say you rarely have a problem with highs and lows when you really don't even know what you are running.

[Simon]

I'm on Luntus once a day plus Novorapid with meals. It works well for me. I take the Lantus in the evening and check the BG in the morning, averaging over a few days I'm able to get the optimum dose and stick to it. The hard part is getting the dose of Novorapid right for the meals. This is improving as I get a list of meals and what dose each one needs. Ultimately this regime will in theory at least most closely mimic the insulin levels in a non-diabetic.

[Batty]

Originally Posted by JediSkipdogg

A level of 15 is still considered extremely high. A 10 should maybe be the max you ever hit, but unless you test more than once or twice a day you will never know what you are running and in the long run it can cause more complications than you are trying to solve by not taking 1 minute to test before each shot. That's all it takes is 1 minute, maybe 5 times a day. I guess I find it hard to believe that you don't have extra time in your day to test more often. I guess I don't see how you say you rarely have a problem with highs and lows when you really don't even know what you are running.

by highest being 15 i meant that if i was high, it was no higher than 15. and this is during the christmas and new year holidays, it's not very unusual to have a few highs during that time. i'm usually between 5-10(and yes, i know this for a fact because on my days off from work, i will test more..but i have school and work and there isn't always time to just pop into the staff room and do my bloodtest. unlike maybe yourself, i dont work a desk job. i am a bakery clerk, so i have to package all the product, help customers, clean, take phonecalls, take orders and such all day and sometimes i dont even take a break because theres so much work to be done, that if any of the clerks take a break, we'll get behind).

[Batty]

Originally Posted by Simon

I'm on Luntus once a day plus Novorapid with meals. It works well for me. I take the Lantus in the evening and check the BG in the morning, averaging over a few days I'm able to get the optimum dose and stick to it. The hard part is getting the dose of Novorapid right for the meals. This is improving as I get a list of meals and what dose each one needs. Ultimately this regime will in theory at least most closely mimic the insulin levels in a non-diabetic.

what's novorapid? you have to have set meals so you can figure out your doses? so you can't sponatously change a meal in anywhere or it throws the count all off?