Ultralente insulin

[Oradev]

Is Ultralente insulin equivalent to Lantis or does it have peaks?

[Andrea]

Theoretically, it will have a bit more of a peak effect than Lantus, but i think it varies person to person (like all things in diabetes!). Because of this peak it is more common with Ultralente than with Lantus to inject it twice a day - half the dose upon waking and half the dose in the evening. The action time may be different as well. For most people Lantus has about a 22 to 24 hour action time, but this may be more variable for Ultralente. For some, it does not last the full 24 hours, for others it lasts longer and doses can overlap. That was my problem when i took ultralente. My doses overlapped and i was constantly fighting lows, but if i lowered the dose, my blood sugar would be high during the non-overlap hours. One advantage it has over Lantus is that it can be combined in the same syringe as fast acting insulins so you don't have to take two seperate injections. Then again for people who prefer pens, they have to take separate injections anyway. The only way you can really know the different between the two insulin for you is to try them both and see which you like better.

Andrea