Lantus Users - Page 3

mark-TN · #31 (**permalink**) 06-17-2005, 03:02 PM

I use less than a quarter of a bottle in a month. I found that if I keep it in the fridge it will last a good while past the 28 days. One thing that will kill insulin is reusing syringes. When you reuse a syringe you will end up contaminating the bottle of insulin with polymerized insulin (insulin will get polymerized in the needle part of the syringe when it is left in it for several hours). This polymerized insulin is dead insulin and when it gets back in the vial it acts as a seed and causes insulin in the bottle to polymerize. When insulin is polymerized it gets deactivated and eventually it will cause the insulin in the vial to loose all of its strength. If you reuse syringes it is best to rinse the syringe with saline after each use. Pharmacies sell vials of saline and it is very cheap.

Mark

MarkMunday · #32 (**permalink**) 06-17-2005, 03:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james kirk

.... I waste 1/4 of my Lantus...why do we take this so easily...almost everyone who takes Lantus winds up throwing away alot of the Insulin ....

The 10ml vials are far too big. So I get Lantus in 3ml cartridges. And they fit perfectly in a Humalog pen. At 8 units a day, a cartridge lasts me 37 days. So I don't have to throw any away. This should solve your problem too

Cheers,

Mark

Mark C · #33 (**permalink**) 06-18-2005, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by james kirk

My BG this a.m. was 420 and sure enough the 29th day has come and I waste 1/4 of my Lantus...why do we take this so easily...almost everyone who takes Lantus winds up throwing away alot of the Insulin...why do we so sheepishly let this drug company use us and abuse us...everyone on this forum that uses Lantus is a victim who gladly bows to the maker..'thank you, massa'...put the stuff in a regular vial...I've sent a number of notes to their customer service dept. and they haven't responded...maybe it's because I came up in the 60's but this is really pissing me off and it isn't right...maybe the rest of you enjoy your role ( if I had health insurance and somebody else paid for me maybe I would not care either...

I'd prefer a bit larger vials. I use about 1 1/2 vials per month.

Get your Endo to put you onto the pre-filled syringe. There's only 3 ml in each one, and then you won't be throwing it away. However, you will be spending more....

DeusXM · #34 (**permalink**) 06-18-2005, 12:56 PM

Alternatively, move to the EU. Lantus is free there.

Sparkle · #35 (**permalink**) 06-19-2005, 10:10 AM

I've been told Lantus does not have any peaks and is constant level of release over 24 hrs (Diabetes UK also confirm this) - so shouldn't make any difference when it's taken Am or Pm....

DeusXM · #36 (**permalink**) 06-19-2005, 11:02 AM

Well...technically it's supposed to last 24 hours...in reality it really lasts about 18, comparable to Insulatard.

Be careful of Diabetes UK too - I don't mean to sound harsh but frankly they're absolutely useless when it comes to information on diabetes. Not once did they ever even mention the release of Lantus or Levemir, and their 'advice' page dealt with someone who had rapid rising of bg levels early in the morning even when not eating, and the 'expert' completely failed to even mention 'Dawn Phenomenon'.

Sparkle · #37 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 10:03 AM

Dawn Phenomenon

Pls explain!

Richard B · #38 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeusXM

Well...technically it's supposed to last 24 hours...in reality it really lasts about 18, comparable to Insulatard..

Well, that might explain why my BG goes in the tank. I take Lantus at 10:00pm every night...and like clockwork, around 6:00pm the next evening, I can get severe drops (sub 45) if I don't grab an apple an hour or so before. I first thought it was my exercise routine which I usually do around 4:30pm.

I've got an appointment next week with my doc and will make note of this. I keep all my records in Diabetes Pilot desktop/pocket pc so he can see the graph.

Thanks for the info.

MarkMunday · #39 (**permalink**) 06-21-2005, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard B

Well, that might explain why my BG goes in the tank. I take Lantus at 10:00pm every night...and like clockwork, around 6:00pm the next evening, I can get severe drops (sub 45) if I don't grab an apple an hour or so before.

If you were running out of insulin, wouldn't your blood sugar go up rather than down?

Cheers,

Mark

DeusXM · #40 (**permalink**) 06-22-2005, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sparkle

Dawn Phenomenon

Pls explain!

Dawn Phenomenon is the rising of blood sugars in the morning prior to and around waking. When you wake up, the liver begins dumping glucose into your blood. It's an evolutionary safety mechanism to ensure you've got enough energy to get up and go hunting for food.

This is different from the Somogyi Effect, which is the spiking of blood sugars as a response to a hypo that is untreated because you slept through it.

You can find more here:

http://www.diabetic-talk.org/dp.htm

Richard B · #41 (**permalink**) 06-22-2005, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkMunday

If you were running out of insulin, wouldn't your blood sugar go up rather than down?

Cheers,

Mark

That's what I thought as well. This has me puzzled because it occurs regularly in the same time frame.

LonghornLady · #42 (**permalink**) 07-11-2005, 12:09 AM

Has anyone felt an overwhelming/all over body sense of being flushed? (i.e. sweating..feeling hot and cold at the same time?) since switching to Lantus?

I myself just switched a couple weeks ago...maybe a month...

I do feel the burning/stinging after injection that I've read about, but hope that will subside after continued use.

Can anyone speak to this overall 'flushed' feeling I've been living? Every night I'll break out in "I'm too hot" sweats only to revert immediately into...."I'm too cold w/o covers". I only sleep for about 1-2 hours before my dreams wake me up.

Has anyone else experienced this sleep pattern after changing to Lantus as a 10PM dose?

LonghornLady · #43 (**permalink**) 07-11-2005, 12:38 AM

Ok, so you guys are basically saying "its hormonal...talk to your doc". Well I have and its not hormonal, its only been since I made the change from NPH to Lantus. Maybe it affects Ladies differently than you "ED" types, eh

DeusXM · #44 (**permalink**) 07-11-2005, 03:35 AM

No, it's very probably the Lantus. It has a much higher rate of side-effects compared to all other insulins, and those side-effects typically are more severe than ones usually associated with other insulins.

The unpleasant feelings you are having are caused by the fact that Lantus is at a different pH to the human body - these may subside over time but if they don't I suggest you either go back to isophane or try Levemir. I had the exact same symptoms as you, and some more severe ones too.

LonghornLady · #45 (**permalink**) 07-11-2005, 03:46 AM

Hey Deus...

Thanks for not treating me like just another gal suffering PMS

Yeah, I'm gonna keep watching this, but about how long should I wait before complaining to the doc? I've seen that the stinging sensation can take up to 6 months to subside.

Only thing that troubles me is when I get woozey & slightly sweaty, I tend to think low sugar...so I test, and am always 150-180 *hmmmm* (Old dogs, New Tricks....how's that go again?)