Hi all, I am insulin dependant and using Humalog for the short and Humalin N for the long.

I have been hearing great things about Lantus by Adventis. It is a one shot per day insulin for the long purpose. A more gradual rise and fall is the key to this.

My question is... Is anyone out there using it and how has it changed your control.

I find that the Humulin N peaks and causes me to crash unless I lower the dosage which then means that my overall numbers are too high.

Any advice here would be terrific!

Cheers, AJ

p.s. It isn't available in Canada yet but I spoke with an Aventis rep and it is on the way, just not for a bit.

Hi AJ...It's not available in NZ either, and I don't think it ever will. I would like to try it as it is supposed to be peakless !! Eve

Children's Medical Center of Dallas Texas is switching all the Type 1 kids, which come in from several states, to Lantus. We wanted to get our son on it before School started but they won't let us switch until we attend a parent class called Intensive Diabetes Management. The classes were full up for several months so we can't go until November. He goes from highs to lows and we are forever changing his NPH dose to try to keep up with puberty hormones. I'll let you know how things go this December.

i am on lantus at bedtime. i used to take the R and N. with lantus i have fewer crashes. with lantus you must eat a protein source when u take the shot so it wont cause you to crash.

AJ,

I'm a type 1 and have been on lantus for 2 years, it's so much better then N. Here are some basics

It's a 24hour insulin (1 shot a day) but for some people it doesn't last the entire 24 hours. more like 20-22. Working out at night help if this happens to you

It does peak...even though it's not supposed to. For me it peaks 5-6 hours after I take it. I try to go to bed at around 150 so that I'll be at about 80-90 when I wake up.

You no longer have to adhere to a rigid eating schedule. There's only one peak (usually at 3am) for most people the rest of the day is smooth sailing. When you want to eat you bolus with Humalog or Novolog and eat.

Lantus takes care of you basal insulin needs, some people call it the poor man's pump.

You may encounter other problems, like the dawn phenomenon, and adjusting dosages the night before if you plan on exercising strenuously, but once you figure it out (it took me 2 months) you will love it. I can go all day without eating if I want and stay at 100-140, or I can eat like a pig if I want. It's very freeing. You just count carbs and protein and bolus.

If you're not in tight control right now you might gain a few pounds because lantus really evens out you bs.

If you have any specific questions, I can help, just ask away.

I started out on Lantus and Novolog when I switched to insulin (when OHC's quit working).

I do not need to eat anything after taking Lanus, and I do not get a peak, nor do I get low BG's at night. If I go to bed with a 90, I wake up with essentially the same readings.

I don't have any experience with NPH, but my sister-in-law's brother switched to Lantus from NPH, and it has been a huge improvement for him. He likes the Lantus much better.

I just began taking Lantus this Monday and the first morning it dropped my FBS by 20 points and I'm getting a lower reading each morning.

It does make me a little drowsy and I don't know if that's normal. But otherwise so far so good!!

Hi all,
I was on lantus for a couple of years before I started on the pump. It immediately improved my control. Before that I was on ultralente, which was itself a HUGE improvement over NPH. You should find a level of Lantus that does *not* require you to eat- even a protein source. I found that I had to split my Lantus dose, as it was "running out" a few hours early. Unfortunately, it does nothing to help with the dawn phenomenon and you can't make immediate adjustments for exercise. (For these and many other reasons I started pumping.) But Lantus is *wonderful* compared to NPH.
V.

Having lower blood sugar is probably what is making you drowsy, Pamlynn.

Yes, Lantus is wonderful compared to NPH I still bolus a couple of units of NPH at 11:30 a.m. for DP. My basal is covered by a split does of Lantus.

Been thinking about this statement since I read it. I knew it was true because you know so much about the subject, but wanted to understand why it's true. So I did a little research and as you said, it isn't the Lantus that's making me drowsy, but the fact that my BS is making it's way down into the normal range. Because it hasn't been there in so long, my body is perceiving my more normal BS as too low, my lowest being 93 to date. Make sense? All this week when I wake up I'm a little shaky, legs rubbery and brain a little foggy. I don't feel better until I get some food in me - low carb for the most part.

I've read that this will go away once my body gets used to the lower levels. So I'll just have to ride it out. So, that being said, Lantus is doing what it is meant to do for me - bringing those fasting BS down and in a hurry.

Just an update: Thrusday and today (Friday), woke up with readings of 109 and 92 respectively. Thursday was the first day I didn't have the symptoms of LBS and today just a little. So it seems my body is adjusting.

I love the feeling of finally getting my FBS into the normal range.

Fantastic!

Your body will get more used to having normal low BGs and you feel fine in the 80s eventually.