[novorapid]

i'd just like to know which insulins members think are the best, i use novorapid and levemir and they seem to do the job ok, i guess some days could be better , but i presume we all think that way. so i'd just like to know which insulins are in your opinions, the worst the ok's and the best.

[ant hill]

I have a great verity of insulins here and I am glad that I have finally gotten rid of the protaphane (Isophane) as this a very old insulin and the huge doses that I have to use. Others like the Novomix30 that I am happy to toss out too as the great amount that I have to take. For those people who have a low doses this insulin is good for them and the early hump that is from this insulin may benefit them but for me no such use for me.

Lantus is a good insulin as I can use low doses with this but the pens are a worry and the solostar is just another piece of plastic to throw away.

Now the good stuff and that's the Novorapid and it should come with a warning like take this and eat!!! and I find that this insulin don't have a fast onset as you would like but use it with some caution and know your carbs too as this will help with this short acting insulin. The latest toy is the Levemir as this is not as long acting as with the Lantus but a low dose I can use with it and it uses the Novopen3 as we know a good delivery device. So I am like you Novorapid, As I am keen to just use Novorapid and the Levemir.

[xMenace]

I'm not happy with Humalog. I get too many set failures and lagging. I tried a couple of bottles of Novarapid at the suggestion of my pharmacist and people here. It seemed to work better, but it's a hard thing to quantify. I see my doctor in a week, so I'll go for a new script then.

I'd love to try Actarapid, but it's not approved in Canada yet

[ant hill]

Originally Posted by xMenace

I'm not happy with Humalog. I get too many set failures and lagging. I tried a couple of bottles of Novarapid at the suggestion of my pharmacist and people here. It seemed to work better, but it's a hard thing to quantify.

Yes Novorapid is good as the name says it's fast

I'd love to try Actarapid, but it's not approved in Canada yet.

Why bother John as I have had this and it's between a short and the old long acting insulins so give it a wide birth and as I understand it's not for the pumper as you need the fast acting insulins for your pump. The Novo website on actrapid is also called Novolin John so try that.

[RLK]

Everyone is different, so you really have to try them and see what works for you. I was a long-time Humalog user, but have found that Novolog (novorapid) peaks sooner for me than Humalog, and it has been helpful for dealing with post-meal spikes. I have not tried Apidra yet. If I can get some samples, or if my insurance decides to cover it at a lower co-pay, I may give it a try.

[RobiJo]

I think you just have to see what works best for you. Off numbers may indicate a need for a basal or bolus ratio, rather than a change in insulin.

I switch between Humalog/ Novalog (The staff splits whatever is left at the end of camp each summer, so I end up with both.) My actually script is for Humalog though. I've never noticed a variation between the two, but I know others on DF have.

When I'm not wearing my pump I used to use Lantus, I've switched to Levemir but only because at the time Levemir had a pen form which is easier to carry in my purse for backup in case of a pump issue.

IMO....the Levemir/Lantus or Humalog/Novalog is far superior to the older NPH, Regular insulins which I was on for years, as well us the mixes 70/30 stuff, which would be dangerously unpredictable for me.

[JediSkipdogg]

I think it can vary from person to person. I have someone in my pumpers class at my doctor's office that was both on Humalog and then Novolog with terrible control. I think she even said at one point she was pumping upwards of 100 units a day. Then Apidra came out and she tried that and is now in superb control and pumping around 30-40 units a day.

Right now I'm searching for a clogless insulin as I've been having a problem lately with insulin coming out around the canula during pumping. It's not a set failure (as it's happened numerous times with different batches) and my doctor thinks it's a clogging insulin. I've tried both Novolog and now Apidra and have had it happen. I haven't used Humalog in about 3 years so I may get some of that and try to see if that helps. As it is now, I can't keep an infusion set in longer than about 2.5 days max (generally 2 days) without insulin coming back out.

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by ant hill

Yes Novorapid is good as the name says it's fast



Why bother John as I have had this and it's between a short and the old long acting insulins so give it a wide birth and as I understand it's not for the pumper as you need the fast acting insulins for your pump. The Novo website on actrapid is also called Novolin John so try that.

