Help with splitting Levemir

[Maiii1247]

Hi Did you split your Levemir and if so how is it going? I have been on Levemir for a few years, my nurse always tells me to split it because she says it typically lasts 18hrs and therefore is best split. I take mine 7am and 7pm, doesn’t effect my bolus at all. Hope all is going well.

Thankyou for checking up on me. Unfortunately im still trying to gather the nerve. Levemir once daily at night with 3 other meal time injections didnt work well for me so i switched back to Humalog mix 50 till i figure out the solution. I have a hectic college routine coming up ahead and im wondering if i would really be able to keep up with 5 injections per day...

 

[EllieM]

Thankyou for checking up on me. Unfortunately im still trying to gather the nerve. Levemir once daily at night with 3 other meal time injections didnt work well for me so i switched back to Humalog mix 50 till i figure out the solution. I have a hectic college routine coming up ahead and im wondering if i would really be able to keep up with 5 injections per day...

Hi @Maiii1247
Can I ask how long you've been diabetic and do you have access to a cgm (libre or dexcom)? A number of our members have stressful jobs and find that in the long term injections don't have to be a big deal. (I can manage an injection in about 30 seconds but I have a dexcom so don't need to do a blood test before hand unless I suspect my sensor is misreading. Is a pump an option for you? (Though I suspect that that requires quite a bit of T1 experience/confidence to manage the dosing correctly.) Though I might nominally be on 5 injections a day (I split my lantus), I do two injections in the morning when I get up, one lantus at night, and the other injections just happen before other meals.)

I personally found a basal/bolus regime had a lot more flexibility than a fixed dose one, mainly because I can eat when I like and adjust my bolus for corrections.... But different regimes work well for different people and their lifestyles.

Sending virtual hugs your way.

 

[Maiii1247]

Hi @Maiii1247
Can I ask how long you've been diabetic and do you have access to a cgm (libre or dexcom)? A number of our members have stressful jobs and find that in the long term injections don't have to be a big deal. (I can manage an injection in about 30 seconds but I have a dexcom so don't need to do a blood test before hand unless I suspect my sensor is misreading. Is a pump an option for you? (Though I suspect that that requires quite a bit of T1 experience/confidence to manage the dosing correctly.) Though I might nominally be on 5 injections a day (I split my lantus), I do two injections in the morning when I get up, one lantus at night, and the other injections just happen before other meals.)

I personally found a basal/bolus regime had a lot more flexibility than a fixed dose one, mainly because I can eat when I like and adjust my bolus for corrections.... But different regimes work well for different people and their lifestyles.

Sending virtual hugs your way.

Hi! Ive been diabetic for 10 years (since i was 11. 22 years old now) Id always been on a premixed insulin and had an HbA1c of 6 until covid ruined my control so i was put from one premixed insulin to the other but personally i dont like it but have to deal with it since it goes with my routine.
I did manage to order some cgms but i cant really afford them. Also theres no pumps where i live. A long lasting insulin such as tresiba isnt available either.

You're right in terms of flexibility and i would very much like to break out of my rigid insulin schedule too but its stressful because i have close to no support from my family. My disease is a burden to them. So i dont complain much and stick to what i already have

P.S your kindness means a lot!

 

[EllieM]

You're right in terms of flexibility and i would very much like to break out of my rigid insulin schedule too but its stressful because i have close to no support from my family. My disease is a burden to them. So i dont complain much and stick to what i already have

Hi, I must admit diabetes is easier if you are getting support (even if it's only emotional) from friends and family. As my mother was T1, diabetes was just a part of life for me and no one in my family regarded her or my diabetes as a burden. I don't know how medical care works in your location but if there is a big financial impact to your family to pay for your medication then I can imagine it might make you feel uncomfortable? But no one chooses to have T1 diabetes, and as a parent, even if I had to make sacrifices to pay for my child's medication, I wouldn't blame them for this or regard them as not worthy of support in other ways..

When I left home to go to university all my closish friends there knew that I had T1 and that there might be issues if I was hypo. When I was pregnant with my son at 29 one work colleague rescued me from an acute hypo. I've always found that being open about my T1 made my life easier, but I do appreciate that not everyone feels like this.

