Long Acting Insulin Side Effects

Warnings For People With Certain Health Conditions

For people with kidney disease: Insulin is removed from your body by your kidneys. If your kidneys arent working well, insulin may build up in your body and cause low blood sugar. Your doctor may start you at a lower dose and slowly increase your dose if needed.

For people with liver disease: If you have liver failure, this drug may build up in your body. Your doctor may start you at a lower dosage and slowly increase your dosage if needed if you have liver problems. You and your doctor should monitor your blood sugar very closely.

For people with heart failure: Taking certain diabetes medications called thiazolidinediones with insulin regular may make your heart failure worse. Your healthcare provider should watch you closely while youre taking TZDs with insulin regular . Tell your doctor if you have any new or worse symptoms of heart failure.

For people with low blood potassium : Insulin can cause a shift in potassium levels, which can lead to low blood potassium. If youre using potassium-lowering medications with insulin regular , your doctor will check your blood sugar and potassium often.

Monitor Your Blood Glucose Constantly

You should keep a glucometer with you after youve overdosed on Lantus. Monitor your glucose levels after every two hours. So, you can ensure if your blood glucose doesnt fall too low

As weve said, Lantus is long-acting. An upside to this is that you wont have spikes of low blood glucose. Theres also a downside to this. That is, the excess Lantus will act all day.

So, if youve taken too much insulin, you have to be careful the entire day because the excess Lantus will cause hypoglycemia until your next dose.

Thus, you have to monitor your glucose 24 hours after Lantus administration. Its best to stay indoors if possible. That way, youll not burn too much glucose and have access to food.

Side Effects Requiring Immediate Medical Attention

Along with its needed effects, insulin regular may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.

Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking insulin regular:

Incidence not known

• numbness or tingling in the hands, feet, or lips
• puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
• unusually warm skin

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How Do I Know If My Insulin Is Working

When taking insulin, diabetics are advised by experts to regularly check blood glucose levels using testing kits.

If blood glucose tests show fluctuating or above-average blood sugar levels, diabetes is not being properly controlled and insulin is not working.

Insulin is the oldest medication for diabetes and is usually well tolerated by most people. There are various side effects that occur from insulin. Hypoglycemia is the most common, but not the only one. The side effects mentioned in this video are those that are included in patient information leaflets for a number of different insulin types.

Check your insulins patient information leaflet to see which side effects are listed as applicable to the insulin you are taking. If you notice any of the side effects, tell your doctor.

Insulin is injected to reduce blood glucose levels and may lead to hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia is a low blood glucose level which should be treated with carbohydrate. For more information on this specific area please see our treating hypoglycemia video

Some people may get a local allergy that is itching, redness or swelling at the site of the injection. This will usually clear up within a few days or weeks.

In rare some cases people may get a more severe allergic reaction, known as a systemic allergy, which can include:

• A rash across the body
• Trouble breathing

Coverage And Cost Comparison Of Tresiba Vs Lantus

Tresiba is a prescription insulin that is typically covered by commercial insurances and Medicare drug plans. With some plans, there may be formulary restrictions, and you may want to check your coverage with your plan or pharmacy. The average cost of one 3 ml pen of Tresiba Flextouch 100 unit/ml is about $400 without insurance. You could pay a discounted price of about $350 with a coupon from SingleCare.

Lantus is a prescription insulin that is typically covered by commercial insurances as well as many Medicare drug plans. Formulary restrictions may also affect Lantus coverage. The average cost of one 3 ml pen is about $100, but with a coupon from SingleCare, you could pay about $70.

It is important to note that one pen of each type of insulin will not last the same amount of time for each patient. This is dependent upon the insulin dose prescribed for each patient.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Lantus

Can you take Lantus and metformin together?

Lantus can be taken with other oral diabetes medications, like metformin, if your blood sugar level needs better control. Talk to your provider about your diabetes treatment and what medications may be right for you.

What kind of insulin is Lantus ?

Lantus is a long-acting insulin that works for up to 24 hours to lower your blood sugar.

Does Lantus make you gain weight?

Weight gain is one of the most common side effects of Lantus . In clinical studies, the average weight gain was up to 1.5 lbs in adults with type 1 diabetes who took Lantus for 16 to 28 weeks.

When should you not take Lantus ?

You should not use Lantus if you are having symptoms of hypoglycemia , such as feeling shaky, nervousness, fast heartbeat, sweating or body chills, confusion, weakness or low energy, and excessive hunger. Talk to your provider or pharmacist if you are concerned about this.

What should I avoid while taking Lantus ?

Do not drive or operate heavy machinery until you know how Lantus affects you. Do not drink alcohol or use prescription or over-the-counter medications that contain alcohol.

Some Side Effects Can Be Serious If You Experience These Symptoms Call Your Doctor Immediately Or Get Emergency Treatment:

• rash, hives, or itching all over the body
• wheezing
• swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, or throat
• hoarseness
• swelling of ankles or feet
• shortness of breath
• vision changes

Insulin glargine products may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while using this medication.

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How Should I Use Lantus

Use Lantus exactly as prescribed by your doctor. Follow all directions on your prescription label and read all medication guides or instruction sheets.

Lantus is injected under the skin, usually once per day at the same time of day.

When treating type 1 diabetes, use your short-acting insulin before meals as directed by your doctor.

Lantus must not be given with an insulin pump, or mixed with other insulins. Do not inject Lantus into a vein or a muscle.

Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you don’t understand how to use an injection.

Prepare an injection only when you are ready to give it. Call your pharmacist if the medicine looks cloudy, has changed colors, or has particles in it.

Your healthcare provider will show you where to inject Lantus. Do not inject into the same place two times in a row.

Avoid injecting into skin that is damaged, tender, bruised, pitted, thickened, scaly, or has a scar or hard lump.

Your dose needs may change if you switch to a different brand, strength, or form of this medicine. Avoid medication errors by using only the medicine your doctor prescribes.

If you use a Lantus SoloStar injection pen, use only the injection pen that comes with Lantus. Attach a new needle before each use. Do not transfer the insulin from the pen into a syringe.

Never share an injection pen, even if you changed the needle. Sharing these devices can pass infections from person to person.

Storing unopened Lantus:

Storing opened Lantus:

Drug Interactions Of Tresiba Vs Lantus

There are many classes of antidiabetic drugs, and oftentimes, people with Type 2 diabetes may need a combination of different antidiabetics to prevent hyperglycemia . Unfortunately, the combination of multiple drugs intended to lower blood sugar may decrease the glucose levels too much, resulting in hypoglycemia. Patients should be monitored closely when using Tresiba and Lantus in combination with other antidiabetic medications such as metformin and glyburide. Thiazolidinediones, such as pioglitazone, may make patients especially prone to hypoglycemia. Your dose of Tresiba or Lantus may need to be adjusted frequently.

A common class of antihypertensive drugs known as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have been shown to increase insulin sensitivity. When using these drugs to treat high blood pressure in diabetic patients also taking Tresiba or Lantus, the risk of hypoglycemia is increased. Patients should be monitored for signs of hypoglycemia if this combination is deemed necessary.

This is not intended to be a complete list of drug interactions for Tresiba and Lantus. Please consult your pharmacist or healthcare provider for a complete list.

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Some Studies Have Shown That The Use Of Insulin Is Associated With An Increased Risk Of Cardiovascular Events Cancer And All

In one of these studies 6 mortality and other diabetes-related outcomes for just under 85,000 individuals were examined in relation to five diabetes therapies monotherapy with either metformin, sulfonylurea or insulin, metformin plus sulfonylurea or insulin plus metformin. Treatment with insulin alone conferred a statistically significantly increased risk of a first major cardiac event or a first diagnosis of cancer ranging from 1.8 to 2.6 times the risk seen in those treated with metformin alone . This excess risk was lower in the group treated with insulin plus metformin than in the insulin monotherapy group, though was still significant at 1.3 times the risk of the comparison group. However, even though these results are consistent and despite the use of statistical adjustment, observational data such as these should be interpreted with caution due to the risk of a form of analytical bias that is termed confounding by indication. This form of confounding is a common feature of studies of outcomes in relation to drug and other therapies simply because the reasons patients have been prescribed the therapies may themselves be related to the perceived risks of any particular outcome occurring. In other words, people may be prescribed insulin partly because they are perceived of being at risk to adverse outcomes, including risk of cardiovascular disease.

What Are The Side Effects Of Lantus

Get emergency medical help if you have signs of insulin allergy: redness or swelling where an injection was given, itchy skin rash over the entire body, trouble breathing, fast heartbeats, feeling like you might pass out, or swelling in your tongue or throat.

• rapid weight gain, swelling in your feet or ankles
• shortness of breath or
• low potassium–leg cramps, constipation, irregular heartbeats, fluttering in your chest, increased thirst or urination, numbness or tingling, muscle weakness or limp feeling.

Common side effects may include:

• low blood sugar
• itching, mild skin rash or
• thickening or hollowing of the skin where you injected the medicine.

This is not a complete list of side effects and others may occur. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.

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Learn About Your Insulin

Its important to talk to your doctor, healthcare team, and certified diabetes educator about your insulin, medication regimen, and schedule. Try to learn everything you can about the type of insulin youll be taking, including possible peaks of action and potential side effects. Youll feel more in control of your diabetes management once you understand how your new insulin works and how to incorporate it into your daily schedule.

