What is Lantus?
Latus is Insulin glargine, marketed under the names Lantus among others, is a long-acting insulin, used in the management of type I and type II diabetes. It is typically the recommended long-acting insulin. It is used once a day as an injection just under the skin Effects generally begins an hour after use. Prescription Lantus is a long-acting insulin used to treat adults having two diabetes and adults and pediatric patients like children 6 years and older, with type 1 diabetes for the control of high blood sugar.
The usual starting dose of Lantus for people with type 2 diabetes is 0.2 units/kg. The max starting dose of Lantus is 10 units a day. The drug is to be given once a day, injecting it under your skin. If you have taken too much Lantus, call your local Poison Control Center or seek emergency medical attention right away. Overdose can occur if you use too much Lantus or if you use the right amount of Lantus but eat less than usual or exercise more than usual. Lantus overdose can cause hypoglycemia
What is insulin and how it works?
When you have your food, your pancreas releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin moves sugar which is also termed as glucose, from your blood to your cells for energy or storage. If you take insulin, you may need some at mealtime to help lower your blood sugar after you eat. But even between meals, you need insulin in small amounts to help keep blood sugar stable. Because of it, long-acting insulin comes in. If you are suffering from diabetes, either your pancreas can’t produce enough insulin which is required, or your cells can’t use it efficiently to maintain the cycle. To control your blood sugar, you need to replace or supplement the normal function of your pancreas with regular insulin injections.
After injection into the subcutaneous tissue, the acidic solution is neutralized, leading to the formation of micro-precipitates from which small amounts of insulin glargine are slowly released in your body, resulting in a relatively constant concentration/time profile over 24 hours with no pronounced peak. This profile allows once-daily dosing as a patient’s basal insulin.
Insulin comes in mainly three categories, but they are also divided into different subcategories.
- Onset insulin: which are said to start lower blood sugar quickly
- peak: are the strongest when it starts its cycle with blood sugar.
- duration: for how long it lowers the blood sugar.
Rapid-acting insulin
Rapid-acting instantly starts its work within 15 minutes of your intake time. It acts strongest within 30 to 90 minutes, and its effects last for more than three to five hours (it converts blood sugar). Examples of rapid-acting insulin include lispro
Long-acting insulin
This type takes a long amount of time to start working after taking into your body. The insulin can take such as 4 hours to get into your bloodstream and start working. And it can work for more than 24 hours in your body.
Anyone who does not take any long-acting insulin at the same time each day can also experience gaps and stacking of insulin with a single injection a day. Smaller doses of these insulins are also often associated with less than 24 hours of activity. Examples for the long-acting insulin include glargine Lantus and detemir.
Intermediate-acting insulin
This starts to take effect one to three hours after injection in your body. It has the highest effect time of eight hours and is still effective up to 12 to 24 hours in a day. Then some regular acting insulins are also known to be short-acting insulin, this begins to work within half an hour after injection and its peak time is between two to four hours. It continues to work for eight to 12 hours.
Several premixed insulins
Premixed insulin products are also available. They contain long-acting insulins and shorter-acting insulins. These combination medications help control baseline blood sugar levels and any blood sugar spikes that can occur around mealtime.
There are some side effects of the long-lasting insulins which are as follows:
One possible side effect is low blood sugar. Symptoms of low blood sugar include dizziness, Chills, blurred vision, weakness, headache, fainting, pain, redness, or swelling of the skin at the injection site. It does not matter which type of insulin you take regularly; it should work well to control your blood sugar and maintain daily work without any fatigue in your body. Work with your good doctor to find the best type of insulin for you, and to set a dosing schedule that’s effective and convenient for your daily schedule.
Factors that affect the absorption of insulin
Researchers have pointed out that the behavior of insulin after administration can vary from a person to person. This means that there is a tendency for insulin not to follow the standard onset for it to start working. Different factors influence the absorption of insulin in a person’s body.
