Lantus and sleep or lack of

[KookyCat]

Hi all

Does anyone have experience of Lantus causing sleep problems? I'm generally a good sleeper although always been a six hour gal rather than the standard eight, but I sleep even when stressed. Prior to my diagnosis I had sleep problems because of foot cramps, but I always got back to sleep after an episode. I didn't sleep at all when first put on the insulin drip and spent a few weeks after coming home waking early but I was sleeping most of the day so not surprising really. Then it all settled and I was getting my six hours rather nicely until I switched from novomix to basal bolus with lantus and novorapid. I noticed from the first lantus dose that within thirty minutes I was agitated, not exactly anxious but more edgy than I normally am, and from that night to this I've had sleep issues. I was taking the lantus at night and that stopped me getting to sleep at all, when I eventually dropped off I'd wake up every hour or so. Switched to a morning dose which made me able to get to sleep but I wake up at 3am and that's it, and I have that agitated feeling. I'm not going low because I test, and I've tested at two for a while to see if I was going low and self correcting. I'm pretty sure it's the lantus and intend to ask the consultant for a different insulin but just wanted to check I'm not missing anything? Also are the alternatives all as good as each other or should I be pushing for a specific insulin? The 3 am waking is driving me insane and I can't take it for much longer, I even considered missing a lantus dose to see if it's that but that felt dangerous, although I am fairly desperate now.

 

[HERE TINTIN]

Hi your bs is not going up rather than down at 3am is it ? Was your bs running high for a long time before diagnosis ?, as now your bs are lower this can agitate you as well. I have been on Lantus for years and now I dont sleep well but that is other reasons, before them I had no trouble sleeping with Lantus, but that foed not mean other people have not had problems.

 

[KookyCat]

No it's pretty stable from bedtime overnight (if it goes up it tends to be between 5 and 7am). My blood sugar peaked at a 61 when I was admitted to hospital and I think it had probably been high for quite some time to get to that level but I also had a B12 deficiency and the symptoms are very similar so it's hard to tell. I did wonder if it was the act of them coming into range that has disturbed my sleep patterns, because it was pretty miraculous, within days of changing from the evil mixed insulin which had me up and down like a yoyo, I was within acceptable ranges. That must be a shock to a body that had been working so hard to cope with ridiculous sugar levels for a while. If I take nytol I get better sleep but have very vivid dreams (well nightmares I suppose). I've only ever had one issue with sleep before and in the end 10 days of temazapan sorted it out, but I'm slightly worried about requesting sleeping pills since being diagnosed, Nytol is fairly weak so I know I'd wake up if I went hypo, from what I remember of the temazapan it knocked me out completely. Blimey this diabetes lark is hard work 😱

 

[Bloden]

Hiya Kcat. Sorry to hear you're having trouble sleeping. It could be part of the process of your body adjusting back to "normal" after surviving without insulin for however long it was. However, I'm sure i've read somewhere that Lantus can cause sleep problems in some people. It's in Ragnar Hanas's book, I think, just having a look now.🙂

I must've imagined it! Hopefully someone else'll be along soon with the info you need. Hopefully it's just your body readjusting...

 

[HERE TINTIN]

I just had a very weak sleeping tablet for 10 days and no problems waking up with hypo's. If you tell dr you want something really weak they will give you something,temazapam way too strong !!

 

[pippaandben]

Perhaps a change to a mornng and evening dose of the Lantus would help. I know Levemir can be split but don't know about Lantus - but I'm sure someone on here will tell you. Also have a look at the info leaflet and see if it mentions sleep problems.