Levemir for Diabetes, Type 1 User Reviews

• Nick
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 1, 2020

"I had been using Lantus for 10+ years along with Novolog to cover my carb intake. Everything worked great, A1C always below 7. Insurance this year no longer covered Lantus and switched me to Levimir with unacceptable results. I've been struggling to keep my levels below 150 between meals with no success. I have to add 2-4 units of Humalog with meals to try to get within range and many times have to take an additional injection of Humalog to bring down high readings. I started out with 20 units of Levimir (the same as with Lantus)... I'm now up to 25 units with no change. My doctor tried to get a prior authorization for me to still get Lantus, but now Insurance says I must try Basaglar before they will even consider it. Really disgusted with my insurance carrier, they preach wellness yet they won't let people use what works for them."

• frank
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 3, 2016

"I went on levemir once I found out that lantus was made by the same company that make abortion pills. The first thing I noticed is that there is no sting. It took a good 3 weeks for it to start working, but once it starts working, it's the best basal you can get. Lantus used to sting so bad it wasn't funny. Now with Levemir, it never ever stings, I don't even feel it going in. I have also lost over 20 lbs while not changing my eating habits since I've been on this. I went on tresiba for a couple weeks last winter, I was the first in the state, I had the most horrible adverse reaction, I had a cold that was the worst cold known in the history of man. But it was not a cold, I went back to levemir and in 48 hours the cold cured"

• Goldie...
• July 25, 2019

"As a type 1, I have usually been on a pump for the last 10 years but recently with employment changes and insurance covering certain brands. I switched off the pump for a bit (until my deductible is met, etc) and onto injections. I am on Humalog (and levemir, because insurance doesn't cover novolog or lantus. but no big deal, i did my research and learned that Humalog takes approximately 5 minutes longer to kick in and that levemir lasts up to 18 hours. with this knowledge, i was able to adjust my insulin intake and split my levemir doses. At first i was taking it once in the A.M. with 20 U and that would kick in about noon or close to. the problem was that i woke up in the a.m. with high's like 300+. i would take all the Humalog and Levemir needed and sugars would struggle until about noon to go down. then, I decided to experiment a little by taking 8-10 Units of Levemir at night (depending on level of sugars) and this really seemed to help a lot."

• Cathy
• Taken for 10 years or more
• December 4, 2023

"Person is on Levemir and Novolog. Acute care gave it in the morning. When discharged, no one, including the endocrinologist, told him to move it to dinner or bedtime. It has been virtually impossible to get his blood sugars into any normal range. The endocrinologist did not want to put him on twice daily shots because of the overlap and potential for hypoglycemia. BGM readings were never sufficient to tell us what was going on. It was not until he went on Dexcom G7 CGM that we understood; the Levemir 25 units was only active for 19 hours. If given in the AM, with the Novolog, he would have severe lows by 4 in the afternoon. If given at 2 PM in the afternoon, he got enough coverage overnight but needed Novolog at 8:00 AM in the morning. Now, Novo Nordisk has announced that they will stop making Levemir for the US market. It is no longer on Medicare D formularies - nor is the Novolog (Besaglar/FIASP). Hope it will be better."

• kimmed
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• December 22, 2018

"Levemir is a long acting basal insulin which I used for only two months. I tried it with the hope it would give better blood sugar control. It did not. I started with 10 units twice a day along with three units of Novolir R whenever my blood sugar (BS) was over 140. The period for Levemir for me was about 18 hours so I was double dosing for several hours a day causing severe hypoglycemia about 2-3 days per week. Eventually I adjusted it to a dosage of 15 units every 18 hours along with three units of Novolin R as needed. I discovered my A1C after two months went up so I went back to Novolin N five units every eight hours and Novolin R three units with meals and my A1C went back down. Cost was $290 per bottle which lasted 50 days. Medicare and Medicaid covered all except $3 copay. Caution: If you take Levemir twice a day your doses are stacking and you are in danger of severe hypoglycemia since the insulin lasts about 18 hours."

• Anonymous
• March 18, 2021

"I have been using this product for a couple years. It is a great product when you can get it to work but the pen freezes. For the $ 200 I pay per pen it should work so this product is aggravating me. I have 4 pens now that won't work."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• June 23, 2022

"I have been using Levemir for 10 years. I have noticed the latest vials with expiration dates of 2024 have a different formula. My blood sugar is running lower than with previous vials. Has anyone else noticed the same?"

• Anony...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 15, 2019

"Worked great, but after being on it for 3 1/2 months, I started having horrible night sweats as soon as I'd fall asleep..!"