Ok... I started the Lantus and it was supposed to be the be all end all right?? WRONG. I started out on 20U and had blood sugars in the 400's. I went last night to 25U and had blood sugars in the 400's this morning... Make sense to anyone? I am trying to decide how much to up the insulin each time and how long to wait before I up it. The Dr is letting me self regulate so he is little to no help.. I know, I am switching soon but right now I could use your advice. TIA

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Mindy :o)

Hi Mindy,

Sorry you're having so many problems with the Lantus. I think you've said before that your doc isn't much help to you. How much did he tell you to start with? I think I started with the same amount of NPH that I had been taking when I switched. If I remember correctly, you were taking 70/30 or something like that?? This probably doesn't help you much, but I take 34 units at night. I don't know what else to tell you except that when I increase it, I go up by 2 or 4 units. If I were you, I might go up a little faster considering your sugar is so high. Sorry I can't help you any more. If you have any other questions, I'll be happy to try and answer them. Good luck and I hope you feel better soon.

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

i take 45 at nigth and my friend takes 75. the good thing is that its a 24 hr med so if you take to much just eat more

dave

My advice?...the sooner you switch doctors, the better!

Thanks to all of you. I switched with my insurance but it takes 30 days to kick in. I have been told that the new Dr is very good are referrals so I just need to make it another few weeks. Thank you for all of your advice on how much I am taking and how to up it. Another question I have is that it says you can not mix it with any other insulin. So far, I have been taking two shots, one for the Lantus and one for the Humalog. Does this sound right? Thanks again

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Mindy :o)

I just got on the insulin pump at the end of May of this year and it is great, but before that I was also on Lantus. While I was on the lantus I was told to never mix it with any other insulin. So, like you I took seperate shots. One of humalog at breakfast, lunch, and supper and then my shot of Lantus at nine at night. Before the lantus I was on Lente so my doctor added up all the lente I took throughout the day and that is how much lantus I started out on. It worked pretty well for me.

Good Luck and don't give up. Just try to hang in there until you can get to a new doctor who will be more willing to help you adjust your dose. I personally would keep adjusting on my own until I got my bloods down a lot. You must feel terrible in the 400's.

Bubsmom

sure thats right. i take my lantus at nite, then when ever i eat i take enough novolog to compucate for what i'm eating, sometimes 10 shots a day,sometimes 5, depending how hungary i get. i've been doing that for awhile and my levels are great. as long as you keep your #'s down and your meds don't make you sick, but you don't want to bring your bs down over nite so keep taking alittle more each time until your at the right readings.everyones body is different

dave

Hi Mindy,

Yes, definitely don't mix it with any other insulin. I take my Lantus at bed and if I see that my sugar is high and have to take Humalog too, I take another injection of that. I know. It's a pain in the neck when we're used to being able to mix other insulins, but I think that in the long run, it's well worth it. Good luck with your new doc. I hope he's great!

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Thank you all so much!! Things are starting to turn around as the fastings aren't as high. This mornings was 274 and I am now up to 40U. Your advice has proved to be extremely helpful. Thanks again

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Mindy :o)

Hi Mindy,

I'm glad you're doing better. I can't wait until you have a better doc. I'm sure you can't either. Let us know how you do with the new doc.

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Basically Lantus is a basal insulin. The person without diabetes produces insulin throughout the day - a basal, and produces more insulin in response to food. As a person with Type 1, I inject lantus at night and then test several times a day, including before meqals. I use a rapid acting insulin (either humulog or novolog), dosing based on my bg and the number of carbs I am going to have. This regimen has worked very well for me, my A1C is around 6.5. Hang in there.

what you should do is try to change the way you eat and exercise more. i have had diabetes for one year since i i turned 16 and i have it WELL under control. I exercise and run frequently. As far as lantus goes, it is the best...its the way you eat that affects your blood sugars. Lantus is a slow acting insulin that acts as a resevoir rather than a quick acting such as something like NOVOLOG. What do you eat throughout the day? i guarantee you...if you let me help you i will help you get your sugars under control...my sugars are as follows, 70 - in the morning 80-100 lunch 70-120 dinner , 80-170 night. let me know and this goes for anyone...i just hate seeing people with high blood sugars

Thank you. I realize that you are trying to be helpful and am happy to see that you have tight control over your blood sugars. The problem isnt how I eat or exercise in the traditional sense that you are thinking.

I have gone from start to finish through 3 diabetic pregnancies. I was taking upwards of 12 fingersticks a day because that baby was the most important thing to me at the time. My blood sugar was tightly controlled. My children are 11, 4, 3, and 15 months. So, I live a life where my children are still the most important thing. Sometimes to a fault. I eat something and then get caught up taking care of either them or a mess that they have created. It's kind of a "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" I intend to take the shot or the fingerstick but it doesnt always happen in the time frame that I would like. If the shot comes too later after the meal, my blood sugar is high. Then I have to milk it back down.

