Hi guys, first I want to thank everyone who gives me advise/helps me with this question! I appreciate all the help I can get!! Ok so I’ve been on novolog for probably 18 years an my insurance made me change to humalog this past month…I changed my pump out yesterday an filled my reservoir with humalog an I’ve had highs since then…the lowest my sugar has been since changing is 181 & that was a fasting bs this morning…is this normal for just switching over or should I be worried? I don’t know what to do. Thanks again for your help!
I would be alarmed at these numbers, too. Have your recent meals since changing insulin been reliable ones that you’re comfortable dosing for? Are you sure your new pump site is absorbing well? If in doubt, replace it.
If you don’t suspect the food or pump site then you probably need to adjust your basal insulin first and then examine your insulin to carb ratios and possibly make them more aggressive also.
I don’t know what your level of experience or knowledge is regarding using insulin. Have you ever done a basal rate test? It would help if someone at your doctor’s office could help guide you, like a CDE, but you can do this yourself with some persistence. I like Gary Scheiner’s basal protocol. It’s a good skill to have in your bag of tricks and will help in sharpening your understanding of how insulin works for you.
I fear that you just wanted to “know what time it is” and I’m telling you how to build a watch! I hate it when bean counters force people doing well on one brand of insulin and then force them to switch simply due to economics. They have no idea how their policy hurts some people. Sometimes if you make a big stink about it and your doctor cooperates, you can get them to make an exception. I do know if your doctor says you’re allergic to an insulin, then they’ll usually approve the exception. I say “all’s fair in love and war and getting what you need to treat your diabetes!”
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I had a similar experience. I am on Apidra and my insurance informed me that they will only pay for Humalog or Novolog going forward. I tried Humalog for a month. It was not at all ‘equivalent’ to Apidra. It was my worst blood sugar month in 5 years. I am sure that eventually I would have learned to live with Humalog. I decided to ditch Humalog and give Novolog a try.
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If adjusting your basal and factors in the pump for Humalog just does not work, most likely your doctor can write a letter of medical necessity and your insurance company will go back to covering Novolog for you.
Some people find that they cannot tolerate certain insulin formulations or they actually have an immune response to certain insulin types.
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Hi thank you for your help! No, my meals have not changed since switching over & I have changed my site twice since using the humalog, my sugar went from 168 to 174 last night an it had been 7 hours since I had eaten or drank anything (I ate roughly between 5-530pm yesterday & checked my bs between 1-130am). Also I have never done a basal rate test, I’m not even sure I know what that is lol I don’t have an endo I just go to a family dr an I haven’t seen anyone over my pump since I’ve been on it. I’m going to contact my dr next week if I keep having highs like this an I hope she will help me get novolog back! Thank u so much for ur help!
This may be what is wrong with my sugars, Thank u so much! I will talk to my dr an hopefully I can get it lined out! Thank u!
I hope that novolog works great for u! I’ve used it since I was first diagnosed, right after the humilin N & regular mixture. I hate so much they made me switch but I’m hoping humalog will eventually start working better. Good luck to u dear!!
Is it possible the pharmacy gave you a bad vial? Call the pharmacy and tell them the insulin isn’t bringing your blood sugar levels down. Also, tell your doctor.
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I tried humalog and I think it made me go low. My doc wrote a letter of medical necessity to stay on novolog which my insurance approved for life. I hope it stays that way. I would try a new vial just in case this one is bad.
Everyone is different of course, but for me Apidra has fastest onset and shortest tail of activity, so I value it especially for knocking down highs. I like Humalog for its consistency, but I find it has a slower onset (like up to an hour) and several hours duration. Lots of people say Humalog and Novolog are identical, but I find Novolog even slower for onset and somewhat longer, lower duration. They all “work”, but some are matched better to certain foods than others, so it’s always a titration dance depending on which you’re using. I find it highly annoying that I am forced to switch between these based on the whims of my insurer, especially when another insurer is making the opposite requirements of its customers at the same time.
Then there’s affreza too, that’s a whole different story.