Comment by Jonah on May 21, 2008 at 8:35am

Lower the dose. Hypos alone are sucky generally- does the dog make you feel less alone? Is the dog aware of what's happening when you go hypo?

Comment by Angela on May 21, 2008 at 8:47am

Jonah,

I have been lowering from 75 in 10 unit increments since Sunday......still going low. Last night I took 40 units...and dropped off at 3am.....I do think my dog senses something is wrong....I must toss and turn or something....because his getting off the bed and whining s what wakes me up.

Comment by nikita on May 21, 2008 at 8:57am

when I started on Lantus, I eventually had to cut my basal rate to about 60% of what I had been using with NPH... bit by bit, tracking the changes so that I could see what difference it was making as the dose went down.. It was a weird few weeks early on but once you get out of the hypos phase, I hope you'll find it better..

Comment by dino on May 21, 2008 at 9:27am

Yes I concur, you will find your balance. Talk to your endo and inform that you've been getting the severe lows and keep cutting the dose. Also, I know that some have been splitting the dose with one shot mornings and one at night (like levemir). Seems that splitting the dose could curb the night lows and even the weight gain.

Right now because your dose seems too high I think you are "feeding" the insulin and the lantus is taking all the sugar you can give. This will cause weight gain as well, and lantus is notorious for promoting weight gain. I'm actually going to ask my doc about levemir because I find it hard to lose weight and keep tight control while on lantus.

I am a little jealous of you though...there's nothing I want more than a dog and a bowl of lucky charms. Right now I'm can't have either in my apartment...:)

Comment by Cody Turner on May 21, 2008 at 12:25pm

I was dong that so I took 10 units at bedtime and then 50 units at lunchtime, and it corrected my problem.

Comment by Sweeter Cherise on May 23, 2008 at 9:40am

When I first started lantus I would drop. I would eat a snack before bed and still drop. I lowered my dosage and everything was fine. Talk to your Endo...lows suck. You'll get your energy back once everything is under control. It takes time and patients. I think we all can testify to that. Angela- Stress it not good for your Bg's either...becareful...

Comment by Sweeter Cherise on May 23, 2008 at 9:42am

oops I forgot., as far as time off you might want to look into your FMLA rights. I think you would be covered.

Comment by Kristy on May 29, 2008 at 8:38am

When I started on lantus, I was started on 12 units .. increase by one unit every other day until my FBG was below 140( my FBG prior to insulin was 350-400's) it took 14 units to hit the 140 mark; my endo then put me on 15units. This worked well for a few weeks but as my overall BG started to improve, I started having night time low's in the 40's and weight gain due to eating to correct the lows. My endo looked at my numbers and dropped me back to 12units; he also said my "feeding" the lows was causing the weight gain and getting the lows under control will help me lose it. The 12 units worked for a few weeks then lows in the 50's-60's.. 11units.. still low.. so now I am at 10 units and so far so good..FBG is between 75-90. I find that the 10 units works fine if my bedtime BG is below 130, if it is higher I'll do 11units. All this tweaking has occurred over the last 2 months. My endo actually encourages phone calls!! he says that's what I pay him for!

Discuss your lows with your doctor and don't give up; in time you will find what works for you.
Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

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