40 units at bedtime
I was started out @ 15 units 1x/day. Self titerated to 23 units 1x/day. Fastings run 100-120 with occasional excrusions in the 90’s. Before meals tend to run 80-90’s with occasional excursions in the low 70’s, especially if I’m highly active and/or running late on a meal. That’s about as far as I want to push the Lantus, much more I’d be risking below 70’s on those days I’m off schedule. By the way, hello!
I had been on 14-15 units of Lantus since I was diagnosed 3 years ago, but I have recently cut my carb intake significantly, and am now taking 6 units at bedtime. I realized my Lantus dose was covering carbs as well (which should be my Humalog’s job), not just my basal needs, which increased my chance for lows when my diet was irregular, which is always. No night time lows since the switch, and there is a straight line at 90 across my CGM when I wake up. A nice thing to see in the morning.
I take 6.5 to 7 units at night. I still cant figure out why I take so little and it works really well for me. When I work out and take 6.5 I get low over night sometimes. Ive had diabetes for 10 years.
TAKING too much insulin? In that case you end up FEEDING the extra insulin to keep from going hypo! Gee…wonder WHY some people gain weight on insulin?
ANY insulin will LOWER BS level N, R, Humalog, lantus etc…GOT THAT?
BASAL insulin is slow acting, long lasting and intended to provide a good stable background insulin level your body needs 24/7, no food or exercise.
BOLUS insulin is fast/rapid insulin intended to cover carb intake, and also good for corrections, largely due it being fast acting and also fades out faster, so less chance of insulin stacking. I did a good complete insulin factor set of testing and found Humalog was my personal best match to meal carbs.
The IDEAL is to maintain relatively normal BS levels 24/7. There is no better way, except for pumping, to do that.
GOMER
I am currently taking 17 units at night and 15 units in the morning. My dosage is split because I was having lows over night and since my doctor recommended splitting the dosage it has worked great!
I’m taking 17 units of Lantus in the solostar in the evening. Lately I’ve been having some serious lows in the morning, though. I’ve started riding my bike longer and swimming a bit and I’m wondering if I need to lower the dose to account for the increased activity.
I take metformin and keep my carbs pretty darn low. Anyone have any ideas about what to do when I’m exercising more and getting early morning lows? Woke up in a sweat the other day about 5am and had a 43 reading. Sometimes when I wake normally, it’s 62 or 65. Then, sometimes it’s 120…
Ideas???
I take 12 units when it’s time after I awaken and 8 units 12 hours later.
22 units of Lantus at 6 PM daily, roughly 1 unit of Humalog per 10 grams of carbs.
6 units right now, started on 10 on June 7, 2010. Take this at night. And, take anywhere from 2 to 4 units Humalog during the day for meals. This means that sometimes, especially in the morning, I only need 1/2 dose. Started on 5 units before each major meal on June 7, 2010. This routine keeps changing (to less and less insulin) over the last few weeks. I guess I’m in “the honeymoon period” – when I was diagnosed with type 1, I was told my body is producing a little insulin on its own…
yes others do take it in the morning my other half takes his in the morning
my partner takes 72 units in the morning no matter what (as long as he actually remembers to take it like hes supposed to which he forgets to half the time)
10-12 units @ 8 pm + NovoLog before meals
I am type two. Since March 2009. recently put on Lantus once a day. Started out as 30 units… But I have had very high sugars. Dr.'s nurse called to state to ad a unit each day until I was at a fasting bs of 100 or lower. So far I am at 44 units once a day, at night with fasting of 135 as of today. Finding the less I eat the lower the numbers… but I get hungry and very whooshy headed between 1-4 in afternoon. I am also seizure prone. What I eat or do not eat seems to affect me a lot when it comes to that whooshy feeling. Wondering why the wooshies come when I am taking my meds? Is it the insulin messing with my seizure meds? It is not my BS numbers as they are not to high or to low…Dr. seems not to know an answer to this question.
Angie… what happens if he misses his dose? How does he feel?
how are you getting to lower your units? I am wheelchair bound temp due to a broken ankle so exercising is out for me.
Hi lotsofshots,
Sounds like you should be taking more bolus. You should not be taking Lantus for carb intake from snacking though, but should likely increase your carb/lispro ratio. If you could at least try to regulate your snacking at night to something specific and predictable (carb wise), then you will be better able to keep it under wraps.
I give myself only one shot of Lantus a day, but then add another variable shot of Humalin N to counter some of the nighttime rises and this works for me. If I have had an especially fatty meal, the Humalin N increases (I take anywhere from 2 to 7 units at 10pm depending on what I have eaten or how much exercise I have had that day), but my Lantus stays steady (I take 18 units at 6pm). Although again, your highs in excess of 300 sound like you need more bolus intake. (also keep in mind that highs can be caused by extreme lows at night and your liver kicks in and raises your levels – you need to experiment to figure this out).
It sounds though that, ideally, it would be better to try and reorganize your eating habits (I know, easier said than done!). I use to follow your general pattern of eating (nothing until noon), but now force myself to eat a meal in the morning. This sustains me for much of the day and you will feel better in the morning. I thought I would gain weight by eating a morning meal, but in fact I did not and I felt the need to eat at night much less. Good luck!
I have been on Lantus for a few years now and have experimented with different methods. These days I take 18 units at 6 pm. I use to take a lot more and I use to split my dosage, but found that that created too many unpredictable periods where I wasn’t sure how it was effecting me. Now I know that in the late afternoon my Lantus is finishing its cycle and I need to increase my bolus injection if I eat anything. Exercise in the afternoon will also cause my sugars to rise because there is not much insulin in my system, so I need to take insulin for that also on some days. In addition to my meal time bolus injection I add a shot of NPH (Humalin N) around 10 pm. This varies from 2-7 units depending on what I have eaten and exercised. This keeps my night time rises under control.
Initially I took about 27 units of Lantus which I found caused me to go low at night; my new regime works best for me.
I just went on the pump this week but was taking 28 units at bedtime with humalog with every meal.