Taking lantus in the morning
Common Questions and Answers about Taking lantus in the morning
lantus
So imediject has a valid point if you are taking Lantus in the morning. Many diabetics split their doses of Lantus and take some at night and some first thing in the morning so that peaking is minimal (for some of us, there IS a slight peak about 4 hours after injection) and the petering out of it as it wears off is also minimal.
I believe that Lantus reaches a peak after about 4 hours. This peak is happening as you sleep. Try to take your Lantus in the morning and it will wane out at night as you sleep. That is what a lot of other Lantus users do when this happens to them and it has worked. Let us know how it works for you.
I, too, had a lot of trouble with the Opticlick pen. It was just unreliable in that it would sometimes leak with injection so I never knew if I was getting the proper dosage. I switched to Levemir (flex pen) a couple of years ago, and it has been fine. Both Lantus and Levemir are the peakless insulins. They provide your "background coverage" all day long (24 hours). When you eat, you need the fast acting insulin like Novolog to act quickly to cover the meal.
You did not mention what time of the day you are taking your Lantus. If you are taking it at night, then it should be peaking (about 4 hours after injection) during the night, so the Lantus shouldn't be the problem). But if you take it in the morning, then a split dose of some in the morning and some at night may be a solution, for if taking it in the morning, it may be wearing off completely as you sleep.
I, like you, have noticed a definite peak between 4-5 hours after taking the Lantus, so taking it in the morning makes this peak mean that i require less morning quick-acting insulin to cover my breakfast. Like you, also, I noticed elevated morning sugars, and I have fixed this problem by doing the spilt dose. so some insulin is working well through the night. In my case, I take my larger dose (2/3 of my total) in the morning, and I take 1/3 of my total daily dose at bedtime.
And as for the sweats about a half hour after taking Lantus, there IS a slight peak action with Lantus, although this peak action for most people is several hours after taking the Lantus. In my case, I usually take my Lantus at about 6 am, and I notice a peak that causes my glucose levels to drop by about 8 am. This happens even if I have not taken any Novolog or eaten breakfast (sometimes I wait until I get to work to take Novolog and eat breakfast), so it has to be the Lantus peaking.
I have read about folks taking their Lantus shot in the morning or at night or a partial dose at each time. If you were taking the Lantus in the morning and "crashing" overnight, then talk to your doc about taking it at night instead -- then the timing of any drops would be while you're wide awake and able to test & treat. If you had been taking it at night (which is what I'm guessing, given the timing of your "drop"), then shift to the morning.
Lantus is a 24 hour insulin, so I am not sure what effects taking it in the morning opposed to taking it at night would be, but of course ask. Also ask your endocronologist about taking your humalog before meals, I am not sure if you meant that or if you do just take it before bed time. And are you eating a snack when you take humolog before bed? Humalog is a quick acting inulin, usually taken before meals.
This has happened in early afternoon and after dinner. She is on Novalog and NPH before breakfast and Novalog and lantus in the evening. The fact that it has happened two different times in day is why I "hoped" this was a diluted reading rather than actual blood glucose reading. This is all new to me and now I'm fearing the bath. ho hum...Thanks.
I am having the same problem as many others I was told to take lantus at night and have switch to taking it in the morning because of lows in the morning and have found that now my blood sugars run about 200 to 250 in the morning. I find that if I take my lantus about 7:00 in the morning and test my bs I can be at a normal level again prety quick using the 2 units of humalog to every 50 bs I need to drop, and my bs usualy stay pretty stable with this method.
Since these incidents I have started dividing up my dose into two or three injections in the morning. And for the record there have been other times in the past that I have accidentally injected into a capillary and the reaction is immediate and I can tell the difference from what I am now experiencing. My Dr's have no explanation.So now I am afraid to take my insulin as I never know what will happen.
I am back again... the pros of Lantus are the flexibility and the fact that you don't have to worry about strong peak times, although I notice that it seems to work a little stronger for me between 4-8 hours after injection than at other times of day. But this is not a strong peak like what NPH does that requires food or else. Because it is such a slow insulin, even when you start to feel low, you have all sorts of time to help yourself because the drop is very slow.
