Dear Lauren.
Thanks for the update. This is fantastic that you have lost 10 lb. So do we dare conclude that Lantus is a make fat insulin ? Or could be that is is the pump because you can adjust you insulin needs much better than before. Is your total insulin use per day lower on the pump than with injections?
I’m thinking that it is a little from column ‘a’ and a little from column ‘b’. While it is true that I am taking a bit less then before, I believe it isn’t too far off the mark over all unit wise then I was while I was on a Lantus/Novolog regime. I’m still only a couple of weeks into the pump, but I was able to shed the pounds while eating the same as before I went on the pump…so. Time will tell. 
Dear Lauren.
10 lb is quite a good weight loss. Might be the change away from Lantus. Since the units are about the same. Are you using novalog in the pump?
I am taking levemir but also a anti-hunger pill called meridia and I do feel less hungry. Can’t say what is the cause for the moment. I have to loose 10 lb quick then it will be time for science.
Keep us posted.
Is the consensus that ALL insulin will cause weight gain (after all, it IS it’s job to turn glucose into fat, right?). Are rapid-acting more likely to cause it than slow-acting? Meaning, might it be more beneficial to try to cut back on basal or on bolus? Sounds like the pump is helpful – looking forward to that day! I see my endo this week - don’t know if we’ll talk about it or not since this is my first visit since the test results came back positive for antibodies, etc. (I had been dxed T2 for the past 2.5 years). Hopefully she will change my official diagnosis so that I can qualify for some things!
Dear rebecca.
That’s a good question whether to max out the basal and cut down on the bolus or vice versa to help with weight loss? If it is true that levemir is better for weight loss the maxing the basal would be best.
I’m in my second month on the pump (and off of Lantus) and have noticed a difference already. I’m continuing to lose weight and have noticed that I haven’t been as hungry as I used to be. I think that maybe, in my case anyhow, the Lantus didn’t do any favors when it came to weight loss.
so happy to hear it Lauren My pump is in process…can’t wait to only be on one type of insulin to see if that helps me too…have you read up on leptin levels or diet books geared towards leptin levels…that makes a lot of sense to me too… also have upped my good fats again avacados, olive oil, hempseeds & hemp shakes seems to be helping
Jaime…about the Leptin levels…is there any way we are able to effect that?
I started lantus at night, but that didnt quite fly, so I was switched to lantus in the morning… which was better but then id wake up odd …Then i split, then i restarted the morning thing, and now im back to splitting it to try to resolve those vexing night lows… One of these days ill get it right
Amylin will have a drug out in 2010 to deal with Leptin levels. It is a combination drug that includes their next-generation amylin analog (currently known as Symlin). Its primary purpose will be weight loss but I hope I can trade up from my current Symlin prescription. I at least want the next-gen Symlin, as weight is not really an issue for me at the moment.
i’ve been on lantus FOREVER, pretty much ever since it came out. i’ve never had weight gain from it. i started taking it when i was a teen and i was very active, playing a sport every season. after high school i became less active, i gained maybe 10 or so pounds but i truely feel it was from laziness and not lantus. i’ve lost that 10 or so pounds now because my job is very active. it doesn’t make me hungry either. i take my lantus in the morning, all one dose. oh and i love carbs!! i am in my target weight area for my height, my a1c’s are under control and my cholestrol is great.
John: try taking a larger dose lantus in the am and less nite…I take 20 units lantus am and 10 units pm, i was having the same problem, alot better now!
This seems to be a common complaint (the overnight lows) which is funny since the manufacturer swears it won’t cause that. I had the problem with the lows and what I do now is take the Lantus at night with a single carb choice with a little protein. I am on about 18 units and that works well for me.
I totally agree with that statement. Lows make you eat and insulin helps store fat. I know this first hand and am working to correct it.
I am really frustrated with how many people think insulin makes you gain weight. Insulin simply allows the cells in your body to take in sugar. Insulin is insulin. If you are not the weight you desire to be, eat less calories. There is no magic to loosing weight. It’s a simple equation. If you eat more calories than you burn you will gain weight. Do not cut back on your insulin dose unless you cut back on your carbohydrate intake (which also translates into less calories). Don’t blame insulin! Insulin is keeping us all healthy.
I’m on Lantus, once a day, since my dx, no weight gain. But for me, I am an avid bicyclist and perhaps that’s helped keep weight off
The Diabetic plan is never good for type 2 either. I avoid anything that is labeled for people with Diabetes. Those foods always seem to be worse for me than regular normal food.
I was on Lantus when I was hospitalized 3 years ago. They told me they did not have Lantus in the hospital, so they switched me to Levemir. I definitely lost weight. The thing was, though, on the Lantus, I would wake up in the middle of the night sitting on the floor in my kitchen eating spaghetti when i woke. Probably at least once a week it would be either that, or I would wake up in the morning with food in my teeth or on my mouth. On the Levemir I never ate when I was asleep. I just figured my weight loss was due to cutting out those “midnight snacks”.
I definitely have better control with the Levemir. I take my at 7 am and 9 pm, and that works best for me. The thing with Levemir to remember, though, is that the amount of time it stays in your system changes based on the amount of your dose. Like I take 4-6 units at night and 8-10 in the morning, depending how active I am, so mine would vary versus someone who takes say 60 or 80 units a day.
I’ve been on Lantus for over 3 years now. I do not eat high carb(except on Special occasions), just small portion meals which is enough for me. I do exercise 4-5 days a week. I haven’t gained weight from Lantus. I’m still 124 lbs. We’re just different, I guess.
I switched from Lantus to Levemir last June after using Lantus since January 2004. I gain weight those years under Lantus. And now I lost the 2 kilogrammes (really don’t know how much is it in America, sorry) and I’m well no more lows in the middle of the night and in the middle of the afternoon. And I’m still under low carbs diet like I was with Lantus.