Levemir, Lantus, and/or any other insulin formulation


[ Follow-Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Islet Foundation Public Message Forum ]


Posted by Dr. Stan De Loach on 08:40:50 2009/07/04

In Reply to: Experience with Levemir posted by Jay


One point that I have not yet seen mentioned in this thread regards ALL insulins:

the larger the dose, the longer lasting the effect.

This behavior is characteristic of all insulin formulations, independent of whether they are long-, intermediate-, or rapid-acting. A 10-unit dose of lispro can maintain normal (71-99 mg/dL) BG in my case for up to 10-12 hours, though a 2-unit dose given for meals rarely lasts longer than 2 or 2.5 hours.

Both Lantus and Levemir often last the full 24 hours when the dosage is fairly large (equal to or more than about 12-15 units), at least in myself and my young patients (in high-altitude Mexico City).

Depending on the size of the child's body, 12-15 units can be considered a "large" dose. Of course, not everyone needs so large a dose, and in their case the two smaller daily injections of either of the long-acting formulations makes sense.

Follow Ups:



Post a Followup

Name:
E-Mail: (Optional)
Subject:
Comments:
Link URL: (Optional)
Link Title:
Image URL: (Optional)

[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Islet Foundation Public Message Forum ]