Just Started Lantus

[Jensmom]

Hey Everyone,
Our little Jennie is almost five. She was diagnosed August 2005, went on Novolog at meals in December, and we have just begun the nightly Lantus the day before yesterday.

Is there anything you all think we need to know? Jennie is only taking 2 units at night, and so far I am not seeing any real difference in her numbers. I get up at around 2:30am and check her. The first night her blood sugar was 143 and the second night it was 296! It's almost as if it's not doing much. Now we did back down her Novolog alittle at first, but now I am gradually increasing that back to normal (1:10 ratio).

I am really hoping that Lantus might help Jennie's fasting numbers to regulate a little better, as well as her daytime numbers. In spite of all efforts to be as rigid as possible with her carb count, meal times and insulin, we are finding it difficult to keep her numbers from bouncing all over the place. Will the Lantus help that?

Any info you can give would be helpful.

Thanks so much for your support

[mischloss]

Hi JensMom. We have been on Lantus for a year now. Ever since my son was diagnosed. We take a nightly shot (11 units), along with his meal time Humalog. His ration is 1:20. We do see that it take a couple of days for his body to adjust and the number to reflect any changes that we make in Lantus dosage. 2 units is a small amount but then again, your daughter is only 5. My son is 11. Also from what I have read online here on the forums, younger children have a harder time with control of their numbers than the older kids. I think since they are smaller, the insulin dosages are more sensitive. "A little goes a long way" for little kids. :D Hang in there though since Lantus is a great "background" insulin and I think her numbers will eventually become much more even.

good luck!

[wendyc]

Hi,

We did Lantus/Novolog too, with good results. We pretty much were in the 2u a day club too (Abby was 4 when diagnosed, used it for 8 months prior to pumping). Excellent preparation for the pump if you choose to got that route. It did take a bit for the body to adjust to the Lantus, I don't recall how long, but you should see some improvement soon.

If your daughter complains of burning after injection, that is common in some kids taking Lantus (we had this issue). We ended up switching from the leg to the hip, and that helped greatly.

Good luck, Lantus is an excellent background insulin and that combined with Novolog will give you much more flexibility.

[jeep_bluetj]

How much training did you recieve? Do you 'get' the major differences betweeen a NPH/H regimen and a Lantus/H basal bolus regimen? We switched Curtis to lantus when he was 4, used it until we switched to pumping this year.

Info in a nutshell:

1. Don't make rapid changes to the lantus (basal) dose. Give it 2-3 days to show up when you modify it. (I'm sure your CDE says something similar) Think basal == slow, bolus == fast.

2. A flat overnight is the best indicator that your lantus dose is correct. (It's to cover insulin needs during fasting, and when else can you get a kid to fast)

3. Many people with little kids end up moving the Lantus to morning, as there's a teeny peak about 6 or so hours after injection. If you have tough numbers overnight ask your endo about switching to AM. For the same reason, check in the middle of the night at least until you know the basal dose is correct.

4. A 2-hour postprandial check is a good way to get a handle on if your bolus ratios are correct. It's very common for the ratio to change throughout the day - like 1:15 in the AM going to 1:25 in the evening. Your CDE is probabally having you do the 2-hour postprandials for just this reason - it's to help figgure out the bolus dose.

Ask any and all questions you have, here, to your endo/cde, to random people on the street. They're all good questions. (Random people on the street will give lousy answers though...)

[Chase's mom]

My son is also on Novolog and Lantus since dx'd in July, Make sure that you get a new bottle of Lantus every 28 days. I know that there is a lot of waste because it will lose it's effectivness after 28 days. We throw away more than half a bottle every month. I wish they would make smaller bottles. And we also leave ours room temp. the endo said it wouldn't burn as bad. :eek: