Insulin glargine for Diabetes, Type 1 User Reviews

• Dex...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 18, 2019

"My endo switched me from Lantus to Toujeo about 8 weeks ago. It has been a disaster for me ever since switching. I have extreme highs and lows. I go to bed with blood sugar normal and wake up with it approaching 275 or higher. Occasionally, I have a high blood sugar and will take a Humalog correction, often with no effect. I constantly have high blood sugars for most of the day. This did not happen when I was taking Lantus. Now, the only times I can have steady blood sugars on Toujeo is when I don’t eat! This is unacceptable! I do agree with some other comments here: Toujeo is a substandard insulin and should be taken off the market immediately! BTW, I am a type 1 diabetic since 1977. Toujeo is terrible!!!!"

• Dia...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 13, 2019

"I was put on Basaglar by my insurance company, who was refusing to pay for Lantus. I have never been sicker in my life! I take so much more short-acting insulin all day long and wake up in the 200 to 300 range every day. This has to be placebo! It's being forced on us because it is cheaper, but how much cheaper could it be if it is not working!"

• Nit...
• May 9, 2019

"I was on Lantus for about 8 years and was forced to take Basaglar due to insurance issues. Since the swap to Basaglar, I've already had two diabetic seizures in the last few weeks due to my blood sugar dropping to the 30s in the morning. Yes, my blood sugar was 32 this morning. I cover carbs with Novolog but stopped covering my evening food and before-bedtime snacks so it wouldn't drop, and it still did. I lowered the dose time after time and ate a ton of carbs before bed, and I still almost died. However, it doesn't lower my sugar later in the day. I have to cover my meals with twice the fast-acting insulin as I normally would. They need a lawsuit formed against them for making this stuff."

• hum...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 20, 2022

"My awful insurance company stopped covering Lantus on January first, with no warning to me. When I went to pick up Lantus, the pharmacist instead gave me Semglee, a totally unknown drug to me. I did not want to take Semglee. I have many food and drug allergies. I have waited a month to hear from the insurance if they will still allow me to get Lantus because of my allergic reaction concerns upon switching to Semglee. I finally ran out of Lantus today and tried Semglee. Redness and radiating soreness at the injection site, dizzy, feel faint. I took a reduced dose from my Lantus dose out of fear of a bad reaction. That was a good call. I am not taking this again. Will just use higher doses of Novolog without a supporting long-lasting insulin. Crappy insurance company changes my Lantus after 20 years of successful use. I hope they are happy with their extra money."

• qwe...
• January 14, 2019

"Recently switched from Levemir to Basaglar with a new job and new insurance. Like everyone else, I have no idea how this insulin was approved for T1D use. Seriously baffled. I have the Dexcom G6 CGM, so I'm painfully aware of just how bad it is. Every day I wake up and watch my sugar climb to 250 while fasting. I desperately shoot Novolog well into the late afternoon until I finally reach some normalcy. Even still, I can't eat a salad with four and a half croutons without my sugar climbing to 300, even with dosing well in advance. This is really blowing my mind, I'm pretty sure it's just water. If I don't get Levemir back, the only way I can see myself staying out of DKA is a practically no-carb diet. I'm just out here screaming into the void..."

• Bas...
• April 8, 2019

"I was taking Lantus for years without any problems or side effects. Then the insurance company forced me to switch to Basaglar. As soon as I started taking it, it was making me sick with flu-like symptoms. I stopped taking it for a few days to see if it was the insulin that was causing it, and it was. The symptoms went away as soon as I stopped taking Basaglar, and then when I started taking it again, the symptoms came back. Basaglar is trash. Pharmaceutical and insurance companies try to tell you that Basaglar is pretty much the same thing as Lantus, but that's not true."

• Alt...
• September 26, 2010

"Lantus has been a miracle for me. Prior to using it, my blood sugars were completely out of control. My numbers were so high at times, they wouldn't even register. I did everything my doctor told me to with no success. When I was taking R and N insulin, I'd have extreme highs and lows with my blood sugars. There simply was no regulation. Lantus so far has leveled out my blood sugar levels. I take it in conjunction with Humalog. Between the two, most of the spikes I've experienced have stopped. Although with the Humalog, I do have to be careful with hypoglycemic events. The combination of the two insulins is the only thing that's ever helped me. And I've been on everything you can imagine. It looks like I'll finally control my diabetes."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• May 12, 2023

"Was switched from Lantus to Semglee. Severe rash, itching all over body. Injection sites burn with rash and sores. I hate this stuff. Take it off the shelves. Going back to Lantus. Insurance companies should be held liable for making people change to this junk."

