MDI Moving from Humulin L to Lantus: any advise?

[drewgolden]

On dosing.

I take 15u of Humulan L at bedtime. Well, they quit making it because you all are using the new stuff. So I am dated and old school and have to switch :-(

I have studied the action patterns and wanted to hear from those who made the switch from Humulin L to Lantus.

Do you take the same dose, or did you change doseage and in which direction?

Do you take at bedtime or in the morning and why?

I have my last bottle of L and when it's gone I am moving. It's so hard to get L anymore and the pharmacist asked if it was for my DOG! Arrgh! I wondered why my leg twitched when I scratched my arm and I have had the desire to chase cars :-)

Thanks for the tips.

drew, woof woof!

[stella117]

Drew,

I've never used Humulan, but one starting point with switching to Lantus is taking your weight in kilos times .2 units and starting there. Of course if that works out to be more than 15 units, I'd start off with the 15 units.

When I was on Lantus, I started off with a before bed dose and had great AM waking numbers with as little as 6.5 units. But I would spike during the mid-day and before bed. So I upped my dosage and started getting hypos at night. So I moved to AM dosing. That helped, but then I had higher waking numbers. I think for me I would have needed to split the Lantus dose in order to get the most consistent action.

It's really a Your Mileage May Vary type of thing.

[seacomp]

Do you take at bedtime or in the morning and why?
..
drew, woof woof!

I'll "beware of Drew" :D
I don't have personal experience in switching, but as Stella indicated, I found that my Lantus works best in split doses.
You can start 50%/50% and 12 hours apart, but you can adjust the ratios and time some to meet your body's requirements.
The best of luck with your switch.

[DeusXM]

Generally you need slightly less Lantus than most other basal insulins. Generally, you need to take about 10% less Lantus than you would for other basals.

Also, be aware that Lantus does not peak like older basal insulins, so for some meals you will probably need to take slightly more bolus insulin and for others, slightly less.

[Tokyo Cate]

I am another one who can't answer your specific question. I switched from the pump to Lantus/Humalog. My starting dose was 13 units at bedtime and I increased it based on fasting results until I achieved the numbers I was looking for (I am currently on 14 units which is actually my weight in kgs multiplied by 0.215). I haven't split my dose and have found no reason to yet, but maybe as I achieve tighter control I will have to look at that.

I hope your transition is smooth. I really have been extremely happy with my control with Lantus and hope you find it helps as well.

[Aftiel]

I used to take about 20u of Humilin L in the morning and 8-10u in the evening.

With Lantus I take 22u in the morning and that's it.

Lantus had made SUCH a great difference for me it isn't funny. I only wish I had switched years ago.

- Aftiel

[rzrbks]

I was on Humulin for just several months after being Dx'd at 1.5, but it seems that I was much more stable after moving onto Lantus.


My father-in-law switched straight across, i.e., same amounts and is "Jes Fine" with his Basal rates-----------his bolus, that's a different matter, but then he can't wrap his brain around Carb Counting.

[marielea]

i was on lantus first when i was first diagnosed. it didn't work for me at all. i was dropping too low during the day and too high at night. if i did the same amount of work all day, and burned the same amount of energy, it would have been perfect...but honestly, not me. i switched off lantus to humulin N. i take it 2 times a day. generally about 9. it has lows, unlike lantus, but still worth it.

[Funnygrl]

All you can really do is try it and see what happens. They are pretty similar, so your dose shouldn't be too far off. Just be prepared for lows and correct highs.