Starting lantus next week Thursday and am kinda scared… not sure what it is supposed to do and scared of too many lows. Not sure what I am getting myself into. My heart was pounding when I left the clinic today, I needed time to get my prescription filled for and , I needed time to get used to he idea. That’s why starting later next week. My dr. was pretty excited about suggesting it and trying to get me the least possible amount of meds in 1 day to take. I appreciated that. I was on meds 4x aday and the only other option was to add more pills at another time in the day. So lantus it is! Any info would be greatly appreciated and how you like it if taking it. Thanks, hb
Is Doc not referring you to a Diabetes Clinic in your area to start insulin delivery ??
I am to make appt with my diabetes nurse as soon as possible, but I will be starting it WELL before I get to to see them. (i live 1.5 hours away) Not easy to get appt right away either. 
Wow, you have love doctors! Just curious how much he is having you start out with. Did he give you any kind of instructions, or just send you on your way?
This sounds kind of like the way I was put on insulin. The doctor said: "Well, your A1-c keeps going up, and I don’t think there are many more oral meds to try, so we’ll do Lantus. I’ll order it for you in a pen. Start by taking 5 units each night, see what happens from there. I’ll see you in a month."
I had no clue how to take it, so I just checked the Sanofi-Aventis website. That was my injection training.
Delivering insulin takes more than purchasing it at a Pharmacy …this medication ( insulin ) should not be taken lightly .
Oh , darn …do you have access to a CDE Pharmacist ??
I would still try to connect with your CDE Nurse as well …maybe they can create an opening !!
on the side …remember the Canadian tax rules …you can claim mileage for a Medical appointment at a min. of 40 km away from your residence , when you complete your yearly tax forms .
I was put on 2 units to start, he said just to be on safe side. I do appreciate that! And he would look into coverage of some sort. I told him I was going through pharmacare and he said o.k…
Wow, I did not know it was ordered IN a pen…Or am I mistaken I will get viles and fill the pen monthly? I will need to order needles to…I am feeling so unprepared!!
No, I do not have a cde pharmacist… small town
I emailed my diabetes nurse just an hour ago, but will have to wait till Monday or Tuesday for response.
Two units per day is nothing… it comes out to less than a tenth of a unit of basal per hour. Of course I’m making assumptions here, not knowing your body type or anything else, but I don’t believe lows would be a concern at all. I wouldn’t worry.
It’s been awhile since I’ve used Lantus, but if things haven’t changed, there are two different types of pens. One is the traditional disposable pen, the other is a reusable pen with replaceable pre-filled insulin cartridges. (the reusable has an LCD digital display and must be battery powered… I got a free one from my endo years ago). It’s also available in a traditional vial, which I used most of the time. In my experience, I was taking 17 units at once (if I recall) and preferred the vial/syringe method. Pens tend to inject very quickly (unlike pumps, which are excrutiatingly s-l-o-w), and with such a large amount of insulin, absorption could be affected. With the syringe, I could push the plunger slowly.
One word of caution – An open vial of Lantus must be disposed of after 30 days. Believe it or not, I felt like I’ve noticed a difference on Day 31 or Day 32 after starting a vial; it’s that sensitive. If you’re on only 2 units a day (likely a cautious starting point that will increase), you may want to look into pens with a lesser capacity. It may be more cost-effective for you than throwing out half-full vials every month.
My 6 year old son is currently on 2 units of Lantus. We give it to him in the morning to avoid the lows that would occur with nightly injections. It’s in a disposable pen form and lasts about 28 days (though our educators say it will last 30).
