Lantus SoloStar and Novolog Flexpen experience

[mac8732]

My experience with Lantus SoloStar and Novolog Flexpen were not good. At first my doctor put me on Lantus, 30 units twice a day, because Humulin didn't seem to be doing the job. Then after a year she added Novolog Flexpen (8 units) before each meal for a total of five shots a day. In the meantime my health insurance company nurse suggested I take cinnamon tablets to help stablize my blood sugar which was all over the chart from 40 in the middle of the night to over 300 at times during the day. (Be careful with cinnamon. It can react with your insulin. I took two tablets and stopped.) At that low point my heart started racing. It would wake me up at night. I would sit up until the racing stopped, wondering if I should go to the emergency room. Then my heart started to flutter and beat erratically. I thought I was going to die.

I came to the conslusion that if I was going to die it would be from natural causes and stopped taking the Novolog. My blood sugar dropped but my heart continued to alternate between racing and fluttering. A chance encounter with my pharmasist prompted me to cut one of the Lantus injections. He looked at me over the counter and said, "Lantus is a 24 hour insulin. You are overlapping." My blood sugar dropped further but my heart continued its irratic behavior. Needless to say I went back to Humulin.

My body is beginning to heal but it has taken a couple of months for the fluttering to stop. I do not recommend that you discontinue any medication without the help of your doctor. This is a case of do as I say not as I do. I have been a type 2 diabetic for 38 years and know my own body and how I will react to certain medications. Also I check my blood sugar at least three times a day. It is my road map and tells me what I need to do.

One observation about diet--stop eating carbohydrates. My blood sugars stablized when I stopped eating a sandwich at noon. I eat meat, vegetables, eggs, nuts and one slice of low carb bread at breakfast. Fruit, for me is a no no, although I can tolerate strawberries. I have eliminated sugar, potatoes, rice, beans, snack foods, and almost all bread from my diet. It sounds hard but isn't your life worth more than a potato chip?

My sincere hope is that the Lantus SoloStar and Novolog Flexpen have not permanently damaged my heart.