Time between injections?

[cathplum]

I've recently been put on Novarapid and Lantua injections. Can someone tell me what is the least amount of time I should allow between supper Novarapid injection and Lantus injection I take before I go to bed? Diabetic nurse said to take Lantus at 10pm - what if I want an early night??

Thanks for advice.

Cath

 

[Einstein]

I've recently been put on Novarapid and Lantua injections. Can someone tell me what is the least amount of time I should allow between supper Novarapid injection and Lantus injection I take before I go to bed? Diabetic nurse said to take Lantus at 10pm - what if I want an early night??

Thanks for advice.

Cath

Personally I'm on Levemir and on a split dose at that, as such I take my evening dose at 7pm and morning at 7am. Works for me.

As Lantus is supposed to run for 24 hours I can't see any issue with bringing the time forward. I'd perhaps suggest bring it forward 30 minutes every 2-3 days, so within the week you could be at 9pm, at the end of the second week 8pm.

However, I am sure there are people who've adjusted their basal times more recently than I have.

More of the issue is if you're out then you need to work out the best time to ensure you don't need to take two pens with you...

 

[rossi_mac]

I've taken my bolous (novorapid) and Basal (lantus) at the same time, one in stomach, one in bum, so maybe 2 mins in between, seemed to work okay.

My Basal injection I started of at 10pm, but vary it, I was told stick within an hour each night and you'll be okay. I slowly brought mine forward to 9pm, by taking it half an hour forward every 2-3 days, although lately I've taken it between 9pm and 2am! Not being very good at the mo!

Hope that helps

 

[aymes]

Lantus should be taken at about the same time each night, an hour or so either way is usually suggested. In theory you could gradually bring it forward to an earlier time. The one issue that you mat find is that in many lantus doesn't last the 24 hours it should so having it earlier may mean you see a bit of a bg rise in the afternoon which when the lantus is later may be 'hidden' by your evening meal rise. This may not happen though, the way to find out is to give it a go (in consultation with your dsn of course)!

Shouldn't be any issue with taking the two injections at the same time if necessary, best to use different areas to inject though.

 

[Copepod]

Not necessary to carry 2 pens out with you - I keep my short acting insulin in my pen, but also carry a long acting cartridge, so that if I'm not at home when long acting is due, I can fit it into pen to inject, then swap back. At least, that works with the old style Humalog / Humalin I pens that I use - haven't tried with newer heavier metal Luxura pen. Or carry a syringe and long acting cartridge.

 

[Einstein]

Not necessary to carry 2 pens out with you - I keep my short acting insulin in my pen, but also carry a long acting cartridge, so that if I'm not at home when long acting is due, I can fit it into pen to inject, then swap back. At least, that works with the old style Humalog / Humalin I pens that I use - haven't tried with newer heavier metal Luxura pen. Or carry a syringe and long acting cartridge.

The two insulins are from different manufacturers and as such not compatible with the same pen. Also the NovoPen 4 auto-resets when it detects a new cartridge so you'd need to discharge enough units to get the plunger to the bung in the cartridge before injecting. The old NovoPen 3's meant you could wind the plunger manually.

Drawing a syringe of insulin from a cartridge isn't generally advised because of infection risk and I recall seeing somewhere if the plunger jams it's possible to split the glass of the cartridge.

If you are drawing insulin from a cartridge into a syringe (as I have successfully done on many occassions, ooops no needles moments!) then you do not need to fill the syringe with air to push into the cartridge.

In fact DON'T push air into the cartridge at all. If it is a new cartridge and you push air in, you are likely to end up with no insulin if the bung goes flying!

In answer to the original post, the time difference I leave between basal and bolus is how long it takes me to prepare the next injection. However, generally I inject in different locations, but even where I inject both close to each other I've never had a problem.

 

[Copepod]

Sorry, incomplete answer - Einstein is right that using only one pen only works if the 2 insulin cartridges are compatible, as in my case of Humalog & Humalin I. I'm lucky that my old technology actually suits me far better than newer kit, but I have had to argue to stick with it.
No need to inject air into a container that can reduce its volume eg a cartridge with a sliding bung or a bag of IV fluid, but is necessary when for example reconstituting antibiotic powder with sterile water - more of a nursing task than diabetes related, and I'd been doing things like that for years before needed to inject myself, so I can make different decisions abotu how I treat myself, compared to how I treat patients - shortcuts are for me, never for patients. Strictly speaking, should wipe rubber cap with alcohol / antiseptic and wait for it to dry before inserting needle. It's a back up, not recommended for everyday use.

 

[cathplum]

Thanks

Thanks for the advice - I'll be seeing consultant and dsn in New Year. It's good to 'talk' to people who have experience behind them 🙂 This is all so new to me. I would love to go on course (Dafne)! Happy New Year to all of you!!