Porcine users

[nigelho]

I've been on porcine neutral and isophane for about a year but finding it very difficult to work out how much insulin to inject. It seem to take 4-5 hours for it to kick in if I have a low carb meal, even scrambled eggs and bacon. For this I've been using about 4 times the units when I used novo rapid i.e 20 units neutral. I've split the isophane into 2 x 20 units at breakfast and around 8pm. The isophane works around 70% of the time when I wake up with reasonable single figures. The neutral is very slow but if I inject LOTS it works in around 2-3 hours but then I have so much neutral in my system that I hypo later in the day if I don't eats lots and lots to 'use' up the neutral.

How does porcine work for you????

 

[anna29]

Hi nigelho .

I use hypurin porcine isophane insulin.

Find it has a 3-4hours full onset window of time with myself .
It suits me well in terms of I 'can' tolerate it very well :thumbup:
[as I have severe medical intolerances]

I split dose it 12 hourly 8am and 8pm .
Use flexibility range of units 20/25/30
According to weather [if hot I need 'less' ]
And also vary unit needs with my BG levels .

If ever go too low this insulin does have a kick like a mule
thus giving me 'great hypo awareness' .
Sweat like a 'pig' then am starving hungry then get the awful uncontrollable shakes .
Have learnt to act and treat any hypo symptoms ' fast ' as it is like a stack of
dominos they do happen very quickly in succession !
Going from one state into another within seconds of time .

The only thing that can be a pain using this type of basal insulin
is the 3-4hour full onset window of time
I see you mention of the same fact .

Anna .

 

[nigelho]

Hi Anna,
Thanks for your info on how the isophane works for you. My DSN has told me that I'm the first porcine user that she has dealt with and the last year has been 'suck it and see' how I react . It seems to last 8-10 hours and as I usually get up around 6am I now inject 20 units, most of the time, around 8pm. If my BSs are single figures I usually have some cream crackers and cheese and I have have good waking up results between 4 and 10. If I'm high at 8pm I'll do a slight correction with neutral and hope that I don't have a hypo.

My control of the neutral is a problem. Usually, I have 20 units isophane around 6.20 am with breakfast and depending what my readings are I have 20 - 40 units neutral. I have managed to find puffed wheat to buy and it's the only cereal that dosn't spike me. Even if I have scrambled eggs I can need 30 plus units. The 2 hour window don't work for me unless I have 40 units but then I hypo within 4 hours ish if I don't eat. The neutral takes 4 - 5 hours to work which means that at times I will have a 15 - 20 BM readings during that window. This makes it hard for me to have reasonable HBA1C readings. I've gone up to 8.8% and now that I've developed PVD in the right eye...due to age and possibly high blood sugars...I'm tempted to try novo rapid again.

I wouldn't go back on levemir or lantus as I 3 really bad years with these insulin..During that time I used novo rapid so I'm hoping that I can tolerate it. I also have a problem that when I do any physical work my BMs drop rapidly so have to be careful on the amount I inject. I have been using 3-4 time the amount of neutral over what I used on novo rapid.

Thanks for letting me air my thoughts to a porcine user.