Split dose , did I do the right thing ?

[Fetchmeacoffee]

After what seemed like a headache of a bloody night , I've decided on my own back to split my dose of insulin , against what my DSN thinks , did I make the correct move ? After being between 16-18 all night , I took a small shot of 12 units of Insuman , after breakfast I thought I'd spike (I usually do!) But I'm down to a happy number of 6. The only thing that worries me is that I've only just had the flu jab , and I think it's messing with my numbers , but to be sat at 6 after breakfast is a break thru for me , did I do the right thing ? :/

 

[Juicyj]

To be fair it's best to wait a couple of days before making any call - what is your background insulin ?

I take Levemeir and I split mine earlier this year - had some adjustments on my am and pm ratio but I have finally reached a happy medium and rarely go above 10, and if I do I know why such as wrong carb ratio or stress or hormones or too much of something !! It's given me much better control but as with any adjustments you need to just track your readings for a few days to see if there's any regular patterns.

So far so good though :thumbup:

 

[Juicyj]

Sorry I missed what you were on - Insumin - I havent heard of this one and also just looked it up in my DAFNE book and can't find it - I was on Lantus which ran out at around 22 hours which is why I was high every morning - so switched to Levemir and split my doses.

 

[Fetchmeacoffee]

I was on Lantus , I asked about splitting my dose (which I knew worked) But my DSN wouldn't give in that it worked !

I'm now on an insulin called `Insuman` , it's pretty new I've been told and can help with over night spikes.

When taking 36 units at night , I was waking up to readings of about 11-13 , but now taking my split dose I'm more smoother during the day , so hoping it has a knock on effect with the upcoming mornings

 

[beechgrove2]

Hello fetchmeacoffee

I too have split my Lantus dose. I had thought that it wasnt last the full 24 hours. I used to take it at 9pm but each evening my blood sugars were high. I have now split the lantus, taking 14 units each morning at 10 and 20 units at 10pm. It seemed to work for a few days but this week I am waking up with high readings each morning.

How has yours panned out?

 

[Dillinger]

Hi,

Here is a chart to give you an idea of how long the action of the insulin is

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Ma ... lchart.pdf

Isuman seems to be more of an intermediate insulin - it's peek seems to come at about 4 hours and it starts wearing off at about 10 - so if you are using that as a basal then I'd assume you'd definitely want to split it and take 2 doses 12 hours apart.

But why not ask to go onto Levemir which has a much flatter profile and which you can easily be split?

I don't like the sound of your DSN - who cares what she likes? I wouldn't take too much notice of what your DSN says as these people often haven't got a clue; why is she concerned with you splitting your dose? Lantus claims to have a 24 hour action but anyone who takes it and pays attention knows that that is far from the case.

Best

Dillinger

 

[smidge]

Hiya!

I used to take Insuman as my basal. It is, as Dilinger says, an Intermediate acting insulin. It is not new - in fact it is an old(er) fashioned insulin called NPH (or something like that!). Anyway, splitting it is fine. In fact, splitting it is preferable because it has a very definite peak which if you time right can help cover food and Dawn Phenomenum. So, 10.30pm used to peak for me around 3.30 - 4.00am and 6.30am used to peak around 11.30 - noon. This worked well for me for a while, but as my condition progressed, I found that the peak of the Insuman started to clash with the peak of my Apidra and I would hypo, so I changed to Levemir. Anyway, Insuman only used to last about 12 hours for me. You have to get some experience with how it works for you and then you can adjust it to put the peaks where you need them the most.

Smidge

 

[paul-1976]

Lantus claims to have a 24 hour action but anyone who takes it and pays attention knows that that is far from the case.

Hi Dillinger,

I found the same to be true-If I Injected one complete daily dose at breakfast I'd wake up high the next day and if I injected one complete daily dose at bedtime I'd be high the following evening and I found splitting my daily dose 12 hours apart worked well for me despite my DSN telling me that it wasn't necessary-just shows how little they know at times.

Regards

Paul

 

[Dillinger]

I found splitting my daily dose 12 hours apart worked well for me despite my DSN telling me that it wasn't necessary-just shows how little they know at times.

Regards

Paul

Hi Paul,

I had exactly the same; the DSN 'knows' it lasts 24 hours because it says so on a piece of paper; nevermind the fact that your blood sugars do not match that at all. A piece of paper can never be wrong eh? Especially one presented by drug companies and used to shift products...

Best

Dillinger

 

[noblehead]

I too have split my Lantus dose. I had thought that it wasnt last the full 24 hours. I used to take it at 9pm but each evening my blood sugars were high. I have now split the lantus, taking 14 units each morning at 10 and 20 units at 10pm. It seemed to work for a few days but this week I am waking up with high readings each morning.

There's a new basal insulin out this year called Tresiba (Google for more info) that might be better suited to you, I've never had to consider spliiting my lantus dose as I find it lasts the full 24 hours so can't advise unfortunately.

 

[Daibell]

Yes, my otherwise excellent DN showed me a large coloured graph on a card which showed Levemir almost flat for 24 hours and a better option for me than Lantus as I go to the gym and Lantus isn't as flat. but if you Google the web there are some comprehensive 3D charts showing that Levemir does peak a bit after a good few hours and only lasts in total about 18 hours. I suggested splitting the dose but she didn't really seem too keen but preferred to add NovoRapid which is much better as it gives me total control at meal time. Yes, they all believe the 24 hour insulin story; it's called evidence based medicine.