I have about 60u of lantus left in my pen that I need to make last until Thursday because I start training on Friday. The trainer told me she is starting me on insulin in my pump that day, and to take half my lantus Thursday night. I take about 16u every day right now, and mathematically speaking, there is no way to make that last from Saturday to Thursday, unless I take half my dose every night! I don't want to spend the ~$60 on a box of lantus pens that will just sit in my fridge unused after Friday.
Will this work: run a lot, take half doses of lantus, but regular doses of humalog, and just check the BG A LOT? I plan on starting a running program anyway, now that I'm going to start pumping :D
Other concerns: I was under the impression that most pumpers get ~3 weeks of training, and start off using saline in their pumps to get used to the pumping...I guess to decrease the likelihood of accidentally overdosing. Is it typical to start right on insulin? I'm not complaining, though :)
Contact your endo. They may be able to give you a "trial" supply of lantus...
You're other options are to basal 10 units a day of lantus... and supplement that with Humalog when needed.. or find someone local that would be able to help you out. I have some leftover lantus from when I went to the pump a year ago, but unless i spent quite a bit to overnight it, it would probably get to you too late...
Exercising may assist you in lowering your basal needs, but I wouldn't recommend starting a new exercise routine less than a week before trying to get your basal rates down for the pump... or else you're asking for trouble
As for the pump training, I think I went 4-5 days on saline after the initial training with the Animas rep, then went to humalog with the nurse at my endo's office. Then maybe 2 weeksof figuring out basal rates
I only had two sessions of training with the Animas trainer. The first session about infusion sets and then I was put on saline. Then the second session five days later to start on insulin. I was given the option of daily check-ins to tweak basals after that but I turned it down and said I would call if I needed help. Because I find it a lot easier to tweak numbers myself as needed.
I think some people use the saline first and some don't. I liked it because it gave me a chance to get used to all the settings without worrying.
Soooooo all that lantus-rationing ALL WEEK -- and they put me on saline today. I would probably have just bought a box if I had thought I would STILL be taking shots after today.
I did really well at the training though. I think I played with the ping so much that all I needed was approval and/or adjusting of the basal rates, learning how to load up the cartridge with insulin, and getting the site inserted correctly. I had already done everything else :)
Now I'll just have to spend another 3 hours in the car next week to go back to my old endo to get approval to actually USE my pump instead of just play with it...