Lesley,
I'm a pumper (and not a physician), but I've read reports from many Lantus users. As folks've posted here, many do see a peak of some sort. One person seemed to find her peak within 4-5 hours of taking her shot. Thus, she switched from taking it at nite to taking it in the morning & using the peak "feature" to lessen her breakfast shot.
It is very important to not Lantus with short-acting insulins.
Hi again Tumtum,
I'm not a Lantus user, but I've read a fair amount (from other users) so I hope I can be of some help. Since Lantus is commonly used today, I hope others will chime in with their tips 'n' tricks, too. The process of finetuning can be so frustrating.
As I'm sure you know a cold or flu can wreack havoc on our control in very unpredictable ways. Even with a well-honed routine during healthy times, our control often cannot be tight during those times.
I have just switched from Mixtard/Actrapid to Lantus/Actrapid 3 days ago due to very poor blood sugar control at night and in the morning. The current dosage of Lantus is 15 units in the morning with additional 15 units of Actrapic before evety meal i.e. breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Blood sugar level in the morning shoots up to 15-16mmol (fasting), by noon it will remain at 9-12mmol (before lunch) and will gradually comes down to 4-5mmol before dinner.
I have been on Metformin, Januvia and Glimeperide for a few years. They are not controlling my diabetes. She wanted me to try Victoza and give up the Januvia. I got over fear of giving myself the shot, but on the 3rd day I began to get sick. On the 4th and 5th days I couldn't even go to work. Changed shot to before bed instead of morning and it made no difference. After a little over a week I stopped it. Lost 5 lbs cause I couldn't eat anything.
But since my blood sugar always drops at night, it caused a lot of lows for me. I switched to taking it in the morning and everything works better now. My nephew's blood sugar also drops at night. This is his reason for taking a lower dose of lantus instead of switching to the morning and increasing the dose so he won't have to take such high amounts of humalog. Is there a medical problem managing or risk in managing his Type 1 diabetes the way he is doing it?
When I started using 2u Lantus in morning, 2 weeks ago, I'd go low in the late afternoon/early evening, and then my morning sugars would be elevated ... 140s, 150s. So I split the dose: I'm now using 1.5u Lantus AM & 1u Lantus PM. It definitely works better than 2u QD, and I've checked the middle of the night - not a problem. The drug sheet for Lantus doesn't mention BID dosing, but my internet articles do. What are your thoughts, and is Levemir better for BID dosing?
Take your lantus at night (instead of in the morning), if you are not already taking it at night. This way, at least it will be fully active over night.
2. Split the lantus into 2 doses to get better coverage. The doses may not necessarily be the same. ie. You may need a higher dose at night than in the morning.
3. Try levemir (a different long acting insulin), which is typically dosed twice a day.
4. Ask your dr to prescribe you the new insulin Tresiba.
I had it in my head that I should be taking Lantus in the morning and at night. I have been having great readings. Watching what I eat and just now getting into a regular exercise routine. I had to take a new pen out of the fridge today and looked at the directions... says to take at night. So essentially I have been taking double the dose per day. Can this be bad? My readings do not drop below 80 and I feel great. I also take a small dose of Humolog with my meals.
many type 1 folks who are prone to night-time lows (myself included) find that taking the bulk of their Lantus in the MORNING rather than at night helps prevent lows while asleep. The reason is that Lantus, while advertised as a 24-hour insulin, does not have a magic 24-hour shutoff button, but actuallly sort of disappears in your body in a range of 20-24 hours, gradually sort of wearing off.
But taking your Lantus before meals may have been what had kept your morning blood sugars more normal in the past. Diabetics go through a period in the morning known as the dawn phenomenon which raises the blood sugar. And using the pump as i do it calls for increasing the basal rate during that time period. Which is why you should check with your doctor as he may have you take a little extra humalog for it instead of increasing your Lantus.
Recommended
