Someone asked if I could make sure to let everyone know how the change in insulin is going since the blood-sugar debacle last weekend. Well, it's hard to say what the cause was, whether it was just the change to Humalog from Apidra or if it was because the bottle was expired. The reason it's hard to tell is because after all that mess, I just switched to Apidra rather than mess with another vial of Humalog. Plus my last vial of Humalog also expires 03/2010.
Anyway, I still have my theories. My blood sugars have been dramatically better since the switch back. Hugely better. I had been having minor issues with my numbers even before the ridiculousness that was the other night. Just little things, like slightly elevated morning numbers and stubborn sugars after meals. It was stuff that wasn't happening when I was first on the pump and the only two things I could think of that could be related was my period and a cold I was fighting a couple of weeks ago. But then they both came and went and the bad sugars were still hanging on. I was stumped.
Until the other night. It was then, in my troubleshooting haze, that I realized it could all have been related to the insulin. The soft signs up front could have been the first indications that maybe Humalog was not the right insulin for me. And Humalog worked for me for years so I'm not saying that I can just never use it. But I think that it would take some fiddling with my basals and maybe even my sensitivity factor to make it work like the Apidra was working. My body just seems to love that stuff!
So I've thought about it and Google'd it and heard from other T1's moms who have gone through a pregnancy on Apidra without incident . . . and it seems like my Endo may have been overly cautious when she recommended stopping Apidra during pregnancy. And I totally get that. I would even prefer that kind of attitude when it comes to medicine. However, in my case, I think it's obvious that Apidra just works better for me. And maybe 2-3 weeks doesn't prove anything but ultimately the chances of a baby being hurt by the kind of insulin I'm taking are much, much lower than the chances of a baby being hurt by chronically high blood sugars.
So I think I'm going to talk with my Endo at my next appointment and see if she'll give me the okay to use Apidra during pregnancy. I'm hoping she'll be as convinced by the numbers as I am. Until then I'll finish up this bottle and then start back on a fresh batch of Humalog. I'll let you know how it goes.
~Layne
skillet baked macaroni and cheese
1 day ago
I hope your endo will agree with you. Cause it sounds like it's much better for you to keep on that if it's working for you and keeping you in control. I've never heard of Apidra before. I had some issues with Humalog myself so I've been on Novolog for many years. Have you ever used Novolog? Is Apidra more expensive than Humalog/Novolog?
ReplyDeleteP.S. I left a response to your comment on my blog. :)
Apidra is similar to Humalog but is much faster acting, meaning I can take it when I start eating or even right at the end of a meal rather than 15 minutes prior. Which is nice since you never know if you are going to be as hungry as you think or, if you are eating out, when your food will get there. Plus when I correct for highs I really appreciate how quickly I start to come down without plummeting. Apridra also doesn't last as long as Humalog (out of your system in about 2-3 hours versus 3-4 hours with Humalog) and there isn't much of a tail but I don't seem to get much benefit from the tail end of Humalog's action anyway.
ReplyDeleteI've never used Novolog or any Novolin insulin. It's been all Humulin for me! And as far as costs, I have not seen Apidra to be more expensive than the more common brands but it can be harder to fill if you need to get a refill at a local pharmacy. I do everything mail-order and it works out great.
Hey Layne! Congrats on trying :-) That's very exciting!!
ReplyDeleteI also use Novolog for the past 5 years I think, used to use Humalog prior to that in my pump for maybe 10 years (??) and never had any issues. My Endo said that Novolog just responds better in your system and lasts longer in the pump. I've loved it ever since I started using it, and never had any issues during my pregnancy with it. Something you might notice (you may have already heard it too!) when you do get pregnant is that your sites will not last as long...something to do with all the extra fluid you carry around when you're preggers. I had to change out my sites every other day, sometimes every day. Just wanted to give you a heads up :-) Oh the joys of being pregabetic :-)
Thanks for the advice about Novolog Katie! I'll have to ask my endo about it next time I see her.
ReplyDeleteThat sucks about the pump sites during pregnancy! I had never heard that before. How did you know when it needed to be changed? Bad blood sugars? Yuck! I hate changing anything frequently on the pump. . . just makes me feel like I'm flushing money down the toilet. I really try to make those suckers last! :-)
Yeah I know how you feel about feeling like you're wasting money, but the trade off of having good blood sugars is well worth it :-) Yeah, I would notice increased insulin resistance after a day or so with my sites, and finally it was becoming a strong enough trend that I would just routinely change out sites every other day. I'd have days where I would go through a couple sets too. Those were fun days, NOT :-P My endo said unfortunately it's super common during pregnancy. Towards the end my belly got so big I couldn't put the needles in anymore on one side (couldn't reach across my belly!) and my husband had to do it! He was such a good sport about it all :-)
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