Lantis vs. NPH

Tuesday, January 20th, 2009

When I was taking NPH, I would take 30 units in the morning, 30 units at lunch, 30 units at dinner time and 60 units when I went to bed. That’s 150 units a day of NPH. The NPH was just for the basal rate, and I then would take boluses of Humalog at each meal to cover the food I ate. At that time, I was also taking 1 unit of insulin for each 2 grams of carbs I was eating, so a cup of milk, which is about 12 cabs, would need 6 units of insulin to control the rise in blood sugar.

Over the last few years, I’ve increased my muscle mass, decreased my carb intake and actually had my body become more sensitive to insulin. I don’t weigh any less than I did, but my body seams to be working better. I now take 45 units of Lantis per day and am down to 1 unit of Humalog per 4 carbs. When I started with Lantis, it took more than 60 units per day to maintain an even blood sugar, without eating of course, for 24 hours. I can now do with 35-40 units on days when I ski, and 45-50 on normal days.

My insulin pump is now set to deliver around 42 units of Humalog in a 24 hour period, so the Lantis is pretty close. I don’t like to use the pump very much though, because I still have to put 300 units of insulin into the same hole over 3 days, and that still gives you really nasty infections.

What types of insulin are the rest of you using?

Tags: Diabetes, diabetic, Insulin Resistance, Lantis, NPH
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