Humulin m3 insulin - spanish equivalent

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Jenniw1990

Jenniw1990

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Hello hope everyone is okay! I am over in Spain and have had to purchase some insulin as I didn't pack enough!! First time and first error! So went to the pharmacy with my prescription and insulin card and they have given me some Humulin insulin and said it is the equivalent to the M3 I normally take. I hope to god they are right! I take 24 units in a morning and 38 at night. I am just worried that if I take it as "normal" will I get bad side effects if its actually not right? Has anyone been through this??
Thanks Jenni
 
@Jenniw1990 Can you post a picture of the insulin they gave you? Can you not read the ‘ingredient’ list? The mix of insulins should be clear, along with the percentages.
 
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This is what is on the box and I have translated the paperwork inside but it doesn't have an ingredients list. I am waiting on a call back from my GP any time now
 

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Humalog which you have been given is just a quick acting insulin not the mixed insulin you were using, which is a blend of quick and slow releasing insulin. You will need to be careful and not take the same doses as you were taking I think. I have no personal experience of mixed insulins but I expect the same dose of just fast acting insulin could give you a massive hypo.
 
No, that’s not the same as Humulin M3 @Jenniw1990 You can see that it only contains Lispro (insulin). They haven’t even given you a different mixed insulin (some do contain Lispro). Did you show them your Humulin M3 box/pen? Go back to the pharmacy and tell them it’s Humulin not Humalog and is a mixed insulin. I’m pretty sure mixed insulins are available in Europe. Perhaps it was just a mistake?

Do not take any of the insulin they gave you!
 
Yes I took the box, pen and my card that shows which one I needed. I will see what my GP says, and take it from there but as I said I didn't want to start taking it without knowing properly. I have got enough of my M3 for this evening and 2 more days, so she might advise me to lower my doses until I get home on Tuesday what a mistake for me to make ! I'm in such a tizz now!!
 
That’s bad then. It sounds like they only took a brief look and made assumptions. Even if they didn’t speak English, they’d have been able to pick out the different insulins and percentages.
 
I’ve just looked on the Spanish Lilly website for you @Jenniw1990 They do sell your insulin but it’s not called M3. It looks like it’s:

  • Humulina® 30:70 Kwikpen 100 UI/ml suspensión inyectable

You’ll see that Humulin is called Humulina and there’s no ‘M3’, only the percentages of the two insulins : 30:70.
 
Thank you for looking at that for me.my GP has called and told me to half my units per day and that will last me until I get home. She confirmed that if I had taken what they had given me in the same dosage I would have dropped dramatically and most likely have been hospitalised! Thanks for everyone's help! This is such a great group!
 
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