Can you take both levimir and humulin N?

[Deeaye 0]

Blood sugar keeps increasing into the 500's and I'm taking bothe levimir (U-100) and Humulin N NPH U-100.

[Uff Da 7,201]

That is not a normal combination. Levemir is a long-acting and Humulin N is an intermediate acting. If one were combining Levemir with an old time insulin, it would be more common to combine it with Humulin R, which is "regular". That's what used to be used as a meal time insulin before the modern analog ones. Humulin R is faster than H, but not as fast as the more recent Humalog, Novolog or Apidra.

 

Note, I am not a doctor nor am I advising you to do this. But I've read of others on this or other diabetic boards who have done it because they couldn't afford the modern fast-acting insulin.

 

Are you in the USA or elsewhere? Sometimes different insulins are available or are known by a different name in other countries.

[NoraWI 4,809]

Are you under a doctor's care? Levemir is a prescription only insulin. N is not. The R that Uff Dah refers to is over the counter as well. I hope you are consulting a doctor. Insulin is a potent hormone and should not be taken without guidance.

[Cora 1,114]

Why would you be taking those two together? it makes no sense. Levemir is a basal insulin and N is what we used to use as basal (2 shots per day). As Uff Da said, if you are looking for a non-prescription insulin to take to use as a bolus, then R (regular) would be your best bet.

[miketurco 2,801]

You may be taking the wrong approach. Your numbers are really high and you're right to be concerned. To get the right dose for long acting insulin you have to do something called Basal Testing. Dosing short acting insulin requires that you experiment to determine how that insulin works on your body. Once you know that, you can calculate your dosage based on your current bg level plus the amount of carbs you're going to have in your next meal. It's a bit of work, but it's well worth the effort.

 

I've never heard of someone combining long and intermediate acting insulin and am in agreement with what Uff Da said.

 

Your diet has just as much to do with your bg levels as does insulin, perhaps even more (give that you are T2). Are you eating low-carb? Also, how is your weight? Dietary changes may be in order. 

 

Personal opinion (I'm not a doctor), but you're in a really bad spot right now. Tell us about your diet, what your doctor has said, what things you've tried to improve your situation, etc. There's a lot of good advice to be had from this website. And there's a lot to know about diabetes in general. It's a big learning curver. I don't know, but am guessing you're at the front end of all this. Hang in there! It takes time and effort, but things do improve.

[Uff Da 7,201]

 Humulin R is faster than H

 

Correction: Humulin R is faster than N.  Just noticed my typo and it is too late to edit.

[TheBigNewt 203]

No, that's not a good combination of insulins, it's weird. No doctor would recommend that regimen. You need a doctor IMO. ASAP if you're running in the 500s.