Many different types of insulin are available. Your doctor may prescribe one or more types of insulin to help manage your type 2 diabetes:

• You take rapid-acting insulin when youre ready to eat a meal, usually within 15 minutes of eating, to counteract the rise in blood glucose from the food you eat. If you have type 2 diabetes, you may take rapid-acting insulin along with long-acting insulin.
• Regular or short-acting insulin takes about 30 minutes to take effect, which is a little longer than rapid-acting insulin. You also take it before a meal.
• is a combination of a rapid-acting and intermediate-acting insulin. Some people use this type of insulin to cover both basal and mealtime insulin requirements.

What Happens If I Overdose

Seek emergency medical attention or call the Poison Help line at 1-800-222-1222. Insulin overdose can cause severe hypoglycemia. Symptoms include drowsiness, confusion, blurred vision, numbness or tingling in your mouth, trouble speaking, muscle weakness, clumsy or jerky movements, seizure , or loss of consciousness.

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How Long Does Nph Insulin Take To Peak

NPH insulin generally acts within 1 to 3 hours and has a peak time of about 6 to 8 hours.

Peak time is the period when a medication has its strongest effect. It varies based on the type and brand of insulin you use. Its essential to know the peak time of your insulin so that you can predict how much and when you should eat to keep your blood sugar constant.

NPH insulin can last for up to 12 hours and is typically injected once or twice per day. It can last longer than 12 hours in people with certain medical conditions like kidney failure.

When you inject NPH insulin into the subcutaneous layer of your skin, the insulin spreads through your fat tissue and connective tissue until it reaches small blood vessels called capillaries. Various factors can affect how long it takes for the insulin to reach your bloodstream and start acting. These include:

• injection depth
• thickness of your fat tissue
• temperature of your fat tissue
• your level of activity and exercise
• the part of your body injected
• whether youre a smoker
• body position during the injection

• impaired concentration and reaction time

People with kidney or liver conditions are at a higher risk of developing severe low blood sugar. Its important to talk with your doctor if you develop side effects so that your doctor can help you adjust your insulin dose.

Before taking NPH insulin, its important to talk with your doctor about the pros and cons of this type of insulin and to get clear instructions on:

How Can Insulin Help

Chances are youve been taking other medications to help lower your blood sugar. However, your diabetes can change over time as your body makes less insulin, and this can cause your treatment and dosing to change, too. Its important to realize that this is something that can happen when you have type 2 diabetes, and its not your fault.

Your doctor prescribed BASAGLAR because its a long-acting insulin that helps control high blood sugar. By visiting this website, youve taken an important step in beginning insulin.

SELECT SAFETY INFORMATION

Warnings

Do not reuse needles or share your Basaglar prefilled pen with other people. You or the other person can get a serious infection. This can happen even if you change the needle.

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How Does Novorapid Work

Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce enough insulin to control the level of blood glucose. NovoRapid is a replacement insulin that is very similar to the insulin made by the body but is absorbed faster by the body. This allows it to start acting faster than human insulin. The replacement insulin works in the same way as naturally produced insulin and helps glucose enter cells from the blood. By controlling the level of blood glucose, the symptoms and complications of diabetes are reduced.

Insulin Analogs Are Now Replacing Human Insulin In The Us

Insulins are categorized by differences in onset, peak, duration, concentration, and route of delivery.

Human Insulin and Insulin Analogs are available for insulin replacement therapy. Insulins also are classified by the timing of their action in your body specifically, how quickly they start to act, when they have a maximal effect and how long they act.Insulin analogs have been developed because human insulins have limitations when injected under the skin. In high concentrations, such as in a vial or cartridge, human clumps together. This clumping causes slow and unpredictable absorption from the subcutaneous tissue and a dose-dependent duration of action . In contrast, insulin analogs have a more predictable duration of action. The rapid acting insulin analogs work more quickly, and the long acting insulin analogs last longer and have a more even, peakless effect.

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What Happens If You Take Lantus Twice Dont Worry

After reading about the effects of hypoglycemia, you may be worried. However, all of these may not happen to you. And even if they do, they generally arent very severe.

The reason is that Lantus is a long-acting insulin. It does not dissolve at normal physiological pH of 7.4. It has an isoelectric pH of 6.7. So, it crystallizes upon entry on the subcutaneous tissue where it is administered. Then, it is released slowly over time.

So, the drug gets to the bloodstream slowly. This results in a more continuous supply of insulin to your body. Thus, there is no sharp rise in insulin levels. And so, there is no sharp decline in blood glucose.

For this reason, youll not be severely hypoglycemic if youve taken Lantus twice. The extra Lantus will get to the bloodstream. So, youll have a prolonged but mild to moderate episode of hypoglycemia. This type of hypoglycemia isnt life-threatening. Thus, you can rest assured.