I wish that drug was available for me right now there is no studies anywhere that states this would protect me. Majority of my specialist aka cardiologist , endocrinologist, immunologist, and primary all would be willing to see me try it but the one doctor who is in control of my blood says NO. As soon as it came out I happened to see all those specialist with in a week so I got to hear about it from everyone.
The cardiologist is the funniest being he goes into a speech about using drugs not tried for conditions. I know about using medications that are not studied for a condition. I will give it a few months and a new Hematologist and see what he thinks. I think part of my issue is that they never figure out what happened with me, I am so one of kind everyone is always a little more unsure about what to do with me.
Being āOne of a Kindā is cool in so many respects, but maybe not so much in the ātrial and errorā world of medical science.
I figure that I at least make them think a bit and make them work for the money my insurance and I spend on them. I donāt mind being one of kind being I donāt know any better now. My favorite thing is when you can get them both speechless and scratching their heads. My case comes up a few times when a group of doctor meet I am told.
Comment by Chaplain ET on November 18, 2010 at 5:25pmā¦
I favor bonehead shirts, they have a marker size pocket, (plus 4 more) that is perfect for my Humalog pens. I still use syringe/vials for my Lantus basal shots (2xday) and carry that in a mini camera holder on ,my beltā¦
Gomer
Comment by zebedeebear on April 6, 2011 at 3:59pm
I take 2 shots of Lantus a day, 3 shots of Humalog for meals, plus correction if neededā¦THEN to top it off a shot of Copaxone every day for my MS (multiple sclerosis)ā¦MEā¦ why I am a living HumanPincushion!
Gomer
Hi!
I was diagnosed with Type II about a year or two ago, I guess, and Iāve just started using insulin (Lantus Solostar, once a day).
I was taught to inject in my abdomen. The sites I use are in a straight line, with four on each side, so I end up getting back to the same place about every 8 days.
Is this enough time to prevent damage to the injection sites?
Thanks.
M.
Maplesugar doesnāt that depend, I would say, on how much you inject each time? Dr Bernstein has a rule of small numbers in chapter 7 of his book that I recommend you read. Lantus is an analogue insulin, not a totally human insulin, and so a very large injection might attract the attention of the bodyās defences. That might be variable from time to time and account for one of many reasons that people find differing responses to amounts of insulin even under similar circumstances. DrB refers to 7u as an upper limit on any single injection, given that you donāt need a different needle tip for every injection.
Also, it depends on your goals. If you are a very sweet person, maplesugar, with an objective to become a sumo wrestler you might want to gain weight. If you are taking metformin which inhibits the use of the opposite hormone to insulin, glucagon, you might discover the unfortunate side effects of that strategy that might be unfortunate if you donāt want to gain weight. Done right, even body builders seem to use insulin to build muscle, but I canāt help describe how. It canāt be done passively wthout exercise and the right food inputs. Please invest in Dr Bernsteinās book and join that group. Lots of us have and it is a well liked group. The doctor is well respected among successful diabetics and by that one could qualify it to mean minimizing side effects and maintaining health. If diabetes is seen a game to be won, you can even have fun doing it, with lotās of challenges. You could even live longer than your best friends, if played right.
@maplesugar Iād recommend going in a circle. Clockwise or anticlockwise, whichever you find more natural. That way youāll inject over a larger area, and hopefully avoid the lumps that can develop over time. OR you can do two rows or three. The pattern isnāt important, just keeping them far apart and avoiding repeating too often. And stay away from the area right around your navel, stay about 2 inches away from it on each side. Good luck!
Thanks, everyone!
Emmy,
The language here is going to sound funny, but I donāt know how else to describe things.
Up to now, you might say that I have been dividing my abdomen into 8 columns, 4 on each side of my navel. I have now added 2 rows above that level, so that you might say that Iām now divided into 12 targets. This morning I talked to the nurse whoās in charge of getting me used to all of this. Though weāve been talking mostly by phone lately, I gather that she expects us to be seeing each other in real life soon, and that weāll talk about it again then.
I gave myself my first injection on the ātop floorā today, and it hurt a little more than usual, but that may be a coincidence, and in any case I seem to have survived. Iāll probably know more in a few days.
Janina,
I know that Iām going to have to start studying diabetes a little more seriously, which I suppose will mean reading at least one general book from cover to cover, but I havenāt had time to take care of it yet.
Thanks again, everyone.
M.
@ MapleSugar, it does seem to hurt more if you inject higher up on the abdomen. I donāt know why, probably more nerves there.
What youāre doing seems to be working for you. As long as youāre spreading it out it doesnāt matter what pattern you use. The main thing is to rotate, and avoid repeating any particular site for as long as possible. The insulin absorbs better and youāll avoid getting lumps longer, if you can use a larger area, rather than a smaller one. Good luck!
Emmy,
Thanks.
I donāt know if I can say itās working, yet; Iāve only been injecting insulin two weeks, and still canāt treat it as a matter of course. I still get scared at various stages through the ceremony, and wonder if the fright will ever go away.
Iāll try to keep dividing myself into 24 squares, the way Iām doing it now, despite some extra pain. I suspect that you know more about the annoying little details of self-injection than my GP does.
Thanks again.
M.
I am a Lantus SoloStar pen user, and sometimes I am out for the evening, and take my pen with me, to take my shot at the time I usually take it. The question I have is; anyone have any idea of what I can put the used needle in, so I can transport it home safely, and place in my Sharpās container?
Hi, Chaplain!
The Insupen needles I use come have two needles, a longer one that goes into me during use and a shorter one that goes through the rubber stopper of the pen during use ( http://www.domrexpharma.com/uploads/pics/ago-penna-tech.jpg ).
