I started on Lantus six weeks ago and had great blood sugars the last week, but I take it in the morning rather than at night. I love one injection per day after 48 years of many a day. I am concerned because everything I read about Lantus says night injection. Why? Is morning okay?

Lantus has just received approval for morning dosing. As I understand it, the original clinical trials were such that Lantus was dosed at bedtime with the rationale being an attempt to avoid (yet) unforeseen problems with glucose excursions in the middle of the night or at the end of the anticipated duration of the dose.

Those issues have mostly not come to pass. Once a day, whatever the time, is likely fine as long as one is consistent. Some people do require twice daily Lantus.

DS

[Editor’s comment: Lantus was approved in Europe for any-time-of-day administration in late 2002: “The EC granted that a flexible, any time of day administration of Lantus be added to the prescribing information. The long lasting basal insulin should be administered once daily at any time but at the same time each day” (Aventis press release, December 12, 2002). And on May 8, 2003, Aventis announced that Lantus had also been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for flexible administration at any time of day.

Lantus is still officially approved only for dosing once a day; this is based on the clinical trials that Aventis has performed, all of which used once-daily dosing.

WWQ]