Looking for info/input on Lantus
Hi. My daughter was dx in May ‘03 and has been doing Humalog and
Humalin NPH. Yesterday at the endo’s, the doctor switched her to
Lantus. We can start using this now at any time. I am looking for
anyone who can share their insight/experiences with Lantus. She will
still be on the Humalog to cover her carbs. From what I understand
about the sensitivity factor, is that every time she is close to 200
or over, we substract 150 and that gives us a number, which we divide
by 50, and give her that amount (1H to every 50) plus the amount of H
to cover her carbs. I’m scared that before we make adjustments, I
might give her too much and she’ll drop. She will be on 20 units of
Lantus at bedtime. Would you say that this is worth giving it
a “shot”?? Also, she would now be doing a lunch shot in school, where
before she didn’t have to do worry about a lunch shot.
Thank you.
Barb, mom to Chris, 18; Jenny, 13, dx 5/23/03; Julia, 9
December 31st, 2003 at 10:46 pm
Barb,
Hi. Glad you’ve joined us here. I’ve been on Lantus since May ‘02 with Novolog for my mealtime shots. Sounds like you’ve got a really good grasp on what Jenny is going to need to figure out her mealtime shots. That is exactly what my doc has me doing (my Lantus dose is higher, but that is beside the point.) I was previously on a combo of Humalin NPH & regular. I think the Lantus offers WAY better control. I’m not getting the ups & downs that I used to have. Jenny may have a few lows while adjusting to the Lantus & fine tuning her dosage, but the only thing out there that offers better control, in my opinion, is the pump. Hope this helps.
Stacy
January 1st, 2004 at 4:55 pm
Barb,
With the Lantus, if it is too much she will get fasting lows, and some lows throughout the day, as her mealtime shots are designed to cover what she is eating and any highs in her counts. Testing her in the middle of the night is a good idea, too. (OK, so she may not like it, but it will help.) I found that my extreme lows would come either at 3 AM or when I got up & did my fasting test (about 6 AM). She may have more throughout the day, though, as I am sure that she is a bit more active than I am.
(I’m tied to a desk all day!) I didn’t actually test in the middle of the night, but I already knew from experience that my lows will wake me up. Your questions are NOT dumb. There is a lot to learn. I’m just glad that I can share my experience with you to, hopefully, make it easier on both you & Jenny. Feel free to ask questions any time!
Best wishes!
Stacy
Barb <starliteblues@…
Hi. Stacy and Red, Thank you so much for your suggestions and for the info. I’ve never heard of the sliding scale. The learning sure never stops with this, that’s for sure. I have
another question (with thousands more to follow in the future, I’m sure) ..when she’s having lows, how do I know if it’s from the amount of Lantus or from the amount of Humalog? On the fast-acting Humalog and NPH, I could tell pretty much if the low was from the H or the NPH based on the peaks. With Lantus not peaking, and staying steady, I’m not sure how I’ll know. Would it be a constant low if it was from the Lantus? Also, even though the doctor did not tell me this, I’m going to test her in the middle of the night for awhile after starting on Lantus, just to see what her numbers are. Do you remember if you tested in the middle of the night or not? I’m sorry if these questions sound sorta dumb, sometimes with this disease, I sure feel like I am!
Thanks again for the help. I’m glad to hear that from those who are on Lantus like it. That makes me feel like it’s the right decision to try it. Barb