The longer into-me needle after use presents no problem. I put the plastic cap back on as per their instructions,and continue as below. About the only danger I can think of is if a child were to remove the cap, and this shouldnāt be a problem if you keep the used needle in your pocket until you get home.
Even the shorter needle is less of a problem than it looks. It is well recessed below the end of the cap, and cannot be easily touched without acrobatics. To minimize this almost-nonexistent danger, I put one plastic sandwich bag inside of another, and then put the capped used needle inside of them, knot them closed, and put them in my pocket.
If you want something thicker and less flexible, you could use a fake-leather change purse. If ou want something totally rigid, the hinged case left over from a bracelet or other piece of jewelry would probably work.
Good luck.
M.
Hi Chaplin & MapleSugarā¦
I use vials/syringes for my Lantus and pens for my humalog (that way I donāt take the WRONG one, been there done that). I ALWAYS have both insulins on me.
When changing pen needles, I take the larger cover and using the smaller end push & and flatten down the inside needle (the one that goes into the pen). The longer in-to-me needles gets its usual cap. That fairly well eliminates the very slim chance of someone doing any āaerobicsā and getting stuck handling it afterward
You could use a plastic coin tube (US dime/penny or nickle size) to store new or used pen needles. I use a APS (or 35mm) film canister to carry new pen needles on my person every day. I like the oval APS can shape best. I sue a small belt-type camera case to hold my in-use Lantus vial & a syringe, several humalog pens and yep even a camera.
For one thing, I re-use my needles (& syringes) a couple times before tossing. Now its a well ingrained habit started in the days, decades ago when I had no job or insurance.
Diabetic out of work in '82
Vial of insulin $6.06
10 pack of syringes $2
Diabetes control priceless.
Gomer 
Thanks, Gomer and Maple Sugar. I like the film can idea. Should have thought of that, seeing as how I have several of the empty ones at home!
Chaplain ET.
Hello ,my name is Patti and I have had diabetes since I was 25.I am now 47.For the last 2 years I was using the omnipod system[Tubeless pump}at any rate this did not work out for me and I just recently went back to taking shots.My question is Lantus or Levimir..right now I am taking 20 U.of Lantus @ night and I am having some bad night time lows..My Doctor wants me to start taking the lantus at lunchtime,and if this does not work ,he suggested Levimir.I hope maybe someone has had experience with this...thanks Patti L.
Hi Patti. Many people take Lantus in split doses, usually one in the morning and one at night. When the peak occurs, you don't go as low with a half a daily dose as the full dose. I have taken Lantus, now I take Levemir. Levemir has a smaller peak, but it is necessary to take it in two shots as it does not last 24 hours -- again usually morning and night. Hope that helps.
Further to what Trudy said, I use three overlapping doses of Levemir to extend the action of the Levemir, but they are not equal sized doses, but 8u +5u +2u at morning lunch and midnight or bed time. The amount of the bedtime dose varies with the blood test level. I don't take insulin without checking first and I adjust the level taken based on the result.
Since they say people on the pump tend to use 75% of what they used with MDI. Did you find you now have to take more than you did on the pump on a TDD (Total Daily Dose) basis?
If they tell you that is just because ....whatever they say, I know it is because the body tends to destroy large doses and that is why large doses are so variable as some days more or less is destroyed. (see DrB's chap 7)
When people talking about cancer treatment mention that the body "walls off" something it doesn't like...that is the same thing with large injected doses and it explains why people develop lumps under the skin from injections, as the body does use cholesterol to plaster over things it doesn't like. That is how tumours develop. Not all tumours grow from the center outwards, but develop because the body is trying to inactivate what it doesn't like.
So even though people do not like to do injections, they WILL if they see an advantage. One woman taking huge injections was getting lumps under the skin with 20u (dinner short acting) and 30u (bedtime Levemir) injections of long acting and 10u for breakfast and 10u lunch of short acting. She is about 220 lbs. I explained that if she did more injections of a tiny size she would solve the problem, but I advised, since I am certain part of your injections are being destroyed, you can NOT do 3x10u instead of 30u as it would then be effectively taking too much...so she first tried 2x12u and it worked just as well, then 3x7u=21 and she is pleased as punch that she no longer gets lumps and her morning blood sugars are just as good.
People believe the body is non thinking, but it is highly programmed. That's why acupuncture works. If you prick the body with needles, it's attention is drawn to that location and it does what it can to heal the area. So if you give large injections, then the body will certainly notice. And analogue insulins are not truly human, they are slightly different. So the reason the pump can be used with less insulin is that a small tiny drip is not destroyed as much.
Hi, Patti!
I am taking a very large dose of Lantus with 2 or more doses of NovoRapid during the day. After some very frightening hypos, my dietician suggested lowering the Lantus and increasing the individual doses of NovoRapid to cover it.
I've been doing that for a month or two. Absolutely no hypos since then - so far -, my more-or-less-average plasma glucose by home gadget is as good as it was, and the HbA1c I did a few days ago was 6.1, which for me is probably as close to perfect as one can get.
You might want to think about lowering the Lantus and covering the difference by increasing your Levemir.
Good luck.
M.
Hi Patti,
Taking Lantus in the day will move any lows you might have to a time when you'll be awake and notice them sooner, and probably be easier to treat. I'd try switching to taking it at noon or even in the morning, as suggested by your doc. You might even have to reduce the dose a bit.
I ended up taking my Lantus in a split dose because of lows, and if using a daytime shot doesn't work, and reducing the dose a bit doesn't work, that would be the next thing to try.