Question about insulin.

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Anon - 08 Jan 2006 22:19 GMT

I use Lantus and Novolog. For the last 3 days my fasting BG has been 20
higher than usually. When I inject the amount of insulin that should prevent
spikes, I have been getting spikes as high as 205. I am doing about the same
thing I have done for 2 months but something has changed and I usually get
spikes to 145 at the highest.

Could the Lantus or Novolog pen insulin have gone bad? I keep the Lantus in
the refrigerator, the vial was opened less that 2 weeks ago. I keep the
Novolog pen on my desk, it was opened less than a week ago. Is it possible
for my insulin needs to change that much that quickly? I am not sick now, I
got over a bad cold a week ago.

I now know what the roller coaster is like.

Anon
Type 2

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Pete Romfh - 08 Jan 2006 22:40 GMT

> I use Lantus and Novolog. For the last 3 days my fasting
> BG has been 20 higher than usually. When I inject the
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
> Anon
> Type 2

I had a cold and bronchitis recently. Knocked my numbers high for several
days.
that MIGHT be what's happening to you.

Signature

Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet.
http://www.bigoven.com/~promfh
promfh (at) hal-pc (dot) org

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Chief - 09 Jan 2006 00:39 GMT

> I use Lantus and Novolog. For the last 3 days my fasting BG has been
> 20 higher than usually. When I inject the amount of insulin that
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Anon
> Type 2

I leave my Active vial of Lantus out in the Aventis pen along with the
current Novolog pen. They haven't gone bad yet. I check for particles and
clarity before I use it.

A cold/flu wacked my numbers pretty good a couple of weeks ago. I used the
Novolog to push it down whenever it spiked. I also had my meals when my Bg
was down - regardless when that was. I did notice the spiking lasted
longer than the cold/flu did by about a week.

There is also a notice with Lantus that it may stop working with some
people.

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RK - 09 Jan 2006 00:58 GMT

|I use Lantus and Novolog. For the last 3 days my fasting BG has been 20
| higher than usually. When I inject the amount of insulin that should prevent
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
| Anon
| Type 2

It's possible for one or the other insulins to have gone bad. I've had
Lantus go
bad on me after 10 days of opening a new vial. I've never had trouble with
the
novolog except when I get down to the last 1/8 in the vial, I don't get much
bang
out of it.

What it sounds like to me is that, since you've been sick with a cold (by
what you
said) that your resistance is most likely still up a bit. Just increase the
insulin as
directed by your doctor for "sick days" for a bit longer and when you start
to get
more drops in your bg, then go back to your normal dosage as prescribed by
your
doctor.

As for that being a "roller coaster", that for many of us is like the
"Dumbo" ride at
Disneyland. :-)

HTH

----
RK, T1/pumper/Animas IR1250
Dx 5/2000 - Joined ASD 8/2000
Last A1C - 12.05 (6.3)
No diabetic complications to date

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Anon - 09 Jan 2006 01:39 GMT

I had become overconfident about using insulin. Because I had done so good
for the first months, I thought I knew it all. Now I know I have a lot to
learn.

I need to start over, I'm thinking of going on a low-carb diet, <20
carbs/day. That way I would need no insulin or meds. After I get back under
good control I can add meds and/or insulin. I'm going to wait for one more
day, with new vial of Lantus and Novolog pen.

Anon
Type 2

> |I use Lantus and Novolog. For the last 3 days my fasting BG has been 20
> | higher than usually. When I inject the amount of insulin that should
[quoted text clipped - 53 lines]
> Last A1C - 12.05 (6.3)
> No diabetic complications to date

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RK - 09 Jan 2006 02:10 GMT

|I had become overconfident about using insulin. Because I had done so good
| for the first months, I thought I knew it all. Now I know I have a lot to
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
| Anon
| Type 2

That snds like a good idea Anon. IMHO, since you are a T2, while there are
some studies showing it's a benefit, you really need to look at the long
haul
where having too much insulin floating around, injected or natural isn't
good
for you and creates problems with the heart. -- If you can control your bg's
with
diet and exercise with metformin, then that's the best method for T2's. You
didn't
mention you took metformin... Every T2 should be on a anti insulin resistant
med.

And don't worry about learning it all with insulin, because the minute you
think
you have it down, the ball game will change. The important thing to learn
with insulin
is how to adjust yourself when certain situations come up. If you learn
"your" body,
these things will come like second nature to you.

Best of Luck... keep us informed pls.

----
RK, T1/pumper/Animas IR1250
Dx 5/2000 - Joined ASD 8/2000
Last A1C - 12.05 (6.3)
No diabetic complications to date

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DLynch - 09 Jan 2006 05:57 GMT

>I use Lantus and Novolog. For the last 3 days my fasting BG has been 20
>higher than usually. When I inject the amount of insulin that should
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Anon
> Type 2

I have had the same thing happen to me. What I did recently was to reduce
my Lantus dose by 3 units. After a few days, I found that I was also able
to use less Novolog for meals. Sometimes too much insulin will make your
resistance higher. Reducing your carb intake will also help. You might
find you won't need any novolog for a low carb meal. In other words, try to
get your Lantus dose as low as possible, without having high readings in the
morning. Then work with the fast acting insulin to keep you in range,
without shooting too much. This may mean that you will have to add some
additional exercise at times. For me, it's after breakfast. I hope you get
this worked out. It does take a lot of time, and experimentation.

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Anon - 09 Jan 2006 08:01 GMT

I have only been using the Novolog for 1 meal a day, dinner. I either eat
low-carb (below 15g) or use Starlix for the other 2 meals.

The doctor determined the right dose of Lantus and was very happy with my
last test results. My fasting CPEP before I started taking the Lantus was
4.37 (0.78 - 1.89 normal). With my present dose of Lantus (22 units at
bedtime) my fasting CPEP is 1.83, which he says is right where he wants it.
I would be reluctant to change this dose without his approval.

Something has changed in the last 2 days. I had been using a ratio of 4.7,
tonight I used 4.0 and my after meal test was 138 at 2 hours. The change in
my insulin requirement is a mystery to me. I was sick with a bad cold but
have been well for over a week.

Any effective exercise is out of the question for me. My lower back only
allows minimum exercise even with pain pills. I do eat low carb meals, a
large salad with salmon or sardines is my lunch 3-4 days a week. As long as
I eat less than 15g carbs I don't need insulin or Starlix.

> I have had the same thing happen to me. What I did recently was to reduce
> my Lantus dose by 3 units. After a few days, I found that I was also able
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
> some additional exercise at times. For me, it's after breakfast. I hope
> you get this worked out. It does take a lot of time, and experimentation.

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