Your numbers are amazing but I worry that you are setting yourself up for a fall. Anyone on this board can attest that there will be days when you do the perfect thing and take the perfect dose and still you have a high. Stress, infection, exhaustion, etc all play a role in your blood sugar control. It isnt as simple as how much you eat and exercise. My blood sugars are now coming into the normal range but I am also up to 45U on the lantus. That took some tweaking as does any insulin change. I have been on many different types of insulin, been on the pump, even got thrown back on pills and the main thing I have learned from it is that diabetes is a way of life but sadly, not an exact science.

Thank you for your offer and I would love to talk meal choices with anyone as I admit that I still have alot to learn. I just worry that having diabetes for a year and having good control during that time has led you to believe that things will always be as simple. My honeymoon period is long over so I simply need to invest the time into taking care of myself. Thanks again

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Mindy :o)

Hello
I have a good feeling for anyone who gets onto lantus. It is as though you were on the insulin pump. You still find an amount that gets your daily numbers under control. It does not matter how much you need to take to get to that level. Just get there. Then when you have the daily control you should only need to take care of eating. Obviously emotions, illness, infections, family and surprises are taken into account. But with the balance that you seem to be getting to, you can start a carb counting bolus rate. You eat what you want, dietetically speaking, and your Humulog intake is based on the amount of carbs you ate.. So as far as diets. Eat small meals. And I snack during the day. I can not eat large meals. But this helps me. It is also just the way I am. So I only take more Humulog for the potatoes, crackers pasta, sugars, etc that I eat. I eat mainly until I am comfortable. This was hard to do at first since we grew up with little to eat at home. My instinct is to eat everything around. But I am trained to eat till comfortable. I leave what ever is on the plate and don't care. Then I take (1 to 5 units per 5 grams of carbohydrates eaten) the 1 to 5 calibration is the recommendation but it depends on how sensitive your body is to Humulog. Some only need a little, I am a bit insulin resistant, and so I use the 5 unit measurement. I have had good control with this method. It should be a standard for lantus and pump users. I am now on the pump. I hope this helps. You sound like you are doing very well so far. Keep up the good work. : Let us know how you are doing.
Don http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hi Mindy,

I'm so glad to hear that you're doing better on the Lantus. It must be hard when you don't have such a great doc. You're going to the new one soon, right? I've assumed you are Type I, but are you? I guess I assumed because you're on insulin, but as we all know, that's a big assumption on my part. Good luck.

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Thanks so much Sharon... In the beginning there was the great debate over what type I was. I was overweight but I was only 21. Too old to be considered a type 1 but too young to be a type 2. They put me on pills which didnt work. They then considered me a type 1 because of how high my blood sugars got out of control. The only thing we can go back to is a case of bronchitis I had about a month and a half before I was diagnosed. So my official diagnosis is Immuno Supresssed Insulin Dependant Diabetes Mellitus..LOL.... OR type 1 http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/round.gif

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Mindy :o)

Hi Mindy,

I think that happens to a lot of people before they are diagnosed with Type I. I know I was sick for three months the year before I was diagnosed and then three months right before I was diagnosed. I also had an upper respiratory thing. I was 12. I've learned so much on this board about people getting Type I at older ages. I've also heard of people in their 40's who get diagnosed with Type I. Never knew that before. Again, good luck with the Lantus. I like it a lot. I've only been on it for less than a year, but I like it and am doing much better on it. Still thinking about a pump though.

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

I have to admit that losing the pump was like losing my best friend!LOL You just get so used to not having to always think about it. There arent the highs and lows unless you bolus wrong. You end up paying more attention to what you eat and how everything works. This is all JMHO of course.

I would love to get back on it but I need to call the insurance company to figure out what I need to do. My old pumps dont work but I havent sent them back to the manufacturer yet. I dont know if they would approve another pump.

Are there like specific reasons why you dont pump? I guess it isnt for everyone so I am just curious. Take care

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Mindy :o)

Hi Mindy
How old and what make is the latest pump you received. If it is within 5 years of the arrival date of the last pump you received, the manufacturer will replace it for free. At least that is what I was told by Mini Med for my pump. I hope this will work out for you. I looked at the price. $5,599.00 per pump with the variance of paying what the insurance company is willing to pay for it. So the Ins. Co’s seem to get a break if they refuse to pay the list price. There may be some leeway for a new one if needed.
Don

Hi Mindy,

Why did you have to stop with the pump? I haven't gone with a pump yet because my doc is very old and not really up-to-date with electronic stuff (not even a computer in the office!). So, basically, I have to switch docs if I want the pump. I just have to find a new one. I guess that's the problem. It's hard finding an endo. There's not a lot of them around-at least around here. I'm seeing my internist tomorrow so I'm going to ask him about the pump and if he knows of any other endos around here. I only know of two-mine and some guy I went to when I was 12 who I didn't like very much. So, that's the story of me and the pump and why I don't have one yet, but I think I really do want one. I'll talk to you soon.

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif

Hi again Mindy,

You just answered my question on another thread about why you stopped the pump. Is the MiniMed 512 the one that has a blood monitor that comes with it and they communicate? I've been looking at that one. It looks really neat. I hope you get your pump back soon.

Sharon http://www.healthboards.com/ubb/smile.gif