July 27, 2003
Insulin Analogs, Tight Control
Question from South Carolina, USA:
We are planning to ask my daughter’s endocrinologist to switch her from Humalog with NPH to Lantus with NovoLog. Currently her A1cs are 6.7 to 7.1% which are acceptable, but we are hoping for a little better control. We want the convenience of the pen at her next visit. She plays a lot of sports, and we feel like she is riding a rollercoaster much of the time. We are hoping that this new regimen will give us more flexibility and keep her blood glucose levels more even. Do hemoglobin A1cs tend to improve when people switch from NPH to Lantus?
Answer:
I’m not sure there is an outcome study looking at hemoglobin A1c when people switch from NPH to Lantus (insulin glargine), but since her A1c is already 6.7%, I would guess it isn’t likely it will improve much.If it’s too low, there is a possibility of too many hypos. However, I would think you can get there with a bit more flexibility and a bit less of the “roller coaster” effect.
LD
