Has anyone ever experienced an allergy to Novolog? If so, I would appreciate if you could share your experiences and how you determined that Novolog was the problem. For almost a week now I have had a severe case of Urtacaria (hives) that covers 75% of my body. It is very itchy and quite uncomfortable. The doctors had tried to rule out any allergies based on my eating habits, etc, but so far we have come up blank. The only thing I am constantly exposed to is the Novolog I use in my pump. I’ve used Novolog for a few years now and have never have a problem with it. Is it possible to develop an allergy to insulin over time? I am considering switching over to Humalog and seeing what happens.
I itch and get a welt at the site of my Novolog injection for about 15 minutes afterwards. I have heard about allergies to the additives in insulin. I have skin allergies and there are things such as laundry detergents, household cleaners, body washes, new linens, new clothing, perfumes and body sprays, and many other things that I’d try to rule out too. Have you been exposed to a new pet? Or an old pet that just got groomed? i know when my dog comes back from the groomer that he’s covered in allergens for me and I do break out in hives until I’m adjusted to his “new” scent. I hope that you get it figured out! Hives are no fun!
Elizabeth
Did they just pass on their own? Or did you finally discover what was causing the Hives after 7 months?
Odds are that it may be caused by the preservatives in the insulin, not the insulin itself. I had a friend who was badly allergic to m-Cresol and methyl p-hydroxybenzoatem, which are the preservatives used in most forms of insulin sold today. However, as the other readers have suggested, you may consider switching brands, and possibly even species (e.g. from analogue to biosynthetic human insulin, or even to porcine insulin) if the issues fail to resolve themselves after switching. It’s easiest to switch brands (e.g. from Novolog to Humalog or Apidra) and seeing if that works, and if not, then trying Regular insulin (either Humulin R or Novolin R), and if that doesn’t work, trying Wockhardt Hypurin Porcine Regular (which can be obtained from any number of Canadian pharmacies).
Heath, have you figured out what’s going on? I found this forum because I was googling “insulin allergy”. 
For the past two weeks I’ve had the worst hives. On my head at first but now they’ve migrated to my neck, back, arms. I’m taking 10 Benadryl a day with little relief.
The hives seem to be really flaring up after I bolus 8 units or more.
I’m not an alarmist with respect to vaccinations, I’ve had a seasonal flu shot every year for the last 15 or more years… But I got the H1N1 shot some time before this started. I don’t recall how long, a couple of weeks maybe?
I just hope I’m wrong and it’s mold or something. 
I switched to Novolog a few years ago because my insur covers it much better than Humalog... but I am also experiencing (more so lately) extreme itching and irritation at my pump sites--they itch for days even after I have removed the iv. I've even had a few sites turn abscess within just 12 hours of insertion!! I'm considering switching back or maybe asking for a sample from Eli Lilly... because it would be so incredibly expensive to switch back--but my absorption is suffering horribly, so I have to do something. I was thinking my absorb issues were maybe scar tissue, but I'm wondering if my body is just not liking Novolog so much anymore???? What to do!!!
Me too! My situation is identical to yours, insurance, etc. I've been on novolog for a year and have developed rapid hardening around my needle sites, itching, redness etc. I'm gonna switch back to Humalog this week an hopefully that will relieve the situation.
I was allergic to levemir (no longer have to use it bc I'm on a pump) but my allergic reaction as my dr said it was, was that I would have swelling and severe itching at the INJECTION SITE not all over. Just my guess but I'd assume if you have been on it several years and its all over not just at the injection site then it is something else. Let us know what you find out!
There is an easy test, take a drop of insulin and put it on your skin, then make an x with your needle on your skin to scratch it where the insulin is. Give it a few hours to create a reaction.
If you see a reaction on that spot then you have an insulin allergy for sure. Because insulin is systemic you can get hives any where when it is injected, but if scratched into the skin you will only get it on that spot.
The scratch test will make it clear to you if there is no reaction you can be pretty sure it is something else.
You can develop allergies at anytime. I developed an allergy to oak tree pollen about 10 years ago out of the blue.
The redness and itching at the pump site can be from allergies to the adhesive on the set.
I have allergies to MM sets but not to animas sets. I use an Iv3000 on my skin and poke through and stick the set to the Iv3000. This way no adhesive can get on my skin. The adhesive would run its way down into the cannula and cause major irritation. I thought i was allergic to the plastic cannula but it turned out to be the adhesive
Thanks for the info. I've been back on Humalog for a little over 24 hrs. and so far so good. Novolog sites were kicking out "No Delivery" messages and sites were hardening withing 24 hrs., plus itching etc. Keeping my fingers crossed.
My type 1 son is extremely allergic to novolog. He itches all over constantly and gets periodic severe headaches and nausea. The itching is his whole body all over his skin. Nothing helps with these symptoms, we tried everything and a few doctors and nurses etc. Since we switched to humalog he has been totally fine.
I had this reaction a couple of years ago and thought it was from my insulin, since I had recently switched types. In my case, it turned out to be an allergy to antibiotics. Have you been on any recently? Mine came a couple days after finishing the RX...it also made my bloodsugar super crazy and will avoid antibiotics at all cost from now on.
I'm type 1 and developed an allergy to Levimir (same manufacturer as Novolog) between early April and June of this year. I started getting occasional little red bumps where I would inject and eventually a large, hardened area formed on my left side (also where I would inject). One day in late May, I got a red, egg-shaped bump where I injected, No more Levimir for me. I'm on Lantus now and everything is back to normal.
Hi. I’m in this situation. The rash and bumps are advancing from my feet, legs, to my stomach. I am also experiencing these in the arms now. I am type 1 and I use novolog. can anyone update me on whether or not you determine if you had an allergy to nosology? how did you determine this? did switching insulins work?
Hi @Nagiorge, check Timothy’s post in this very thread here: he describes a good way to test if you are allergic to a specific insulin. It may not be foolproof (if it’s negative), but if it’s positive you will be sure.
A technique for desensitizing a patient with an insulin allergy was described by Dr. B in what I believe was his November teleconference. It involves dilution of insulin to something like 1000:1 or 100:1 and injecting a patient. You then wait a couple hours and increase the concentration. If a reaction occurs you step back to a lower concentration and work up. At a certain point you have gotten the immune system to not overreact to the insulin as a foreign invader as much. If you do have an insulin allergy perhaps you can find a doctor familiar with this approach?
I would visit an allergist who can determine if you have an insulin allergy. Self-diagnosing your own allergy at home is not a good idea, because the results of an at-home scratch test won’t mean much. There are lots of things that can cause false positive or negative results, and allergists have techniques to control for this.
The technique @Brian_BSC describes is also something only an allergist can do. It’s the same technique used in allergy shots for environmental allergies, but sped up a lot. I’m fairly sure it can only be done while being hospitalized for close monitoring.
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