All Humalin Users!

1

Humalin has been a hassle for me. I ALWAYS have highs in the mid-afternoon. I increase my dose every one or two weeks and I am still having highs. It is very frustrating. I am a young teenager. EVERY time I have a high, my grandpa yells at me and says its my fault. I rarely have soda, so today when we went to WhatABurger, I got a regular Dr.Pepper. It was a small and I filled the whole cup up with ice, to the brim. I had a whataburger, small DP, and a couple of french fries (maybe 6 or 7). About 60, right? OK, well, in mid-afternoon my sugar was… 280!!! I know, HORRIBLE! It has been like this ever since diagnosis last September. I was waiting for some kind of miracle I guess to see if it would change at all, but it hasn’t.

What I was wondering, is do any of yall have this problem, and what are the alternatives instead of humalin? I am very worried about how this will effect my A1C and it has gone up from 6.2 to 7.0 in the last 3 months. I am going to pump class this month and I don’t won’t my A1C to be an issue with getting a pump.

2

Novolog and Humalog are the short term insulins and Lantus/ Levimir are long-term/ basal insulins. I switched from shooting R/N (I think Novalin?) to pumping Humalog and it is light night and day!! The endo and pump trainer told me that the NPH had only a 53% chance of peaking when it was supposed to so, if you do those “curve” things and move the “peak” around from +/- 4 hours, you can see how it can mess up your day both ways. If it works early, you crash out early, if it runs late, you run high and correct and then crash out when you get 2 for one “happy hour” with the delayed NPH hitting at the same time as the CB? I bet you will like it a lot more. I find it much easier to control and manage. Many fewer suprises.

3

There are actually three short term or “bolus” insulins: Apidra is the third. All of them are superior, as acidrock says to the older insulins. Before you go on the pump, switch to one of the three for your fast acting insulin and levemir or lantus for your long-acting basal so you can get used to it. You will see a world of difference. Not everything “newer” is “better”, but in the case of insulins, it is definitely the case.

4

I had that problem with Novolog and had to go back to Humalog. I guess it just works different for different ppl. My dr once told me “There is no textbook case of diabetes” And I sure wasn’t one. Good Luck.

5

Well Humulin is the Regular insulin from Lilly. It is a human insulin, not the fast acting designer insulin that many use, but it works, just slowly. It is really hard being diabetic. We are “judged” by our blood sugar. I think we should be judged by our devotion and caring. You care about stuff. You made a choice, it didn’t work out so well. But you care. Maybe in the future your grandpa will realize it isn’t your fault that you got D and it isn’t your fault you aren’t some superwoman who can avoid a high blood sugar. You are just a young lady struggling to deal with something that would totally overwhelm most people your age. No matter what anyone says, I think you are doing great!

6

Nicely put, bsc. I totally agree!

7

That’s the key Julia- you are trying (you care). If you are trying it is only a matter of time before you stumble upon the answer. Keep on trying. That is all any of us can do!

8

First, good for you for caring and paying such close attention! I have used Humulin on and off over the years, including a couple of times in a pinch in recent years when I didn’t get my humalog Rx refilled (long story). Second, your A1C is not horrible; I consider 7.0 pretty good in most cases. Yes, it’s great if you can get it lower, but I struggle, even after dealing with this for almost 30 years.

With the meal you describe, I would actually have more trouble with the french fries than probably the regular soda. French fries are a slow-digesting food and they always cause me to peak like mad hours after I eat them (even just a few).

Is there any way you can get your endo to give you an Rx for humalog? I’m curious as to why you’re using humulin, as most endos really don’t prescribe that anymore. Granted, I think it’s a good thing to learn how to use. Humulin insulins (R and NPH) are widely available, even without a prescription in most states. Therefore, I think it’s always good that people with T1 know how to use those insulins, just in case they ever find themselves in a jam (you can get R and NPH at most Walmart’s for little cost without an Rx in most places).

One thing that helps me when I’m doing shots is to split my humalog bolus if I’m eating a meal that is very starchy or slow digesting (or just something that I know makes me spike hours later). You can give yourself half of the dose at the beginning of the meal and another half at the end. This always works well for me, especially for things like pasta or rice (my “evil” foods).

Remember with T1 that no two people are the same. The things that don’t make other people spike may make you spike. It’s A LOT of trial and error. And sometimes what worked for you in your teens doesn’t work as an adult (due to hormonal changes).

As for your grandpa — ignore him. This is NOT your fault. You are doing everything right. Just reaching out to other people with D will help you tons because we’re the ones who have dealt with the trial and error. I have learned so much from this site and others like it and you will too. There are days when I do EVERYTHING right and still have a random bizarre high. There is so much beyond our control, including hormones, the quality of the insulin we have at our disposal, weather, etc that can impact our BGs. The best thing you can do is learn through observation. Track your BGs and try to discern the patterns. DO NOT rely on your endo to do this for you because they rarely know our bodies like we do.

Have you read Think Like a Pancreas? Or Pumping Insulin? If not, read these books now. You seem smart and really motivated, and I think these books will help (they have certainly helped me!)

Finally, feel free to PM me if you have any other questions. I hope this helps and hang in there!! D can be frustrating and depressing at times, but it has also given me some fairly positive things that I’m just now beginning to appreciate :slight_smile:

9

Also, are you doing a scheme where the AM R and N cover breakfast and lunch? I recall you mentioning something like that which could work if you were extremely lucky with the N peak?

10

Here is my meal and insulin plan:
6:30 am- 2 humalog, 25 humalin (as of right now); 45 carbs
9:30 or 10:00- 15 carbs
12:00- 60 carbs
3:00- 15 carbs
6:30- 4 to 5 humalog; 75 carbs
9:00- 6 lantus; 15 carbs
I am still on shots, but hope to be using the pump before this year ends.

11

I am confused. Are you taking Humulin R or Humulin NPH in the morning. It is a big difference. Humulin R acts over about 5-6 hours, but Humulin NPH acts over a period of up to 14 hours. Your current insulin regime would only make sense if you are taking Humulin NPH. If you are taking Humulin R, it will have worn off by afternoon. Does that make sense?

12

You might want to switch to an updated bolus/basal regimen first, (humalog and a long-acting basal like lantus or levemir) so you will understand how that works, and develop Insulin:Carb ratios before you get ready to be on the pump. Or else you’ll have a hard time with it.

13

Humalin NPH. Sorry if you got confused(: It totally makes sense to me to be on lantus and humalog. The “equation” is way more difficult when you add the humalin NPH!

14

That is good, if you had been using Humulin R, that would have been a tad odd.



So from your regime, it appears that you eat 60 g of carbs at lunch and don’t cover it. When you move to the pump, you will basically have a carb bolus every time you eat. You could do that now and start an appropriate bolus for lunch, probably 2-3 units. You should talk this over with your doctor.



If you are in school and don’t want to take insulin, then selecting a lunch with a lower number of carbs can really help. I like roll-ups, cheese rolled around deli-meat. Other things are green veggies, salad, nuts, cottage cheese in those little tubs, basically low carb.

15

Nope. I’m not in school right now. Summer is FINALLY here!!! I wouldnt mind taking a shot tocover lunch, but I dont know about doing that at school. I dont have an endo appointment until school starts, because my old one moved and someone is replacing her): I do have a pre-pump class on June 17 though… Yesterday I had about 45 carbs for lunch and my mid afternoon test was around 120. So, should I start eating less carbs, or should I wait and ask my dietician in 3 or 4 months…? Today I had an easy mac and some watermelon for lunch. I will post my mid-afternoon result aroundd 3:30.