Adjusting to Levemir, what’s your experience?

[Fairygodmother]

I was on Lantus for years and had nothing but trouble with it. I missed the Levimir and was put straight on to Tresiba which, so far, has been amazing. Am getting a constant blood sugar reading through out the night (thank you Libre)

The green face emoji looks ill, so I just have to say I’m green with envy!

 

[becca59]

I wonder if some places are loathe to prescribe Tresiba/Toujeo because of increased cost. I was moved from Lantus to Toujeo nearly two years ago by the Daphne team. It has been so much better. However I did notice on my prescription it has an amber warning next to it. Nothing else does. Does that mean they are keeping an eye on the amount prescribed?

 

[TheBigNewt]

Lantus went generic in this country about a year ago I think. My insurance moved me to "Basaglar" which is generic Lantus in pens. Cheaper and works the same for me. What happens in the drug business (I used to work for Pfizer before med school) is as a patent gets close to expiration the company (or a different company) moves to come out with a "better" version of the same/similar thing so they can move you to that before it expires and get the big profits. Toujeo reminds me of that. Levemir is a twice daily basal that was Lantus' only competition at one time.

 

[Fairygodmother]

I think here costs are becoming more important especially as the number of people diagnosed with all five forms of diabetes is rising and real funding is declining. It’s a sorry situation. I feel very selfish sometimes when I want a more expensive insulin that’d do a better job; the NHS has provided me with life-saving medication for 48 years now so maybe it’s time to take a deep breath and remember to feel lucky.

 

[scotteric]

I was on Lantus for years and had nothing but trouble with it. I missed the Levimir and was put straight on to Tresiba which, so far, has been amazing. Am getting a constant blood sugar reading through out the night (thank you Libre)

Tresiba works very well for some people, and for others it's an inflexible nightmare.

 

[Fairygodmother]

I suspect I’m just wanting to have a holiday from the fluctuations in the action of Lantus and the way gaps in coverage have to be accommodated; I’ve been feeling sad and frustrated that Levemir’s not been as easy a fix as the Consultant suggested it would be.

I’ve moved the time I inject basal forward by one hour and hope that will remove the early morning rises. Second day now and it’s good, hoping it’s a fix. Now to work out the new ratio and correction for the evening and before sleep gap.

I’m really appreciative of all the talk and help you’ve all given here. It’s just so good to be able to run it all past people who live with T1 too. You’ve made an old woman very T1 happy - well, not old, late young! And yes, “T1 happy” may be a bit of an exaggeration.

 

[linda_b]

Yes! I switched to Levemir last year after 10 years on Lantus as it wasn't doing it's job. I suffered the exact same thing as you between about 7pm and 9pm my bloods started rising. I then also suffered the worst high bloods in the morning. I'm at a perfect balance now of 11 units 9AM and 12 unit 9PM. I now very rarely wake up with high bloods and that rise between 7 and 9 has gone, but it took a lot of playing round under nurse supervision to get that. I got extremely frustrated to the point where I nearly asked to go back on Lantus but we got there. It's just a case of trial and error. Good Luck!

 

[Tony337]

Hi
I'm on levimir and take 10 units at 6am then 14 at 6pm.
I've been on it for about 10 years and a type 1 for 44 years and it works for me.

All the best
Tony

 

[Fairygodmother]

I thought I’d cracked it with 8 am and 8 pm, then I had one of ‘those’ days. I spent some time with a hypo busting bun in Asda, where I’d just picked up some new sensors - how ironic is that - and then thirty-five minutes after I was fit to drive again I sat for 45 minutes with the jelly babies in a Lidl car park.

I hated that day!

In an over-reaction I reduced both am and pm to 7, which was inadequate.

Back to 8 pm and I suspect back to 8 am too.

Ah well, I wish there were half-unit pens for basal!

 

[eventhorizon]

You can use a half unit pen for levemir. The Novopen Echo. It will deliver a maximum dose of 30 units in half unit increments.

 

[Fairygodmother]

Ooooo, great!

 

[annliggins]

Just a thought...I know some of us are looked after by diabetic "experts"but they aren't all innnovative and all knowing ,however Thank you guys we appreciate your time and dedication without you we'd be lost. However, after all these years I know my body and insulin requirements better than you ( funnily enough) so grandmother and eggs springs to mind, don't try to keep me in the dark ages of finger picking and old fashioned insulin ..i want Libra, Tresiba , don't cost cut with me I'm a modern girl and ill make my voice heard !!!!

 

[Fairygodmother]

I use a half unit pen for novorapid, I didn’t know that Levemir cartridges fitted in one too as the initial prescription’s for flexpens - more research was needed. Duh! Seeing a DSN on Friday so hoping, and internally training a bit of diplomacy, which is sometimes required!

 

[Tony337]

Please don't knock yourself Fairygodmother.
If you don't know you don't know and the only reason I knew in this instance of half unit pens is because someone told me.
I only use my half unit one for novorapid but they are interchangeable and if you ask whoever looks after you at the NHS they should give you 2 one for each insulin type.

The only thing I would add is that after 44 years of looking after type 1 I don't chop and change my levimir.
I am not saying that medically just through experiences over the years.

Good luck
Tony

 

[Fairygodmother]

I just felt I ought to know, @Tony337, after all I too use a half unit pen for Novorapid and have done for years.
I’m still trying to find the right dose for Levemir: I was taking Lantus for 35 years and only switched to Levemir 3 weeks ago so still not settled.
I’m trying to remember the name of the long-acting insulin I first used 48 years ago and can only remember the way life was constrained by its regular peaks that meant I had to eat. What was your first basal? Later on there was the wretched one that had a 36 hour action so that there was a regular overlap day when no bolus was needed - now what was that called? And in between there was protamine zinc which turned into a snow-cartridge if it got accidentally frozen.
None of the early ones allowed flexible meal times did they, so by comparison glargine and detemir have a lot going for them if you can just sort out the correct doses!