problems with lantus??

vulnerable26 · #1 (**permalink**) 06-22-2009, 03:19 PM

For the past year i have been taking 30 to 40 units of lantus a day. Now that I am 28 weeks pregnant I am unable to regulate my sugar at all. My doctor (endo) is no help at all, she wants me to stay under 200 and that is acceptable according to her. My peri said he sees no problems with the baby or me and that yes staying under 200 is fine.

However, last fri I was at my obgyn and they tested my urine for glucose and it was over 1000mg? I am not sure what she meant by that just that is over 1000 and I now have protein in my urine as well. I rarely go over 200 when testing, my average is between 130 and 160.

I increased my lantus by 20 units and it seems that no matter how much I increase I am still averaging the same as I was with the 30 units. I should also dd I only gained 4 pounds so weight gain should not be an issue.

The only way I can get it lower is by taking my humalog. This is getting rather annoying as I have frequent lows. It seems no matter what I do, I can not get it to level out around 90 to 100. Even pre pregnancy i was having issues.

Can someone please help me or offer so kind of advice please I am really getting aggravated. Thanks you =)

LMSTUCK · #2 (**permalink**) 06-22-2009, 03:23 PM

I used to use Lantus and was having some issues so my endo put me on Levimer. It's basically the same as lantus but manufactured by a different company. Maybe you could try that, it helped me and their pens are GREAT!

Hope it helps!

BlueSky · #3 (**permalink**) 06-22-2009, 03:41 PM

It sounds like you haven't increased your Lantus enough. Because of all the stuff that is going on, insulin requirements are much higher during pregnancy.

mazea · #4 (**permalink**) 06-22-2009, 04:10 PM

As a rule my endocrinologist at the anenatal clinic wants me to be under 5mmol when I wake up and under 6.5/ 7mmol after meals.

You should measure your basal at night and in the morning. If the reading at night is the same as the reading in the morning you are taking the right amount of Lantus. If it isn't the same you should adjust it.

I'm on Levemir and haven't had any problems so far. Bub's 20 week ultrasound showed all his organs are good and he is in the middle of his height and weight for his age group.

Pregnancy does increase requirements for insulin because of all the hormones. When you give birth, insulin needs suddenly drop off to normal levels.

sarahspins · #5 (**permalink**) 06-22-2009, 04:27 PM

You are right at the point where your insulin needs go up DRAMATICALLY. It's often hard to stay on top of it. You may want to start increasing by 5u a day until you get back in range.. then you can start upping it by just a couple of units whenever your #'s start running higher again - you'll pretty much be adjusting/increasing until the end.

Your renal glucose threshold is lower while pregnant, so you may find yourself spilling sugar when you're only around 140... normally the threshold is about 180+, so that's not a big deal. The protein however, is, you should probably do a 24 hour urine collection if they haven't asked you to.

Ailsa · #6 (**permalink**) 06-23-2009, 09:34 PM

Don't worry about putting your dose up. It's normal. You will need to increase your insulin every few days while you are pregnant.
In my case I think I put it up 1 unit every 2nd or 3rd day. Can't remember exactly. But the increase was fairly steady once I'd got it worked out.