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Anyone stopped taking Lantus (and why?!)

Moggies12

Moggies12

Active Member
Messages
37
Location
Angus, Scotland
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I've had terrible muscle aches and restlessness which is worse at night. I'm maybe putting two and two together and getting five, but having read one or two (old-ish) posts am coming to the conclusion it could be the Lantus.
As I'm fairly newly diagnosed, they've been gradually increasing my dose until my bg is settled. At first I used to get a bit achy in the morning and just needed to get up, then gradually that got worse until the pain and restlessness left me barely able to sleep.
I asked about this in a previous post and it was suggested that it was my body adjusting as it got used to more normal glucose levels, but the last couple of nights I've taken a couple of units less and slept a bit better.
I'm seeing the doctor today, so will see what he says, but just wondered if anyone here could confirm my suspicions (or reasure me!) I'm sure you guys know best!!
Thanks :)
 
hi moggies12
welcome to the forum :)

with tim on this -- i have not come across this symptom but we are all different

as you are only about 6 weeks in so far perhaps body is adjusting to lower blood glucose levels.
what level of exercise are you doing as well.
just wondering if that is influencing the feeling.
 
Moggies12 said:
I've had terrible muscle aches and restlessness which is worse at night. I'm maybe putting two and two together and getting five, but having read one or two (old-ish) posts am coming to the conclusion it could be the Lantus.
As I'm fairly newly diagnosed, they've been gradually increasing my dose until my bg is settled. At first I used to get a bit achy in the morning and just needed to get up, then gradually that got worse until the pain and restlessness left me barely able to sleep.
I asked about this in a previous post and it was suggested that it was my body adjusting as it got used to more normal glucose levels, but the last couple of nights I've taken a couple of units less and slept a bit better.
I'm seeing the doctor today, so will see what he says, but just wondered if anyone here could confirm my suspicions (or reasure me!) I'm sure you guys know best!!
Thanks :)
Click to expand...
Hi,
just a random thought...
Do you get up & test in the night when restless...? Just wondering if you are going low then the "liver dump" thing kicks in..? The low causing restlessness twitchy tense leg spasms.. Hence the ache??
 
I was moved off it as we found that it wasnt lasting the full 24 hours and my basal reguirements seemed to fluctuate throughout the day.

I am not on Levemir and I must say that I found I had a ton more energey after I came off Lantus. AT the time I wasn't even aware I was that dopey and tired.
 
Hi all
Thanks Tim, interesting read
Himtoo, been feeling so cr*p have been very pathetic and doing very little proper exercise.
Jaylee I have been testing when I've been up pacing in the night, thinking I might be low, but my figures are normal. To be honest it's way worse than twitchy though! It's not just my legs, it's my belly, my lower back, (arm and chest too, though less frequently).
Jee whiz I've turned into such a whinger! I was really positive to start with, relieved to know what was wrong and enjoying the challenge of working things out and learning, but this is getting me down.
 
maybe its time to change the mattress. not the Basal..?? ;)
 
I think anyone having coverage problems with Lantus should try splitting their Lantus dose first, before moving to Levemir.
 
@Moggies12, do you take any other meds such as a statin?

Some people do experience side-effects with lantus so if you do suspect this is the case with you then ask to change to another basal insulin such as Levemir or Tresiba.
 
noblehead said:
@Moggies12, do you take any other meds such as a statin?

Some people do experience side-effects with lantus so if you do suspect this is the case with you then ask to change to another basal insulin such as Levemir or Tresiba.
Click to expand...

Hello
Do you know of anyone with similar symptoms to mine?
No I don't take any other medication. Just getting ready to go to the docs now for the results of blood tests from last week, so we'll see what they say.
 
Moggies12 said:
Hello
Do you know of anyone with similar symptoms to mine?
No I don't take any other medication. Just getting ready to go to the docs now for the results of blood tests from last week, so we'll see what they say.
Click to expand...

Just see what the blood tests say before making any decisions on changing insulins.

When I first joined this forum there was a couple of members who had bad side-effects when using lantus and found the problems resolved once they stopped it, around the time I was experiencing a lot of tiredness so decided to switch to levemir to see if this helped, tbh it was a complete disaster and I couldn't get any level of control using levemir so changed back to lantus, but as it happened the tiredness was unrelated to the insulin so it was a pointless exercise.

As with any insulin or any other drug, some people will fair better than others when taking them, so there's no one-size fits all, if your blood tests don't show anything unusual have a chat with your diabetes team and tell them about your symptoms. Good luck.
 
noblehead said:
Just see what the blood tests say before making any decisions on changing insulins.

When I first joined this forum there was a couple of members who had bad side-effects when using lantus and found the problems resolved once they stopped it, around the time I was experiencing a lot of tiredness so decided to switch to levemir to see if this helped, tbh it was a complete disaster and I couldn't get any level of control using levemir so changed back to lantus, but as it happened the tiredness was unrelated to the insulin so it was a pointless exercise.

As with any insulin or any other drug, some people will fair better than others when taking them, so there's no one-size fits all, if your blood tests don't show anything unusual have a chat with your diabetes team and tell them about your symptoms. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
P.S. Blood tests all normal. Doc suggested I cut back a little more on the Lantus short term to see what that does, but he too said to speak to the diabetic nurse about it all, as they're more likely to have come across this sort of thing before.
I've an appointment with the consultant & team in a couple of weeks, but I don't think I can wait that long or risk messing up my sugars, so I'll give them a ring.
Thanks all!
Cathy
 
I had similar symptoms which turned out to be going low through the night. A couple of weeks with the libre & some alarm clock setting to test with blood proved it.

As Jaylee said, I thought my basal was fine as my levels were the same on waking as going to bed. A reduction in bedtime basal has resulted in a sound sleep and no aches and pains on waking.
 
Johnny 141 said:
Spiker,didn't think you could split lantus as it's designed to last 25ish hours
Click to expand...


No you can split the lantus dose if you find it doesn't give a good 24 hour coverage, there's a few members on this forum who do just that.
 
hi I stopped taking lantus 1 year ago due to research regarding its links to pancreatic cancer been on levemir since and feel so much better used to have hypo's every night on lantus only have the odd one now and bolod glucose levels much better and i lost weight so a ++ for me changing
 
martineking said:
hi I stopped taking lantus 1 year ago due to research regarding its links to pancreatic cancer been on levemir since and feel so much better used to have hypo's every night on lantus only have the odd one now and bolod glucose levels much better and i lost weight so a ++ for me changing
Click to expand...
and before that frightens you all I have a family history of cancer including pancreatic cancer so the change was based on my clinical family history
 
I stopped as I found it unpredictable especially after exercise. Having moved to pump and subsequently basal tested I've also learned I have a higher insulin requirement in the morning (and flat the rest of the day) so it was impossible to get good predictable control (only took 17 years to find out!)...

Perhaps doing some basal testing could help you identify if lantus is working properly for you. Swings in blood glucose during your sleep could mean your not sleeping well and affecting energy levels.
 
I found it didn't last twenty-four hours and trying to get it to do so, we kept increasing the dose, which was giving me terrible night and morning hypos. I had the additional problem that as a long term Type 1 my injection sites were not good so it seemed that my absorption of it was erratic. I finally switched to a pump. Bliss!
 
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