I agree two units is almost nothing and your doc is likely just being super conservative, this will get you used to injecting with no risk of lows and your doc will likely see if the two units did anything and start stepping the dose up accordingly. Just to give a general frame of reference many adult T1s with minimal insulin resistance will use often use in the 10-20 units per day range. T2s and T1s with Insulin resistance often use a lot more, depending on the level of resistance and The body’s own insulin production and any oral meds used the amount of insulin needed could be small or several hundred units per day, it is hard to calculate the right amount, doctors will just start at a small amount and keep stepping up the dose until the desired result is reached. Also, Lantus stored at room temperature only lasts around 30 days, if it stored in a refrigerator it will last significantly longer. At 2 units per shot I wouldn’t be worried about injecting cold insulin, however for large shots a cold injection would likely be a bit uncomfortable
My T1 16 year old son is over 6 ft tall and weighs around 175 lbs (and is probably still growing). He switched to Lantus from an insulin pump in June and the endo started him conservatively and we added 2 units a day until his basal BG was stable. He actually has issues with dawn phenomenon, so we asked her if splitting the Lantus would be a possibility, so that he could have a little more in the mornings. We got her approval and it seems to work for him.He splits his Lantus and has 33 units in the morning and 25 units at night.The one caution the endo gave us was not to dose immediately before bed because (according to her) it tends to drop BG about an hour after dosing. The unknown is always a little scary. Good luck and be healthy - that is the goal, right?
2 units may be nothing but…needles are…I dislike needles to put that mildly :S
I did ask him about lows at nighttime and he tried to assure me it won’t take full effect till mid AM. And it will be fine.
All help here is helpful, Thank you!!! I can see it may not be to bad at first.
My prescription is for: 100 units/ml subcutaneous solution, 2 unit everyday at bedtime, Qty: 60 unit, no refills
So is this a pen? And was he to give me prescription for needles and pen??? I saw youtube video about a hour ago and the girl had bottle and needle syringe…looked scarier then pen.
Another thing is that he is hoping to get me on schedule as to my work schedule, so less the night before I work, which is 2 days a week cleaning houses. The days I have more are days spent at home and not as active. Will this effect the way it works as opposed to using it same dose every day?
one more thing, how much is this stuff ($) , that my doctor has to look into coverage for it??? And does pharmacare cover it??
He wrote the prescription for a vial, not pens. You need syringes to use that. I would ask him to give you the pens. Insulin goes bad after about 30 days so you will throw a lot of insulin away in a vial. If you do get pens, you would need the needles to go with those - whichever one you use, you need something with a needle on the end.
It is expensive but some insurance companies prefer Levemir over Lantus so he was just checking to see if your insurance company had a preference. I prefer Levemir but used Lantus before that.
Yes, the days you are more active you may need less. That is a big selling point for a pump because you can change your basal on the fly if you decide to take off running.
Also, be careful not to compare yourself to how much other people are taking. We are all different. Some people have insulin resistance and need more. Other people only need a little bit. Some people weigh more than others and need more for that reason. Some people are couch potatoes & need more for that reason. Some people have health problems and need more because of the drugs they take. Find what works for you and don’t worry about how much someone else is using.
Maybe why Doc prescribed Lantus ??; here is what is/what is not being coverd by hb 's province’s Pharmacare program .
http://www.diabetes.ca/documents/get-involved/MB11.pdf
Not listed: nateglinide (Starlix)/ rosiglitazone maleate & metformin HCL
(Avandamet) /sitagliptin (Januvia) / insulin detemir (Levemir) / saxagliptin (Onglyza)
/ liraglutide (Victoza) / pork insulin (hypurin) / glimepiride & rosiglitazone
(Avandaryl) / sitagliptin & metformin (Janumet)
NOTE: Physicians can request benefit coverage for “not listed” drugs by writing to the
Appeals Committee of the Manitoba Drug Standards and Therapeutics Committee. This
committee meets monthly.
I pray the CDE responds …in my ( old ) mind for someone, who is unfamilar with any method of delivery of insulin needs to be coached and mentored hands on .
hb …I think , that your local Pharmacist could give you a Dollar figure for supplies, incl. insulin , including the part paid for by Pharmacare ?
I was just checking out the prices online here, and …well, lets just say the blood drained from my face…
I am panicking, and I do pray that the pharmacare comes through for me!!! Diabetes is expensive… I always new that, but always had deductible to pay off then my stuff was cared for. Thanks for help 