Any one know what the actual benefit of Lantus once a day is?? I recently changed from two shots of insulatard/humlog twice a day to Lantus and Nova Rapid x 3...I used to get lows quite often but since the new regime rarely low anymore but still quite high especially after dinner ect..carbs counting ect pretty confusing!! does Lantus cover food at all or is it only the Nova Rapid that works..cos insulatard used to cover food during the day when I was only a mix of insul/hum twice a day??
Lantus??
4/16/09 8:02pm
Hi Dee,
I take Lantus too. I've been using it for five or six years now and I've had to adjust it over the years to help it work the best for me.
Things to consider with Lantus:
1. What time of day are you taking your Lantus? Lantus last 24 hours but it can taper off a little before that. I used to take mine in the morning, but I noticed I was getting highs when I woke up in the morning because my lantus was tapering off before I woke up. So now I take it before bed because I know it'll keep my blood sugar down while I'm sleeping and not up and about all day and able to check. Some people take half their dose in the morning, and half their dose 12 hours later to prevent highs from the Lantus tapering off.
2. Don't be afraid to increase or decrease your dose by a couple of units if you're noticing too many lows or too many highs. When I am conciously eating more for my training (more carbs specifically), I need more lantus not because lantus covers food, but because of the overall residual effects of the increased carbs on my blood sugar. More sugar in blood means I need more insulin.
Also, during times of your life when you're really active, you'll need more Lantus. If you're super stressed and not sleeping well, you'll need more Lantus. If you just made the Varsity Basketball team and you're practicing every afternoon for two hours, you may need less Lantus. So keep an eye on a pattern of highs or lows so you know when to change your dose. Even just an increase of two to three units can have a HUGE impact on better blood sugar control.
3. Lantus does NOT cover food. The long-acting insulin you might have taken in the past had peaks during the day, often every 3 hours, so you'd have to eat a certain amount carbs to balance that. Lantus does NOT peak! It's nice and steady all day. So you've gotta know how to count your carbs if you're using lantus, because your short-acting insulin is going to cover the food you eat.
Does this help? Think of any other good questions?
Personally, I like Lantus, because it doesn't peak and I have control over the insulin I use to cover my food because I take it right when I eat it.
-Ginger
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Hi! Im April. Im usually a pumper but i take lantus when i go off my pump or it breaks, etc. Lantus does Not cover any food. I usually take my daily dose of lantus and then take Novolog ( just the regular fast acting kind) with everything i eat.. and thats EVERYTHING, even a small cookie during the afternoon. Carb counting can be a little hard at first, but there are lots of pocket sized books (and try calorieking.com) that you can carry with you until you start remembering the usual things you eat. Best wishes!