My problem is that when I get up in the morning, sort of on automatic pilot (I am not a morning person), the business of having my Lantus injection is so routine that sometimes I am not sure whether I have had it or not, particularly if I am distracted by some other event (the phone rings, someone comes to the door etc. or I'm simply thinking about something else). I tried a memory pen which records when and how much the injection was, but it was not entirely reliable so I stopped that. Now I'm trying to force myself to concentrate but it doesn't always work. Just interested if anyone else has had the same experience (or am I just going gaga?). Tying a knot in a hanky or something similar wouldn't work because I wouldn't always remember to do that consistently either!
The reminder will nag, nag, nag, you until you address it. There are also a few meters on the market that have reminders. I never had a problem because the thought of missing my basal insulin was overwhelming and the outcome was also a disaster.
Riva Greenberg posted a blog about a product she tried out that is a timer that tells you when your last injection was. You can read about her review of the Timesulin smart cap. You can order it on-line. It was supposed to be available in the US this summer, but appears delayed. Fortunately for you, it is available in Europe.
I don't know whether you take your Lantus from a pen or syringe but if you use a disposable pen then the Timesulin may help. It is a cap that you put on the pen (instead of the cap it comes with) that shows you how long it was since your last injection. Here is the link to there site. http://timesulin.com/ Hope this helps.
I'm on the pump now, but back when I was doing injections I sometimes used to wonder whether I had had the injection. It might help if you kept a logbook and only write down the injection amount after you've taken it. If you get in the habit of doing this it will become automatic.
My Aviva meter has a reminder. I set it once accidentally and had to take the battery out to get it to stop.
I know some pumpers who keep a calendar and mark when they changed a set ot a sensor. Just put one where you usually take your insulin and checkmark it when you take it.
Just curious: have you ever really forgotten it? Lot JohnG says, you should see some disasterous results.
Thanks to everyone for their useful suggestions. The pen I use for the Lantus is one from Lilly. I will look on the Internet for the cap: it sounds useful. I'm glad I'm not the only one with this problem
Do you also take Lantus at night? If so, you may find it useful to do what I do with insulin syringe. I mark an arrow on the cap with a permanent marker, and when I take my injection in the morning I line up the arrow with the numbers on the syringe. When I take my injection at night I line up the arrow with the reverse side (no numbers). I also record my injections in my BG meter. Between the two I can reconstruct when I last took my long-acting insulin. Short acting insulin is harder, since I take it on demand due to BG and food. But I record those in my BG meter as well and that's almost always sufficient.
That sounds like a good idea. I divide the Lantus: 9 units in the morning and 4 units in the evening. If I set the pen each time for the next injection, if you see what I mean, I could see then whether I had had it when that time comes (simple, why didn't I think of that). I also record the insulin and carbohydrate in the meter (Onetouch Ultrasmart) but it's the short period between doing that and having the injection which can throw me if I'm distracted by something. The short acting is no problem as I always inject after the blood test and when the meal is on the table when I know how much carbohydrate is involved. Just out of interest, which meter do you use. At some point I will have to change as my meter is no longer being produced.
I use the Ultrasmart also, and love it and all its features. I'm always looking at my meter's built-in summaries and graphs and never feel the need to download my data to my computer.
(One tip for the Ultrasmart which you may not have considered - when I record insulin amounts, I always do it in tenths of a unit because it is so much faster to record - so for example if I take five units I record it as .5; if I take ten units I record it as 1.0)
I hadn't heard that it is going to be discontinued!!! Are you sure of that, and do you know when it will occur? I looked briefly at the features of the newer Onetouch Verio meter and decided I liked the Ultrasmart better. If/when they do discontinue the Ultrasmart, I hope they provide an equivalent smart version of the Verio that allows the same data logging and analysis.
Thanks for the tip but I measure the Novorapid in half units which is just possible with the Novopen I have. The Ultrasmart is no longer available but you can still get the strips. I had to replace my last meter as the screen was not very clear so they don't necessarily last for ever. I'll continue to use the present one till it completely dies.
I wrote to Lifescan to complain (not that it did any good) and this is the reply I received (I have the computer program to analyse the results which is useful but my diabetic consultant reckons that she can no longer download my reults to her database so I have to print out my statistics from my computer program which is less convenient for her):
E-mail to me from LifeScan in Germany: Thank you for your E-Mail from August 11th 2012.
I am sorry that you are disappointed because of the availability of OneTouch® UltraSmart® blood glucose meters.
Unfortunately the demand for the meter was not strong enough to keep up the production. However, all our current meters can be connected to a computer and our customers have therefore the possibility of downloading their meter readings.
If you are interested in a LifeScan meter that can be connected to a computer please contact LifeScan customer care via e-mail or call the free service line 0800 850 905.
Maybe it depends on what country you live in? I just called them using the phone number on the back of my meter, and they told me they had no plans to discontinue the Ultrasmart meter or strips. Of course its possible that they really DO plan to discontinue it in the US and aren't ready to make the announcement yet, but for now I'll have to believe them.
It is possible to buy the meter from ebay, if you can't buy one in Germany any other way.
Hi Jonah. Have you ever tried Levemir? When I took Lantus, it didn't sting but it gave me a constant headache, day and night. Levemir has given me no side effects at all and a smaller peak -- I love it.
Hi cp. When I forget my daytime bolus or my Levemir, I can usually catch up without too much trouble -- it's that nightly shot that I have to be really careful about. I keep the Levemir in the kitchen; after I take my nightly shot I turn the kitchen light out for the night. If my husband turns the light out, I yell at him! I also count out the the right number of 1/2 unit syringes I need for the 24 hours of Levemir and keep them with the pen in a beer stein as a double check (I use syringes with my pen rather than pen needles because I need to use 1/2 as part of my doses.) Good luck in finding a system that works for you!
