Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Zoe on May 21, 2011 at 4:12pm

Hi Laura. I'm not sure what you mean by "basal to Lantus". Lantus IS a basal insulin. But I assume you mean pump to Lantus. I just started pumping in January so I can remember my basal doses pretty clearly. I had switched to Levemir which is the newer of the two basal insulins, but not terribly different. Right before I went on my pump I was taking 16 units of Levemir split in two doses. My current total basal is 10.73 so I decreased my basal by about 35% which is fairly typical. If you are getting insulin pens for your backup, don't forget you need pen needles too.

Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on May 21, 2011 at 4:34pm

When a lot of people start the pump, they reduce it by 25%. When I went back to MDI, I looked at the basal on my pump & added 25% to it – that worked out pretty good. Prior to going on the pump, I took Levemir 3 times a day so I added up the basals for each set of 8 hours to get the right ratios.

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on May 21, 2011 at 5:49pm

Thanks Zoe, for deciphering my message!
Kelly, hey you are a good one to ask!
Dr told me about what you said, so I guess that is accurate.
Your calculations have me five units below what he told me I would take.
Thanks!

Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on May 22, 2011 at 6:50am

Before I started the pump last summer, I did a lot of reading about how they came up with your starting rates and it seemed 25% reduction was the magic number. Are you planning on splitting your Lantus dose twice a day or once?

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on May 22, 2011 at 6:53am

I'm not planning to use it at all.
Just keeping the bottle in the fridge for emergencies.
Pump is going out of warranty and I dont think I can buy a new one right now.

Permalink Reply by Kelly WPA on May 22, 2011 at 6:57am

It is good to have a backup plan! I hope your pump holds in there - I know you really like it.

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on May 22, 2011 at 11:09am

Hey, I wish I did good on injections sometimes. I loved my insulin pens!
But for me, the main thing the pump does is let me shut down the basal insulin for exercise etc.
I'm one who never stabilizes at 100 or 90.
MY BG plummets whenever I even go shopping or walking or anything.
So the ability to turn my dose down, is the key thing I have to have.
I'll say one thing, I used to dress up a whole lot more when I had no pump!

Permalink Reply by Barbara Zigah on May 22, 2011 at 12:35am

Laura, my daughter is untethered so she gets Lantus daily. Moving from strictly doing basal through the pump to Lantus I would say err on the side of caution and reduce the Lantus by about 25% until you see how you "react." You can always use your bolus to compensate for a high, but there's no temp basal feature, kwim?

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on May 22, 2011 at 6:54am

Thanks! If needed, I was going to aim low.

Permalink Reply by Zoe on May 22, 2011 at 4:24pm

Wouldn't it be the other way around, Barbara? Most people take more Lantus than they do basal rates through the pumps.

Permalink Reply by Sandy Palmer on May 22, 2011 at 4:52pm

Be careful with that insulin. I used it and it crashed me down sooo hard that I almost had to give myself glucagon and had to call a neighbor over b/c I couldn't intake anymore carbs but was still crashing. We had gone down from a 18 to 20 unit basal to 12 unit Lantus and it was the scariest thing I have ever done. I tried it 2 more times with less and the same happened both times. My hospital told me to never use it again. I had a bad reaction. I know not everyone has but when you do have to use it I would slash it by atleast 50% and give correction if you need instead of going to high. Once it's in there is nothing you can do anymore.

Permalink Reply by Laura S. on May 22, 2011 at 7:05pm

Wow, makes sense to use caution doesnt it?
I would think a split dose would definitely be the way to go if needed, and even that should be kept to a minimum.
This is precisely why I need my pump!

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