Lantus or levemir

Just give it a go searley! No harm in trying lantus as you can always revert back to levemir should the headaches continue, I tried switching from lantus to levemir but didn't have the perfect control you have experienced, after about 6 weeks I changed back to lantus.

Just a few things I would like to ask.... have you mentioned these headaches to your gp and had them investigated and have you had your eyes tested recently?

Regards

Nigel

There is an article comparing these two insulins here: http://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2007/07/17/5316/lantus-and-levemir--whats-the-difference/

Just a caution that not all insulins are absorbed at the same rate so you may find than the dosage is not 1:1 ...you may need to tinker with the dosage to get the same effect.

My vote goes to Levemir, searley. I found it that bit more reliable compared to Lantus.

All you can do is give Lantus a go and see what happens. Like your cosultant, I'd be surprised if it is Levemir causing your headaches, but you never know.

Good luck.

I've not used Lantus..

But a lot of users to complain about stinging when injecting, as it's got a slightly acidic ph balance than Levimer... The profiles are slightly different in the two which suggests that Lantus has a flater profile, but in practice levimer tends to give a flater one.. Levimer also lends itself to splitting than Lantus does.. Another problem which isn't really excepted by the HCP, is that a lot of users seem to experince several side effetcs, such as foggy headness, joint pains, unperdictable hypo's, after they've been using it for several years! Oh and has a bad rep for weight gain!

Strange you say about headache's..

I'm on a pump now, but did use levimer when I swapped to it, I started to get painless migraines, get the visual disruption with flashing coloured lights in my vision, similar time I started to sleeping though nightime hypo's so when I woke up in the morning my eyes were blizted, it was like looking through a very thick dirty net curtain :shock:

When I went to my doctors and discribed these two symptoms, he had me straight over to the emergency eye clinic, as apparently these symptoms presented when the retina is starting to detach! But a full check by the eye specailist nothing found and declared I was having painless migraines! Funny though I used to get this 4-5 times or more a month while I was using levimer, but in over 3 years of pumping, I've had 3 or 4 attacts in total..

Hi Searley
Has your doctor not suggested another basal besides Lantus or Levemir?? There are others available, if I were you I'd check them out. As Jopar says,like Levemir, Lantus has many side-effects, often unrecognised by HCPs- here's a link that might interest you - http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/lantus-ins ... /#comments
For further information on alternatives to the 2 Ls, contact the IDDT http://www.iddt.org/here-to-help/contact-us/
Jus

Hi,
I have recently switched from Lantus to Levemir two weeks ago as the injections were very painful. I am really struggling to get my blood sugar down - on Lantus a normal fast-acting dose was around 4 or 5 units (of Novorapid), but now I am taking up to 12 units and it seems to have no effect. I am taking 12 units of Levemir at 10pm, and 8 at 7am. Blood sugar is consistently around 14, the lowest I have been able to get it since switching is 9.4.
I was diagnosed less than a year ago so am still hesitant about changing the doses too much without instruction from the hospital, but this is driving me mad! How can I get it down?

Searley
In answer to your question - none!
You can't control your diabetes with just a short or rapid acting insulin, as your BG levels will just swing high to low and you'll feel even worse than you do now. If you're suffering headaches and you think it's related to Lantus;as you've previously had the same problem with Levemir it sounds like you're not suited to either and I strongly suggest you try an animal variety. Please contact the IDDT and speak to your doctor about changing your long-acting insulin. It took me years to discover that Lantus was making me ill, and for some people analogue insulins are poison rather than treatment, god only knows why :? or perhaps the drug companies themselves :evil:
Don't struggle on like this, get back to your doctor asap.
Jus