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Humulin I (intermediate acting )

Ann wainwright

Ann wainwright

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Humulin isophane intermediate acting
I am newly diagnosed and was commenced on lantus and novorapid but this was changed shortly after to stop the bolus and to have two split doses of Humulin I but only take 3 units in the morning.

I’ve just read that it has protamine in it which isn’t good for control as it causes unpredictability and can stimulate antibodies against insulin.

My question is
(1) is anybody on Humulin I and how you are finding it
(2) does anyone know about protamine and should I ask to change insulin

Thank you so much for any advice

Ann
 
I’ve used Humulin i @Ann wainwright and had no problems. My control was fine, and as predictable as Type 1 can be. The decision is yours, of course, but I personally wouldn’t worry and I’d prefer it to Lantus. I suggest you talk through your concerns with your nurse or doctor.
 
Humulin I will be my choice of basal insulin when Levemir is discontinued next year.

Diabetes is unpredictable to a certain extent anyway, so I am not sure how you would prove that it was something in the insulin or one of the 42 other factors which affect BG levels, causing a particular problem. That said, the mechanism of your previous basal, Lantus, is known to cause issues for some people, but plenty of people still use it without any apparent problem. I think any medication or indeed any food for that matter, has the potential to not be good for some people and cause issues/side effects/allergic reactions or whatever, but I would/will not be personally concerned about trying Humulin as I am pretty sure any issue is very unlikely.

As regards autoimmune conditions, you are more at risk of them if you already have one, so being Type 1 means you are at higher risk of developing another, whether you use Humulin or not. It is all mostly the luck of the draw. Stress is more likely to make your BG levels harder to manage than Humulin and it sounds like you are going to be on a very low dose anyway, so my advice would be to try to put this concern out of your mind.
 
I used it for 20-odd years and had no particular issues
 
Inka said:
I’ve used Humulin i @Ann wainwright and had no problems. My control was fine, and as predictable as Type 1 can be. The decision is yours, of course, but I personally wouldn’t worry and I’d prefer it to Lantus. I suggest you talk through your concerns with your nurse or doctor.
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Thank you so much for your advise
 
rebrascora said:
Humulin I will be my choice of basal insulin when Levemir is discontinued next year.

Diabetes is unpredictable to a certain extent anyway, so I am not sure how you would prove that it was something in the insulin or one of the 42 other factors which affect BG levels, causing a particular problem. That said, the mechanism of your previous basal, Lantus, is known to cause issues for some people, but plenty of people still use it without any apparent problem. I think any medication or indeed any food for that matter, has the potential to not be good for some people and cause issues/side effects/allergic reactions or whatever, but I would/will not be personally concerned about trying Humulin as I am pretty sure any issue is very unlikely.

As regards autoimmune conditions, you are more at risk of them if you already have one, so being Type 1 means you are at higher risk of developing another, whether you use Humulin or not. It is all mostly the luck of the draw. Stress is more likely to make your BG levels harder to manage than Humulin and it sounds like you are going to be on a very low dose anyway, so my advice would be to try to put this concern out of your mind.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the advise
 
rebrascora said:
Humulin I will be my choice of basal insulin when Levemir is discontinued next year.
Click to expand...
I don't know much about Humulin I (must try harder!) but hearing it can be split like I do with my Levemir (before it is cruelly taken away next year) is a good thing 🙂 Hope it works out well for you @Ann wainwright
 
I didn’t use Humulin I, but I did use another protamine/isophane insulin called Protaphane.

Like others I didn’t have any bother with it. Let us know how you get on, and do have a chat with your DSN, or perhaps a qualified pharmacist who may be able to offer some reassurance.
 
I did use Humulin I and had two really bad accidents on the M42 from going suddenly extremely hypo.
 
trophywench said:
I did use Humulin I and had two really bad accidents on the M42 from going suddenly extremely hypo.
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Jenny, I thought you had said it was Lantus that caused those accidents!
 
It was Ann - So I stopped driving for quite a long while and only started driving regularly again once I'd managed to ditch the Humulin and get something more modern prescribed.
 
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