Exactly, a basal like lantus is formulated to slowly release the insulin. Lantus comes in an acidic formulation which makes little crystals which slowly dissolve. Levemir is bound to a protein which slowly unbinds. With a pump, you actually use a rapid insulin and the pump itself slowly releases the insulin with little squirts over time. Lows that come about from your basal typically come on slowly and you can just have a few smarties to treat. The real difficulty is that the lows can be relentless.
In theory you are correct, Jenn, but practice it might not always be true. When I was first put on basal I was being treated as a type 2, so was put on higher doses. I started at 25 units where now, two years later I only took 16 on MDI and now 12 on the pump. I would go quite low before time for my next meal and need to treat with glucose tabs. I suppose if I were constantly testing and caught it a bit higher I could eat a snack. But that begs the question, at what point do you snack? I’m much older than you and gain weight easily, so I would never eat a snack if I was say 70. I treat below 60 and I treat with glucose tabs not food. But again, I was on much too high a basal dose - 25 when I should have been on 10. But to me a low is a low and you treat it accordingly. (Some people treat lows below 70 and some below 60).
Yep & lower buttocks & legs (outer things, back of thighs & top of thighs).
I’ve got a huge butt, but I can’t pinch anything on my buttocks or thighs. If you can pinch, go for it, I can’t. Did I mention my huge butt?
is the absorption the same at all injection sites??
Absorption rate can vary with sites, but it differs person to person. My thighs absorb slowly, but I know other people who have the quickest absorption from their thighs. I wouldn’t worry about that for now though. You have such low needs for insulin that the timing of absorption won’t affect you much. As you continue on your journey, you will most likely discover through your Humalog injections the sites that absorb quick or slow.
Don’t worry about snacks before bed, either. Some people discover through time that if they have a protein snack at bedtime, their BS stays more consistent through the night, and doesn’t spike in the morning.
I need to use fast acting carbs with any low, even though a low caused by lantus or levemir may come on slower, I would feel just as icky and want my BS to raise back up quickly.
You will be able to tell if your 2 units of long acting insulin (also referred to as basal by some) is too much if you drop a lot overnight, and if you drop substantially between a 2 hour post meal test and your next meal.
Are you supposed to prime your basal pen everytime you use it just like with the bolus insulin pen? Why must you turn it to 2 units instead of 1 to prime, doesn’t this make your pen run out faster? How do you know when your pen is running out of insulin??
It isn’t a bad idea with how small a dose you are taking to make sure it’s working. I only did it the first time I used each pen, I think some people do it every time and some don’t. You can see the insulin in the pen to know how low it’s getting, but when I get down pretty low I just turn the dose dial all the way up and it tells me how much is in there. You can just dial it back down. Also you might find it loses effectiveness after 28 days so on the small doses you are starting it’s probably more important to write the date on the calendar because that will come long before you are out of insulin.
I primed mine with 2 units every time, and sometimes would prime more than once if the first prime didn’t really seem to do anything. If I didn’t prime, I never trusted that I actually got my correct insulin dose.
2 units is really nothing to be too concerned about. I’m on 23 units of Lantus, and I started at 14. Lol.
I guess everyones different though. Good luck with everything!
An insulin pen is only good for 28 days - at 4 units per day - 2 to prime and 2 to dose - you’ll finish about half a pen before it is time to discard it.
Maurie
The past few times I have injected it has hurt BAD and then it gushes blood and leaves a lump with a bruise…what would cause this?
What size pen needles are you using? Are you injecting close to the belly button?
Maurie
Lantus stings, if that’s what you mean by hurting. The bruising & blood is because you hit a capillary.
i’m thinking my pen needles are too big, I injected on my lower side of my abdomen away from my bellybutton but I restuck the needle about 4 different places because it hurt so bad each time I tried so I figured I was hitting a muscle and took it out and stuck it somewhere else so I’m guessing that means the needle is prob too big, I do not have a lot of fat to pinch up.
I’m on levemir.
Sorry, forgot that. I’m really thin & use 8mm 31 gauge needles. I found pens painful.
When I started with a pen, I used to draw blood and the nurse diabetes educator said the needles must be going to deep. Sometimes there were places that it just seemed to hurt when I would try to stick myself. I usually did fine with the 5/16ths after that, but now I see they have a Nano! That thing is tiny!
Yeah thats pretty much whats happening…I just got back from the pharmacy, picked up 4mm needles, the smallest they make.
I think sometimes with the pens, there is a tendency to press the whole pen hard into your injection site as you depress the plunger. I feel less of that tendency with the syringe. I also think that over time, I really got better with practice. When I first started injecting, I often ended up with some pain or drops of blood at injection site and subsequent bruises and I basically never bruise now.