An hba1c of 6 is awesome though. Hopefully you'll be able to get back into a regime that works for you soon. And feel free to complain here if you can't talk to anyone else

(It's interesting to see which insulins are available in different locations. I'm in New Zealand where neither tresiba or levemir are available....)

I

 

[Dianemacfaden]

Hi! So I was started on 17u levemir at 9pm and 5-6 units of Novorapid with every meal.
However the 17u of levemir drop me too much at night. Especially from 12am to 3am and dont give me coverage in the afternoon. It only keeps my sugars stable from 9pm to 3pm, after which i start rising. Also, Reducing units only gives my bad sugars in the afternoon

Im pretty nervous but after a lot of meltdowns ive decided to split my levemir into 8u at 6am and 8u at 6pm corresponding to when i wake up for college and when i have my late late lunch.
Now, HOW SAFE IS THIS? my doctor doesnt agree on a split as he says its a 24 hr insulin so itd be useless so IM DOING THIS ON MY OWN.

Does splitting levemir cause any overlaps? Does it change your bolus ratios? Would this make me more prone to hypos?
For everyone that split their levemir, how did the trials and errors go and what did u learn along the way?

I have a very hectic routine and i dont wanna risk a bad hypoglycemic episode infront of my college mates.

hi
Type I for 51 years and been on Levemir for many years. I was never under the impression that it was a 24 hour once a day insulin. I split mine roughly 12 hours apart at 8am and 8pm. I take less at night than through the day. I am on a very low carb diet and weigh 63kg. I take 9 units day time and 7.5 units at night with a bit of variation depending on activities and health issues etc. You seem to be taking an very high dose all in one go so no wonder you go hypo as the levemir seems to peak after about 5 hours. I would start by splitting it roughly and keep checking your levels regularly and see how you go but take guidance from your medical team. Do you use a cgm like Libre and have you done DAFNE training?

 

[Dianemacfaden]

Are you a student here in the UK or elsewhere?

 

[david4503]

Thankyou for checking up on me. Unfortunately im still trying to gather the nerve. Levemir once daily at night with 3 other meal time injections didnt work well for me so i switched back to Humalog mix 50 till i figure out the solution. I have a hectic college routine coming up ahead and im wondering if i would really be able to keep up with 5 injections per day...

It seems like you’re having the “this diabetes is really interfering with my life” struggle that we’ve all had at some point. The amazing thing about it is that somehow we adapt and are able to do what we need to do. The fact that other Type 1s also have hectic lives and manage with however many injections they need should give you some confidence that you too will manage.

 

[Maiii1247]

hi
Type I for 51 years and been on Levemir for many years. I was never under the impression that it was a 24 hour once a day insulin. I split mine roughly 12 hours apart at 8am and 8pm. I take less at night than through the day. I am on a very low carb diet and weigh 63kg. I take 9 units day time and 7.5 units at night with a bit of variation depending on activities and health issues etc. You seem to be taking an very high dose all in one go so no wonder you go hypo as the levemir seems to peak after about 5 hours. I would start by splitting it roughly and keep checking your levels regularly and see how you go but take guidance from your medical team. Do you use a cgm like Libre and have you done DAFNE training?

I did manage to get a couple Freestyle libre sensors to last me till september and i cant afford to buy anymore. And unfortunately no i did not take the training. I didnt even know that was a thing until now.
Also did you notice there to be slight peaks with every levemir injection you took? Im hoping splitting levemir will lessen the peaks or eliminate them

 

[EllieM]

And unfortunately no i did not take the training. I didnt even know that was a thing until now.

DAFNE is a UK course, and I'm guessing you are not in the UK because if you were you'd qualify for free sensors.

But
https://www.bertieonline.org.uk/
is a T1 education course available to anyone with T1 who speaks English and has access to the internet...
Not sure if it'll tell you anything you don't already know, but might be worth a look.

 

[Daibell]

I split my Levemir. I inject in the morning and rarely change the amount. I do the second dose at bedtime and adjust that quite a bit depending on my BS level. My aim is to to keep my BS level during the night or bring it back down from a higher level to around 6 to 7. My concern is night-time hypos despite my Libre 2 giving warnings. My consultant agrees with this approach. My BS control has always been difficult despite low-carbing. I'm treated as a T1 despite the C-Peptide level being just outside the T1 range.