Hi everyone, ok so I started using levemir almost a year ago and I am not sure that I have it figured out yet. I am taking 70 units right now and still having high mornings up in the 200 to even 300s. I have been working hard with my Dr. and we are still fighting it. I know that most people split theres up in two doses but when I talked to her about it she said she is not sold on that for people that take a high dose. she said that yes for people that take smaller doses of it she splits it but dose not think i should. although i did try it on my own just to see what happened and there was really no change.
i have done the whole get up at 3 am to see if i am going low and i am not and i already knew that do to the fact that if to do take to much insulin at night i always wake up if i have low bs. she is sure that it is do to the fact of the hormones and my body getting ready for the day but it is ready hard to keep seeing these numbers everyday. dose anyone have any imput and dose anyone else take this much?
O wow i thought I was taking a lot I just alwas see people that are taking like 7 or 10 and i am like o my god why do i have to take so much! I do also take and were from 15 to 30 units of novalog at meals and victoza once a day.
i have been on levemir about 2 years. i take it every 12 hours = day 66 units, nite 60 units. i also carb count w/ novolog & take symlin. i have been diabetic for 40 yrs & not gone on the pump yet. the split dose worked much better for me & it seems logically it would. your doc seems to have some unusual ideas.
I definitely think its best to split the dose. You should check out their website. Its not gaurenteed to last 24 hours.
I take about 47 to 50 units at night and about 27 to 30 units in the am. I am actually adjusting my dose a bit right now, that's why I have a range. Its not settled yet. I was on 27 and 47 for a while which seemed to work well, but my morning blood sugar started to rise when I got some injection site infections (I'm very prone to them, ever since I had my tetanus booster shot).
Anyway, back to Levemir, even though the infections have cleared up, my morning numbers are still high and my bs remains high all day. I really really hate this. I usually have good numbers, but nothing seems to be working right now. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll have to switch back to Lantus. I just spent about $450 on my Levemir too, which I have to use, as I can't afford to replace it with lantus. I think some of my Novorapid insulin was faulty, since it doesn't seem to have any affect on my mealtime numbers right now. I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm upping my Levemir dose for a few days to see if it helps. I checked the formula in their prescribing PDF and I'm no where near the average dose for my size, so its safe to do so, provided I do it slowly. (My diabetes nurse gave me the formula).
It does sound like you need to split your dose and possibly increase it. Check with your doctor about increasing it. Do you take a mealtime insulin such as Novorapid? Levemir and Lantus are both basal insulins and do not cover your mealtime carbs. That might be the problem.
Most of the people on those low doses are slim type 2's or type 1 or LADA.
Those of us with type 2 usually have a lot of insulin resistance, thus the need for higher doses. We usually have more body fat too. More body fat and insulin resistance go hand in hand. Its all part of type 2.
Don't worry, you're a normal type 2. Those doses are not high at all for a type 2. You have to take what you need, not what works for someone else.
Well thank you for all the info, yes I do take meal time insulin (novalog) and I was taking 80 units of levemir then she backed me off to 60 and now I am back to 70 units. Although what I can not understand is that e y sugars seamed to be the same in the mornings when taking 80 units as it was taking 60 units. It is just so hard to get it all straight.
Well, it does take about 4 to 5 days for it to level off whenever you change an insulin dose, so if it was less than a week, you might not see any difference. It might not have stabilized yet. I’d give any change at least a week to be sure I know what it did or did not do.
If the increased dose made no difference even being on it for more than a week, then you probably need a split dose, one shot in the evening and another in the morning. Levemir doesn’t last a full 24 hours. If you try taking half a dose one night and the rest of the dose the next morning you might see an improvement, but it will take a week or so to let your body catch up to the changes. That one night you will be a few units short too, so it takes time to catch that up as well. I’d allow two weeks before making any other changes if you go with a split dose, just to give things time to settle down again, because of the shortfall that first day. Check with your doctor or DNE first.
If you aren’t taking enough novalog for meals, your basal insulin won’t be able to keep your morning fasting number down. So if you try a split dose and it doesn’t help, you need to talk to the doc or DNE about increasing your mealtime ratio.
To give you a perfect example: I was ill in December and got an infected injection site. Apparently it did some damage and my diabetes has gotten worse.
My blood sugar has been running high ever since and I had increased my Levemir dose with little effect.