• Mad...
• August 9, 2019

"This med, Basaglar, is nothing like Lantus. My 12-year-old granddaughter was forced to switch from Lantus to Basaglar 8 months ago. The insurance will not pay for Lantus that she had been using for the previous 2 years. Within a week of using it, we knew this medication was not working and was causing her side effects. Her daytime glucose levels were very high. We had to double her short-acting insulin. At nighttime, her levels are dropping to 40 every few hours. The pen injector malfunctions frequently, jams, and I am convinced it dispenses an incorrect amount of units. I have to wake her up and load her with carbs to get her levels back up 2-4 times each night. If it were not for her Dexcom G6 alarm, I honestly think she would die in her sleep. She has headaches, abdominal pain, back pain, and leg cramps daily. She has respiratory issues ever since starting the med."

• Qim...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 13, 2012

"I have diabetes type 1 with insulin resistance. Works well. I use 200u/day, 100 AM, 100 PM. It can burn quite a bit when injected, this is because Lantus is fairly acidic, with a pH of around 4. When the low pH hits the higher pH of the body, it forms microscopic crystals that are absorbed slowly. This precipitating action causes the burn as well as makes Lantus a long-acting insulin. It helps me to inject the 100 units in 2-3 sites, so less goes in per site. Also, be sure to leave the needle in for 15-30 seconds to avoid leakage. I'm a chemist by trade."

• Dee...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• December 25, 2018

"I've been on Basaglar for exactly 1 week now. Before I was taking Toujeo. In this one week alone, I've been hospitalized for DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis), and now I am experiencing facial swelling and hives. Yesterday I woke up with my blood sugar (BS) at 114 and decided to fast for most of the day to see if that would help keep me stable. Over the full 24 hours, I ate 2 apples and a little bit of quinoa. Before bed, my BS was at 524, which is much higher than it was when I went in for DKA. This stuff is not working, it's breaking me out, and it is making me fear for my life. Today is Christmas, and I am considering not eating at all because I do not wish to go into a coma. Thanks, Basaglar. I'm so frustrated right now, I have to fight to get my old meds back."

• Jay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 15, 2019

"I was taking Lantus for years when my insurance made me switch to Basaglar. They told me Basaglar is pretty much the same as Lantus and just a cheaper generic version. But I had nothing but problems with Basaglar. As soon as I started taking it, I was having flu-like symptoms that never subsided. Basaglar is horrible and needs to be taken off the market."

• Tot...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• May 20, 2019

"I have been on Toujeo for two weeks, and my sugars have been disappointing, to say the least! My sugar was 113 @ BT and waking was 260!!! I have to take way too much N to cover my blood sugar during the day/after meals to make up for the Toujeo not effectively working! My chest has been hurting from stressing out, and my blood sugars have been so unstable with this new insulin. I HIGHLY DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS TOUJEO FOR ANY TYPE 1 DIABETICS! PLEASE REMOVE FROM SHELF AND SAVE LIVES."

• Bag...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 7, 2018

"My insurance company made me switch to Basaglar from Lantus. Worked okay for about 2-3 weeks, then my blood sugars were all over the place. Switched back to Lantus (after having to fight my insurance to cover it), and my blood sugars were perfect again. I wear a Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system and would watch my sugars not remain constant and pinball on Basaglar. Ever since I switched back to Lantus, they are perfect again. Do. Not. Switch. To. Basaglar."

• Hen...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 12, 2019

"My son asked, 'Dad, could this new insulin be a placebo?' His blood sugar was consistently high on Basaglar. He increased the dose, but it did not help. He has a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), so he's very aware of how things are going. My other son had a different experience-very inconsistent blood sugar levels. He had both highs and lows while on Basaglar that were unexplained by other things. He has a CGM too, so it was pretty clear what happened after the switch. I believe in the FDA process and generics or biosimilars or whatever they're called. But Basaglar didn't work for us. Back on Lantus now and back to normal."

• Bas...
• April 10, 2019

"The insurance company forced me to switch from Lantus to Basaglar. Over the course of several years of using Lantus, I had no problems. But with Basaglar, as soon as I started taking it, I had flu-like symptoms that never subsided. Every night, I was having stomach problems. I hope Basaglar gets taken off the market because it's pure garbage."

