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Type 1 Lantus "peak"

alphabeta

Well-Known Member
Messages
615
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello,
So yesterday I increased my Lantus by 1 unit (I was on 19 units before bed but now 9) and my sugar dropped 138 points. I was fine by 8 AM but at 9:30 AM my BG rised by roughly 50+ points. Now I do understand that I need more basal before bed, but I do not seem to be able to increase more Lantus without going lower, and staying within normal limits before bed... I tend to run higher before bedtime and then wake up temporarily in range the next morning, then rise again... It seems that I need to change my Lantus time but I thought about asking for your opinions based on experience. What do you suggest? Maybe a snack before bed?
 
The profile for Lantus is, unfortunately, not entirely flat.
There is a peak 2 to 3 hours after injection.
As many of us take Lantus before we go to bed, that means we go low whilst we are asleep and can't do anything about it (unless we wake up groggy and horrible).

I moved my basal injection to tea time to ensure the Lantus peak comes whilst I am awake.

When you ask about a snack. That depends on your BG.
I am a bit of a grazer ... no, I'm not, I am a lot of a grazer ... so during the day, my usual eating pattern allows me to have a little more Lantus onboard. Therefore, I tended to target about 8mmol/l (you'll probably have to do a conversion of that to your numbers) before I went to sleep which allowed my to drop without going hypo.
So, I would take a reading and then eat however many carbs I needed to reach the 8mmol/l mark. This could be a slice of toast, a mini-cookie or one dextrose tablet.
 
I recently swapped from Lantus to Levemir, after I had a very low hypo at about 12.30 am. Initially I decided to split it, which was ok, that's an option.

Everyone seems to have different basal needs. With my split Levemir I need more at night than I do during the day, but a lot of people are the other way around.

I think @helensaramay is right to suggest moving it forward to tea time, initially, so that the peak happens while you're still awake, so you can correct it reasonably easily. Then see what happens when you do that, and then work from there.
 
Hey, I am not a British person so I am not actually familiar with "tea time" what do you mean with tea time? Around 5 PM?
 
alphabeta said:
Hey, I am not a British person so I am not actually familiar with "tea time" what do you mean with tea time? Around 5 PM?
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In Britain, we, typically have three meals a day: breakfast, dinner and tea or breakfast, lunch and dinner ... we may be a small nation but we have many regional differences such as names for meals.
Teatime is the time we eat our last main meal of the day. I would take my bolus for meal and, at the same time, take my Lantus.

I hope that is clearer. Sorry for using regional dialect ... but I hope you found it educational
 
Sooo I usually eat my dinner at 7:30 PM. That would be tea time?
 
alphabeta said:
Well I can't take both Humalog and Lantus at one time tbh!
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Why not?
Before I had my pump, I would take Lantus and NovaRapid at the same time... well, one directly after the other. As they work at different rates, there was no impact.
However, i don’t have any experience of Humalog.
 
helensaramay said:
Why not?
Before I had my pump, I would take Lantus and NovaRapid at the same time... well, one directly after the other. As they work at different rates, there was no impact.
However, i don’t have any experience of Humalog.
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I do use Novorapid as well but I just don't feel safe doing so... 2 insulins working together simultaneously is a recipe for disaster..
 
alphabeta said:
I do use Novorapid as well but I just don't feel safe doing so... 2 insulins working together simultaneously is a recipe for disaster..
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It was never a disaster for me and I took them together for more than 5 years.
However, if you are not comfortable taking them together, it is not the solution for you.
 
I too take Lantus and NovoRapid at the same time, with no problem in blood glucose readings
 
We have regional differences within my own house... husband calls lunch dinner, and dinner tea... gets terribly confusing.

I also take my basal at the same time as my bolus (if I need some), have done for years. Your Lantus is operating for (hopefully) 24 hours, so it’s always going to be active when you inject your fast stuff. Lantus crystallises in the tissue where it is injected, and gradually dissolves over the course of the day, so as long as you inject your other one somewhere else, it’s not ever going to be a problem.
 
Hopefully... sadly it lasts around 19 to 20 hours.
 
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