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Permalink Reply by MossDog on May 23, 2011 at 5:13pm

It sounds like allergies may be a problem with the welts etc...Although Levemir works for me I found that my dose of Levemir needed to be different than my dose of Lantus (I need more Levemir than Lantus). I also noticed I did not get a full 24 hours from Levemir so I had to take 2 shots to get adequate control throughout the day.
Humalog is a problem for me. For some reason I react to it funny (kind of what you describe). It usually takes about 10 hours or so for the "reaction" to happen to me but the insulin itself seems to be ineffective or at least less effective. Novolog and Apidra do not do this to me.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica05 on May 23, 2011 at 7:28pm

thanks for your response. This sounds similar to my friend, she is now taking 10u of Levemir more in the morning in addition to her nightly Levemir. She also feels like she's chasing high BGs. I'm going to let her know what you said, thanks!

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Permalink Reply by Jessica05 on May 23, 2011 at 7:28pm

Thanks, Varena. I'm sorry to hear about your reaction and will certainly tell my friend. She is going to speak with her Endo about putting her back onto Lantus.

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Permalink Reply by latvianchick on May 23, 2011 at 10:57pm

Yes, I was the same. Also had a huge sensitivitiy - despite low doses I was hypo up to 7 or 8 times a day. Long story short, fought for Pork Insulin and have not had the same problems since to the same degree.

Incidentally this has been borne out several times when I have been in hospital and they insisted on giving me Levemir IV for reasons best known only to themselves and they have made me seriously hypo again as before and they cannot get my blood sugars up!

Welts come up at site.

Recently there has been a document produced by the Insulin Dependent Diabetes Trust which has gone international because of these problems. They campaign for patient choice and probably saved my life! They have, as I have said produced a "Diabetes Hospital Protocol" where the patient fills in stating what treatment they will or will not accept, snack times, drink times, treatment details including who may or may not treat and what with etc and this is kept by the patient's bed, the nurse has to read it and sign it as read and adhere to it. You can also state that YOU will treat the diabetes as and when you feel fit!

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Permalink Reply by latvianchick on May 24, 2011 at 8:03pm

You are welcome Varena. You need to be a bit "bloody minded" about this sort of thing as doctors and nurses think they are gods sometimes - they know all but they know nothing! Best course of action is to insist you do all your own diabetes care and take a lot of snacks etc that you might need should they not be forthcoming!

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Permalink Reply by Brian (bsc) on May 25, 2011 at 5:53am

Levemir is an insulin analog and it is mixed with various ingredients to preserve and stabilize it. It is possible, but rare, for someone to have an allergic reaction to either the insulin or the ingredients. In addition to allergies, some people develop an autoimmune reaction to the insulin itself (as marked by anti-insulin antibodies) which will make the insulin less effective.

Should you actually be having an allergic reaction you need to be careful. Your body may not react well to being repeatedly exposed and things may go from a mild welt to a body wide reaction with hives and eventually "bad times."

It would be good to work closely with your doctor on this.

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Permalink Reply by Jessica05 on May 25, 2011 at 11:04am

Thanks for your response bsc. My friend was able to get switched to another insulin by her Doctor.

Take care!

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