• Lis...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 18, 2019

"This Basaglar insulin doesn't work for me at all. I'm very disappointed because my blood sugar levels are erratic. I can't eat if my blood sugar reading is 269 or even higher. I'm always hungry and don't feel healthy, having stomach aches very often. I hope this nightmare will end and this impotent insulin will be taken off the market. What garbage."

• Mik...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 3, 2019

"I was taking Lantus, and it worked very well. Forced to change because of the health plan, and now I have very high blood sugars all the time-never in range since switching. Basaglar does not work. The health plan said they were saving 25 million-I wonder why."

• RWR...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• January 10, 2019

"My medical aid in 2018 forced the Basaglar insulin (long-working) as the only insulin they will fully cover on my medical aid plan/cover. I previously used Protaphane insulin as long-acting insulin. Since I used Basaglar insulin, my daily usage of both the long- and short-acting (Humalog) insulin has increased dramatically. When I started with Basaglar insulin, I kept it to the similar dosage as I used with the Protaphane insulin, but I was shocked that the Basaglar insulin did not work as the Protaphane insulin. To keep my sugar levels between 6 and 10, I had to almost double my usage of the Basaglar insulin. The Basaglar insulin had a negative impact on my health as I was forced by my medical aid provider to only use Basaglar insulin. My review is that the Basaglar insulin is the worst insulin I have ever used."

• Ell...
• December 25, 2017

"Do not use this insulin! It needs to be recalled ASAP! The first few months I was on it were fabulous, rock-steady blood sugars. Last week, all of a sudden, it stopped working for me. I tried multiple batches, and this was not a refrigeration or site injection issue. Other type ones have gone through this same issue. There is an article on Diabetes Daily toujeo-insulin-the-problem-i-had-with-this-insulin. I understand that some may enjoy it, as I did, but it is unpredictable and not safe for use. How this is even on the market is beyond me. Do not use!"

• Att...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 21, 2020

"Do NOT use Toujeo SoloStar for diabetes treatment. I have been using this insulin for more than half a year now, and I can say with certainty: Toujeo SoloStar is dangerous. My rating is 2, because using it is still better than dying without insulin (I have type 1 diabetes). Although I do not understand how this product has been approved for use. I have had diabetes for more than 20 years now, and not once have I experienced a basal insulin misbehave so much as the Toujeo SoloStar. The effects range from severe hyperglycemia (> 20 mMol/L) to persistent hypoglycemia (< 3.0 mMol/L). Persistent, because even eating 60g of carbohydrates barely raises my blood sugar level. So basically this thing is unpredictable. After some searching, I found that I am not the only one experiencing the above problems. TL;DR Do NOT use Toujeo SoloStar; its effects are unpredictable."

• Ric...
• August 2, 2019

"Like everyone else, my insurance company forced me to switch from Lantus to Basaglar. Within a week, I had a strange rash on my torso. Only recently did a biopsy conclude that it began when I began Basaglar. Other side effects for me are extreme exhaustion and decline in muscle strength, instability walking, and serious weight gain. In the past 18 months, I have been totally unable to control my blood sugars, and it is taking a toll on my health. I am now having to fight with my insurance company to cover Lantus."

• Mmm...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 6, 2019

"Not sure if it's purely due to Basaglar, but ever since I've taken this medication, I've been getting respiratory infections. After stopping this medication, the infections disappeared. I was on antibiotics week after week, so at this point I'm going to blame the poor quality of this product. This insulin is just not worth the damage; 'flu-like' symptoms is honestly the best way to explain it. The way the medication is metabolized by the body definitely has an issue somewhere; more R&D should've been done. Please, Eli Lilly, this product is very unpredictable compared to other insulins (Levemir/Lantus/Humulin); it's most definitely not as aggressive as Lantus is. It also seems to not work very well with Novolog. In my experience, it's like gambling."

• Hon...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• October 25, 2018

"Blood sugars have never been more off the chart than since I switched to Toujeo, going from extreme highs to dangerous lows and going to bed with normal blood sugar and getting up with it through the roof. DISASTER."

• Jen...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 15, 2019

"Basaglar has been a bad experience for me. I've been on it for 2 years now, and my blood sugars are much more unpredictable and higher than previously when taking Lantus. I hope to get an insurance that will cover Lantus again!"