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Last Day on Lantus

Heathenlass

Heathenlass

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,631
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
So tonight, in the hope of escaping "Hypo Hell", I change to Insulatard .

I think I have given Lantus a fair crack of the whip, having been on it seven years now and had continual night hypos despite splitting it, changing the doses, whatever I've done it just isn't working as a basal insulin should :(

It feels a bit weird and a retrograde step going back to Insulatard, I was hoping for designer drugs such as Levemir or Tresiba;) but...Insulatard worked before, and is cheaper ! (Cynical me!):D

Once the basal is sorted, it's changeover time to Humulin S , so I'll be saving the NHS so much money, they hopefully won't dare to try and restrict my test strips or give me a cr*p cheap meter .:cool:

Wish me luck!

Signy
 
Hope the changeover goes well for you. I changed back last year, after 10 years on Lantus, and am really glad I did.

Wasn't having night hypos (I have more on the Insulatard, at least I did initially) but was having disturbed sleep though I only realised that after I'd stopped taking it. I feel much better overall (could just be me sleeping better I suppose) but I also got more of my hypo awareness back, which was a bonus.

To me it feels good going back to the dark ages, as that is where I am most comfortable. I still use syringes so I'm hardly at the forefront of diabetes progress.

Let us know how it goes.
 
Good luck. Coming off Lantus helped me massively with night hypos etc.
Also gained a whole load of energy, did a thread on it when I changed.
 
AndyS said:
Good luck. Coming off Lantus helped me massively with night hypos etc.
Also gained a whole load of energy, did a thread on it when I changed.
Click to expand...
Well done Andy, read your stats you have the right attitude by not beating yourself up about little slip ups. The whole idea is living with diabetes and NOT letting diabetes life your live. Fewer than 6% of diabetics achieve the recommended level of 6.4% average for their HbA1c. Spot on
 
Thank you for your good wishes :happy:
I changed over last night first split dose of 2u Insulatard, and for the first time in seven years, no hypo!

However, my fasting BG was 9.9, rising to 12.6 pre lunch and after the morning dose of 10u Insulatard and my usual morning dose of Novorapid. I eat exactly the same thing for breakfast, so was a tad concerned about this ! The DSN is monitoring the change on a daily basis, and was unconcerned by the highs, saying the dose will be adjusted as a pattern emerges. One thing she did say was that there was probably still Lantus in my system, and this being piggybacked by Insulatard, this may be why my BG was higher ?? A bit odd, I thought that would make them lower !

@AndyS , I'm glad you mentioned the energy levels rising, it's been a problem since I've been on Lantus, but has been attributed to just about everything and anything else by the HCP's ! I'm hoping my energy levels get back to normal coming off it. Another thing I've noticed, I have felt "strange " since being on Lantus, not ill exactly, but foggy headed and almost disassociated at times. I mentioned this to the HCP's too, and was told it is not a known side effect of Lantus :confused: Granted, seven years of broken sleep and treating hypos on autopilot may account for some of that feeling, but it just isn't the same as being tired...just "odd" ! Andy, please could you post the link to your thread? I've looked, but have somehow missed seeing it ! Thanks !:)

Signy
 
Thanks, Andy!:happy: That is a really useful thread :)
You are so right about the sting from Lantus - I truly don't miss that!:rolleyes: It was interesting to read how other's have generally felt rubbish on Lantus, now know that I wasn't imagining it as HCP's have implied - it's only day 2 since stopping it, and despite the higher BG readings at present, I already feel much better :D, and it IS different from broken nights tiredness. It feels as if a fog has lifted .

No night hypo last night either, I'd forgotten what a decent night's steep without doing the zombie walk to the kitchen at 2am or 4am felt like, and no hangover in the morning :)

I expect that the dose will be adjusted today , so onwards and upwards (but not the BG's LOL)

Signy
 
czj said:
Hope the changeover goes well for you. I changed back last year, after 10 years on Lantus, and am really glad I did.

Wasn't having night hypos (I have more on the Insulatard, at least I did initially) but was having disturbed sleep though I only realised that after I'd stopped taking it. I feel much better overall (could just be me sleeping better I suppose) but I also got more of my hypo awareness back, which was a bonus.

To me it feels good going back to the dark ages, as that is where I am most comfortable. I still use syringes so I'm hardly at the forefront of diabetes progress.

Let us know how it goes.
Click to expand...

So sorry, czj ! For some obscure reason your post didn't show up on my phone, but does on the laptop? Technology is just wonderful!:confused:

May I ask - what fast acting insulin are you using? And how did you get them to prescribe syringes ? I asked once, and was laughed out of the surgery !
"The Young Braves no longer follow the old ways" ;)

Signy
 
Signy,

Glad to hear you already feeling so much better.

I'm using Humalog. The plan was to go to Actrapid and Insulatard, from Humalog and Lantus as it was the Humalog I thought was getting me down, but having changed to those two I had loads of hypos. Then, still trying to get it right we had a blizzard, snowed in for nearly a week, and the telephone line was down. (we get no mobile signal here) That first night I had the worst hypo in years, and thought best go back to the Lantus or this is going to end badly. So I did, and the next night I woke up at 2 am and lay awake for 2 hours. It was only then I realised it was the Lantus that didn't agree with me because I had been doing that for about 3 years and had thought it was the stress of selling the house etc.

I tried a pen about 20 years ago, and didn't like it - found it a bit cumbersome and inflexible. Now I just keep my head under the parapet and I seem to get away with it. I was discharged from my hospital clinic about 10 years ago, which probably helps. I do see a lovely DSN, who told me she had "misled" her diabetic husband into believing syringes had been discontinued.

I use the BD micro-fine demi (half a unit increments). They are 0.3ml, and have 8mm needles. That seems a bit long for my DSN, but I used 12mm needles for about 40 years, so it seems like progress to me.

Hope you get the morning highs sorted
Christine
 
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