tresiba constantly going high !

[Nannynet]

I switched to Tresiba 4 days ago, nightmare running high levels, have to take loads of NovoRapid to lower, then go hypo, think ill go back to Levemir, I was told by consultant this would be great insulin, but you have to sort doses, I have had on going problems with low blood sugars, and ketones in past, so this is just another part of the night mare, help someone please I'm at my wits end, have been type 1 diabetic for 16 years, and never had such problems until 6 months ago, could see NHS's consultant face to face so paid privately, but no support in between.

 

[rachelj80]

I changed from Lantus to Tresiba about 3 weeks ago and to start with my blood sugars were all over the place! Like you I seemed to be constantly injecting Novorapid. Things seem to be improving now as I have adjusted tresiba dose but it does take a few days to notice the difference! I would say to keep going with Tresiba and give it a bit of a chance. If you can't get an appointment with your consultant do you have a diabetic nurse you could phone?

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @Nannynet

It does take a while to get your doses adjusted, when I was moved onto Tresiba I got a bit down about the high numbers, as I was started on a low dose and then gradually worked my way upwards, but as this insulin lasts around 36 hours you can't adjust every day, you have to wait another 2-3 days before adjusting, and very carefully too. Sadly you can't expect over night results, it's slowly slowly catchy monkey with this one, but it is worth it, it was the best basal insulin I went on, it took around a 3-4 weeks for things to really settle in, but I loved the long flat profile and kept me steady overnight and less hypos overnight too, be patient it will come right.

 

[In Response]

The fantastic thing about Tresiba is that it has a long flat profile. The downside is that it has a long profile.
The impact of this is that it take 3 or 4 days for any change to take affect.
Therefore, @Nannynet if you have only been using it for 3 days, the advice is to give it time.
Don't give up yet. People with a consistent life find it is great once it has had time to "bed in".

 

[searley]

It take 3 to 4 days to start working properly

And any changes you make will be the same

 

[Nannynet]

Maybe will persevere then, but scary with such high blood sugars then I crash 5 hrs later thanks for replies.

 

[searley]

Maybe will persevere then, but scary with such high blood sugars then I crash 5 hrs later thanks for replies.

For me when I started it, and got it right it was the best change i had made

Very flat action.. very constant

Really when starting degludec you should still use a little (about 50%) of your old basal with it to help prevent the highs.. but too late for you now

 

[Juicyj]

Hello @Nannynet

The first days are tricky as you may have some residual levemir left in your system, unsure if your team told you to half dose your levemir before starting on Tresiba, that’s why they start low and work upwards - stick with it, it’s all about expectations as your told it’s a great insulin but no one tells you about the transition period, you will be fine.

 

[oldgreymare]

Hello @Nannynet

The first days are tricky as you may have some residual levemir left in your system, unsure if your team told you to half dose your levemir before starting on Tresiba, that’s why they start low and work upwards - stick with it, it’s all about expectations as your told it’s a great insulin but no one tells you about the transition period, you will be fine.

Hi @Nannynet ,
Unfortunately for me, when first trying out Tresiba, as I had not been not advised to taper it in while tapering Levemir out, I had a really rough first week = basically borderline DKA when the Levemir ran out, but the Tresiba dose hadn't stabilised. Now I use about a 75% dose of Tresiba compared to my previous Levemir basal, but this will vary very much for everyone. Keep trying it out if you can.

 

[Nannynet]

Still battling on have increased by a unit now. Fingers crossed it sorts t self soon, as very tiring with the highs.

 

[Nannynet]

I've been on tresiba a week now, its awful blood sugars spike high, then hypo, I feel like I got flue, had diarrhoea, can any tell me how to swop back to levimir? With the dosing as I can't stand this any more, please help

 

[StewM]

I’m going to give you an answer I fully understand you won’t want to hear but going by what you’ve said you’ve only been on Tresiba 6 days. It frequently takes Tresiba 3-5 days (but sometimes longer) to settle. I see you’ve said you increased your dose already, but you probably won’t be getting the full benefits of that for another two days minimum. Waiting it out does work, all Tresiba users have similar stories.

Switching back to Levemir would probably need to be something you talk to your consultant about, and I warn you they may say the same things we are about giving the Tresiba time to settle.

Diarrhoea is obviously a concern, but it could be unrelated to these issues. It is possible, but statistically unlikely, that you are allergic to Tresiba. Though if that were the case you would probably have other symptoms (I believe these are listed on the leaflet that comes with the Insulin).

Should add the previso I’m not a Doctor, but I have been on a few wild rides with Tresiba whilst waiting for a dose to settle. I realise it does feel terrible but patience is frequently (and in my case always) rewarded.

 

[Nannynet]

Hi @Nannynet ,
Unfortunately for me, when first trying out Tresiba, as I had not been not advised to taper it in while tapering Levemir out, I had a really rough first week = basically borderline DKA when the Levemir ran out, but the Tresiba dose hadn't stabilised. Now I use about a 75% dose of Tresiba compared to my previous Levemir basal, but this will vary very much for everyone. Keep trying it out if you can.

Hi I wasn't given any info on how to take it. new nothing of tapering off Levemir until you said, I was just handed it from chemist, and did a 1 to 1 swop, no wonder I feel so ill with it! thanks for answer, sorry I took a while getting back.

 

[MamaIzzy]

@Nannynet my daughter (15) has just been switched from Levemir to Tresiba and like you, in the absence of any advice to the contrary we just went on our merry old way and did a straight swap Neither DSN or pharmacist suggested we should do a gradual phase of the two. She has been on a bit of a rollercoaster too but hard for me to manage as she is away at school so hard not to say it isn’t due to what she is eating. I find constantly shifting all these pieces of the jigsaw makes my mead want to explode
Hope everything settles for you!

 

[StewM]

Like MamaIzzy, I wasn't advised to do a gradual phase of the two. Just had a look at my historic Libre Data and my problems peaked at Day 5 of Tresiba and then began to steadily improve from there until I had stable control by the end of week two.

 

[LWA]

Tresiba was a game changer for me and I was no longer responding to Levimir after 20 years. I initially Experienced severe lows after 8 hr period so I now spilt dose - 12 units in morning and 12 units at night works very well for me

 

[annliggins]

Ive been messing about with 1 unit basal for weeks .. up , down, up , down trying to tweek it EVENTUALLY its settled down ...tresiba is a devil but great if you persevere imo