Hi, just wanted to ask for some advice about Tresiba.
Been type 1 for over 20 years and unfortunately my control has always been difficult and very unpredictable.
I’ve always been on MDI and tried a few different basals. My current is Levemir but for a long time have found the split doses difficult to maintain constant levels. I find that exercise and general increased activity can greatly increase my sensitivity at meals and when fasting.
I’ve been offered Tresiba to try. Done a lot of reading up on it but wanted to ask people who use it their experiences of the effect of exercise and general increased activity on their levels. How sensitive is it to exercise. My lifestyle can mean activity can fluctuate between non and extreme and due to issues I seem to have had on Levemir, the fact this Insulin lasts much longer, with also much longer needed for adjusting I wondered how well it would work for me.
Obviously the only real way to find out for sure is to just try it but had some big set backs a while ago involving some bad hypos and it’s left me much more cautious and with less confidence than I used to have.
Many thanks and hope someone will be able to help.
I find 1x daily tresiba to be far more consistent even with exercise and highly varied physical activity levels than lantus was for me. I think it’s just about the perfect basal insulin. I had actually gone and asked for levemir so I could take 2x daily doses and vary the amount to build in some adjustability… my doc convinced me to use tresiba instead and I’m really really glad he did.
Thanks for that. I’ve never used lantus so would be moving from Levemir onto it. I’ve tried adjusting the split doses of Levemir I take to take into account different days of activity but can’t always plan ahead and even when I do there is always a knock on effect somewhere else down the line.
Good to hear such positive things about it and glad you get on so well.
Just out of interest despite claiming to be flat, is there any period of the day after your dose you notice any kind of peak, or time of day with more or less action of the Insulin.
Many thanks.
Not really… not to a noteworthy extent anyway
Honestly, I think this is one of the only limitations of Tresiba I’ve found so far. I’ve had difficulties so far with lows when I’ve had dramatic changes to my activity level, as well as the times I’ve had a couple of alcoholic drinks (whereas I used to adjust my Lantus, I think now I’ll need to go to bed with a high blood sugar on the relatively rare occasions I do that, which will then get lowered overnight). So I’m not sure, based on my personal experience, I’d recommend it for someone with a lot of dramatic and unpredictable changes in activity levels that have strong effects on their glucose control. That said, there’s relatively little harm in trying it and seeing how it works for you, since clearly people’s experiences differ. I do agree that I don’t see any noticeable peak with it.
Edited to add: Also the hypos I’ve had with it have been more long and drawn out, not severe and plummeting. If you know to be on the look out for them, I think it would likely be easy to keep an eye out and treat them sufficiently, especially if you have a CGM.
Hi and thanks for that. You’re absolutely right everyone is different with this condition and what happens to one may not be the case with another.
The only real way is to try it and see how I get on.
I do think Levemir doesn’t help at present as I notice it has somewhat of a peak action after 6 then again between 8 and 12 hours with me and a bolus in that window along with activity doesn’t help.
The fact that Tresiba seems to be much flatter and stable I’m thinking may help, but guess there will always be issues with all Insulins and just have to work with their characteristics.
Thanks for the info.
My experience has been similar to @Sam19.
It’s a very flat basal and even in times of a lot activity (for example playing basketball for 2 straight hours) I’ve had great success. Also, I don’t see really any time of day with more or less action of the Tresiba.
I went from pumping for almost 20 years to Tresiba, Afrezza and Novolog. It’s amazing how far these insulins have come.
This worries me a bit. We have received my son’s 90 day supply of Tresiba. He is very athletic, but his sports regimen changes often, as do his basal requirements. Now I have trepidations. Oh well - we’ll just have to try it and see.
I am thinking that, possibly, when he gets sick and needs more insulin, I may add some Lantus and leave his Tresiba basal where it is.
Or just leave it alone and take corrections as needed if sick. Nothing is going to work perfectly if someone’s sick and their body is having total systems dysfunction… The whole beauty of an awesome basal like tresiba is that it’s not something that requires constant tinkering… figure out a good dose, re-evaluate if it’s still right a few times a year, and tremendously relieve the mental toll and burden of D…
I went from Lantus twice daily to Tresiba once in AM. Currently at 18 units Tresiba vs 10 + 10 Lantus. With exercize, I have had a few more issues with lows than I had with Lantus, notably early afternoons. Seems like it takes me more carbs and more time to climb out of a Tresiba low compared to Lantus. YDMV.