Levemir: Another Update

In keeping with my previous posts on Levemir (see here, here, and here) and in the interest of providing some completeness on this issue, I thought I had better provide a short update on how it's been going.

Because my overall opinion on Levemir is resoundingly positive, I thought I should start with a single negative point about my experience thus far. That's just in case someone stumbles upon my Levemir posts and only reads them quickly.

This could be a major consideration for some users: There seems to be a slight increase in the amount of scarring around my injection sites. I'm not sure whether this would happen to everyone, and I've certainly not read from other users that this is a problem. Still, it seems that my injection sites take a little longer to fully heal, and if I don't do a really good job of rotating sites, then I will build up a great deal of scar tissue and the insulin won't absorb properly. Sometimes the FlexPen won't fire at all for this reason. (This latter point is similar to my discovery that reusing pen needles often doesn't go so well with the FlexPen.)

And that's it for the negatives. Now for some positives.

The biggest difference I have noticed is that Levemir seems to last longer than Lantus. I don't know why this is, especially since Lantus lasts longer in clinical studies. Whatever it is, though, it works for me. If I conjectured as to why this happens for me, I'd be talking myself into an explanation without any sort of real evidence. Maybe this is a highly individualized reaction, or maybe it has something to do with my lifestyle. Whatever it is, I am glad it works this way.

Once I got used to the FlexPen, I found that I prefer it. I can understand how others would feel differently, but I personally enjoy the spring-loaded trigger. I like knowing that I'm getting the full dose, and I like knowing that if the insulin fails to trigger completely that I haven't gotten the dose. Perhaps it's just more reassuring.

The injection site never burns, never, like it did with Lantus. It's a totally painless injection, and that is a small but significant improvement in my regimen.

And one potential imaginary factor: The insulin "feels" more "natural" to me. Doctors scoff at me when I tell them I can "feel" the insulin in my body, but it is what it is. Take it for what it's worth.

No comments:

Post a Comment