I planned to try an increase in my mealtime insulin next. I called the clinic and the nurse said to increase my mealtime ratio, exactly what I planned to do. I started today and will know in a few days if it worked.
Keep this in mind: All insulin changes require time for your body to get used to the new dose, so take it slow.
Only adjust one thing at a time, either your basal insulin (levemir) or your bolus - mealtime insulin (novalog). Never adjust both at the same time, as you could go way too low, and you also won’t be able to tell which change worked.
CAN I GET SOME REPSONSES TO THIS. BECAUSE READING THE AMOUNT OF UNITS OF LEVEMIR AND HOW MANY TIMES A DAY PEOPLE ARE TAKING SHOTS IS SHOCKING!
I HAVE BEEN DIABETIC FOR 5 YEARS. JUST STARTED TAKING LEVEMIR. WAS A TYPE 2 TAKING METFORMIN. MY ENDO DR. HAS ME TAKING 10 UNITS OF LEVEMIR BEFORE DINNER AND THAT’S IT FOR THE DAY. I ALSO TAKE 5 UNITS OF HUMALOG BEFORE BREAKFAST AND 2 UNITS OF HUMALOG BEFORE DINNER. FUNNY THING IS MY NUMBERS WERE OK TILL YESTERDAY. THIS MORNING MY NUMBER WAS 208. NORMALLY 110-140 AND ONE DAY THIS WEEK IT WAS 95!
CAN I HEAR FROM SOME PEOPLE ON HOW MUCH LEVEMIR THEY TAKE A DAY AND WHAT THEIR NUMBERS ARE. ITS A REAL BATTLE…
I ALSO HARDLY EAT ANY CARBS. JUST FRUIT. MADDENING.
Well they were in the hight 200s to lows 300s but here in the last 3 weeks they have came down to the middle to high 100s. I am not really sure why this is cuz i have not really changed anything that I do but I am pleased. Not really sure of the average but I would say about 160 right now.
I have been a type 2 for about eight years. I take 70 units of Levemir at night at about 10pm then I take probably any were from 50 to 80 units of novalog through the day with my meals.
Well, all I can do is share what has finally worked for me, after using Lantus and then Levimire
I am a T1… Take split dose of Levimire at Bedtime and again at Lunchtime…
I have to be btwn 90-115 by my Bedtime dose of Levimire
If I am higher? I have to take a CB ( Correction Bolus) of Novalog
If I am Higher than 175 at bedtime? I also have to set my Alarm for 3 hrs and wake up, roll over and test and have my Novolog Pen at the ready (and my pre made Chart) to take another CB…
How do You get btwn 90-115 by Bedtime? have to eat at least 4 hrs before Bedtime…and hope you are Carb Counting as well …and hope your right … and I also test 2 hrs after eating… to catch going to High or too Low…
These So called Poor Mans Pump/Long Lasting Insulins are not all they are claimed to be… and guess what else? If you have Anti-Bodies as we T1’s Do? It fights that insulin as well …
Have you Gotten and read the Book > THINK LIKE A PANCREASE…?
If not, get it Right Away… It should be mandatory reading for anyone on Insulin…
it will clarify things alot better and faster results than waiting around for oyur Dr. that is doing nothing more than guessing anyway…
and you know the rest of the drill. Eat less carbs and try to Excercise more…
I eat alot of Deli Meats and Nuts for my snacks and will even go Nuke a Egg and sausage bisket for a late snack… ( no carbs) …
and I’m not a Low carb freak either… sure, I may have only 5-10 carbs for Bkfst, but 50-100 for Lunch ( making it my Biggest meal of the day) and back down to ave 30 carbs for dinner and when summer comes? Lots of Bar-B-Q meat /chicken’ Brats and very low carb meals doing that…
Oh, one more thing? If your in the North? This is the worse time to get Good Control, we are doing alot less and less active … things will imrpove come spring/summer … Tell your husband you have to start Mowing the lawn with the Push mower too… It does help with the Excersing goals…
Yes it dose help…I try to take in all of the input that people give me and I will keep this all in mind…I love to here what other people are doing and what all helps them.
5-10 carbs for breakfast and 50-100 carbs at lunch... Do you mean grams? 15 grams equal 1 carb. My doctor has me on a no carbs diet which is hard to follow. I can eat 1 carb and my numbers go up. You are right about the book. It is excellent. I bought it the first time I read you entry. I am new to all this stuff so I was wondering. Thanks,
