Hi Gerri, I just got my Lantus and will start tonight before bed time. I did ask doc about dividing the shots but wants me to start out with just the one. I will see how it does and then we can go from there. I agree about the soy protein. We use to get a whey protein powder a long time ago. Don’t remember the name though. It was chocolate flavored and wasn’t to bad. I will look for those sites you talked about. Hopefully find something good. Thanks for the comments though.
Well I am now equipped with my Lantus. Will hope for the best. Hopefully it will do the job and with a well balanced diet and exercise and a few pounds off I will someday be able to control it all with pills. Thanks for the info Anthony, I really appreciate it.
Nicole & Anthony,
It’s not always a matter of splitting the Lantus in half. Granted I’m a Type 1, but when I changed to two does, it was not split in half. Like I said, basal insulin taken at bed time is gone in 8 hours, so you have none to get you through the next day. Doctors quote the pharm info that says Lantus & Levemir last 18-24 hours, but in reality it doesn’t.
No, not 12 hour increments. One in the morning & one immediately before bed.
Nicole, your good morning numbers is probably due to the Lantus taken at bed.
Hi Sandra,
I’ll bet you anything that your morning numbers will be good, but not so great between meals. Lantus & Levemir taken at bed are not going to last throughout the next day. Basal insulin only lasts 8 hours overnight. Wish more doctors were aware of this. Better for him to have suggested two small doses to see how this goes for you.
Hope you find some yummy recipes you’ll enjoy!
Dear Sandra. Let us know the morning BG. And the ones after the meals during the day.
Well it seems to be going up, after dinner it went to 177, i will start all over tomorrow after my shot tonight by increasing the Lantus 5 units and see what happens. thanks again for the help
Lantus lasts, on average, for 24 hours, not 8.
Be careful!
My experience with starting Lantus is:
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although I saw an immediate drop in fasting blood sugar, it took a few days to really take hold. I now go at least 5 days before changing my dosage.
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I was impatient and started pushing the dosage upwards pretty fast. I got to 20 units, and then started waking up with sugars in the 80s. scary!
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as others have said, it’s not going to help with spikes after eating. My doc told me to shoot for a fasting blood sugar of 110 or so. If you still have spikes after achieving that, then you need additional drugs/insulin to help with spikes. At least, that’s what MY doc said, you should probably ask yours what his/her goals are.
Hi Barbara, thanks for your experience. Doc started me out on 20 units and said to move in increments of 5 until I got to 30 if needed. Yesterday was really different. I was all over the board. even got down to 84 one time for a short time then it went back up to 154. This morning I got a fasting reading of 124, ate breakfast and am back to 200+. I will up dosage to night to 25 units and see what happens tomorrow. If the day time readings don’t go down I guess I will call doc yet again and see what she wants to do. I appreciate your input though. What are your fasting BG levels? Do you use Humalog as well?
Sandra…I remember reading people’s experiences with using more Lantus trying to lower fasting #'s but they kept going up. Apparently, too much can cause a rebound…#'s go low at night and rise to compensate.
Thanks Elaine, I don’t think my fasting is all that bad, although doc wants itless than 90. but like a few minutes ago after two hours from eating breakfast my BG was 221. Doesn’t this Lantus help in lowering those numbers?
Barbra,
Waking up with BG in the 80’s is perfect. Why scary? The days my fasting numbers are in the 80’s I’m jumping for joy.
Guess I’ll never understand why doctors don’t have us shoot for normal BG.
I’m currently taking 14 units Lantus every night. I think I’m going to increase it, as I’m seeming to be settling into numbers between 105 - 120, so I’ve got room to go down. No Humalog (yet). I definitely need something for postprandial control, I’m just waiting until early March, when I’m traveling to Boston to visit Joslin Diabetes Center. I’m not 100% happy with the one Endo in my town, so going for second opinion.
I was all over the board the first few days I was on Lantus, too. No idea why that happens!
My doc also told me to start with a higher dose and move in units of 5, with an assumption that I’d probably end up on around 50 units a night. Heck, at first, he just told me to try 50 units, which I’m pretty sure would have put me hypo! Luckily we asked more questions, and he suggested starting slowly.
Here’s a page right from Lantus that tells you how they recommend you find your dosage: http://www.lantus.com/hcp/dosing.aspx In short, they say either vary by one unit daily until you hit 100 fasting, or use a sliding scale to make changes weekly.
For me, Lantus doesn’t do much with the after-eating spikes. I start with a lower blood sugar, so I’m not seeing the 200s like I used to, but I can spike up 60 or 70 points easy.
Hi Sandra,
Less than 90 for fasting is a good goal. What are your fasting numbers?
Lantus is a slow acting insulin. It keeps your blood sugar stable between meals (ideally), but it won’t help with meals.
Hmm. I didn’t think “normal” was 80, thought that was a bit low. Doc told me that 80 is OK but anything lower is bad. Hubby is terrified that I’m going to go hypo, so we’re aiming for 100 or so.
My doc wants me to aime for numbers between 80- 90. anything lower she said she would be worried about at that time. So guess I’ll aime for that but at this point doesn’t seem like I have to worry reaching them anytime soon.
Normal is in the 80’s. Below 70 is considered low.
It sure is discouraging. Believe me, I know how you feel. Lowering your carb intake helps tremendously.
they range from 120’s to 145. I thought they would be better than that on the lantus
I am pretty rigid with my diet right now while I am trying to get this under control. I follow the dietary minimums for carbs,proteins, and cal. I am hoping that I can take off a couple pounds as well