Sorry Peter, I meant Apidra. I'm not good with medical names

[Eddy]

See signature block for my basal/bolus info. I've not tried any variants other than those mentioned in my sig block.

I seem to be the oddball on here. I _love_ NPH for { certain low-glycemic foods } and/or { large meals } that are still digesting 3-5 hours later. In me:

Humalog = done within 1.5 hr (mostly after 1.0 hr)

Humulin-R = done within 2.0 hr (half after 1.0 hr, mostly after 1.5 hr)

Humulin-N = done within 5.0 hr (give or take 0.5 hr)

For example...

My most recent meal was an estimated 4U of whole-grain brown rice spaghetti with buffalo meat. My preprandial was a bit high (120 mg/dL), so I:

1.0U Humalog + 1.5U Humulin-R + 2.5U Humulin-N

3.5 hr post = 99 mg/dL
6.0 hr post = 118 mg/dL (digestion was still going!)

I should have used another 0.5U Humulin-N.

FWIW, I shot my daily Lantus at 1.0 hr preprandial.

[SharpTail]

My incidences of hypos decreased dramatically when I started using Lantus versus Humulin U for my basal. Also before that with the old insulins (NPH) my control was a lot more difficult with a high number of serious hypos. So the Lantus for me has been a great option. The one problem with it however is that I only get about 19-20 hours of coverage which initially caused consistent high blood sugars in the evening and through the night. By splitting the dose that problem was solved immediately. I looked on the website for Lantus and am disappointed that they do not have any discussion for the use of this insulin in this situation. Maybe they do not want to admit that the "less than 24 hour coverage" is fairly common (as we have seen on this forum). Humalog seemed to work well for my for my prandial insulin. However, my control has improved a bit since starting the trial with the Technosphere Insulin. I have no doubt that the action of this inhaled insulin is significantly faster than any injected insulins available today. However, its action is shorter as well so for some slowly digested carbohydrates it may not be perfect unless the boluses are staggered.
Pat

[Alice]

I'm a Lantus/Humalog girl.

[JJM335]

I am at present using Lantus and Apidra for MDI/carb counting. I have been playing this game for >30 years, these are insulins numbers 9 and 10.

Everyone seems to be a bit different, I don't think there is an absolute ideal, but the two I am using at present are certainly the best I have used.

Lantus is not perfect, it doesn't last quite 24 h and I can't get the activity profile to match my basal requirement quite as well as I would like, but my trials with Levemir ended in failure - I couldn't get the coverage to stretch beyond about 10 h and I found it peakier than Lantus.

I have tried all three fast-acting analogs - I recently changed from Novorapid (aka Novolog) to Apidra, which I find kicks in a bit quicker. (As far as I am concerned it should be called NovoSlow). Apidra is also out of my system much faster than Novorapid; this reduces hypos and makes corrections a snip.

[UpNorth]

I have tried Novorapid and Lantus, Humalog and i'm currently using Novorapid and Levemir. I like Novorapid and Levemir best! And the novopens are brilliant

[Lizzie G]

I only got diagnosed last year and I play a lot of sport so its been tough to tweak things exactly right....i take lantus and novorapid and i have found by far the best thing to do has been to reduce my lantus from 18 to 12 units, and to make sure i take enough of the novorapid at meals, test regularly, if im a little higher than id like at any time i take another unit, but this method is great, reduces the need for snacking and doesnt find me reaching for the dextrose tabs every 5 minutes in the gym. iv not actually tried other insulins, but from what im seeing the best control is effectively mimicking the action of the pump, testing often and using more of the rapid action stuff in short bursts when needed!

[KCP]

Hmm.. i have used, actrapid and monotard, humulin-N and humulin-R and all in one insulin, protophane and novo rapid and now Lantus an dnovorapdi
I like this new insulin i am on, Lantus. Its working very well with my system after some initial hiccouphs..