Insulin glargine for Diabetes, Type 1 User Reviews (Page 2)

• Chr...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 10, 2019

"I am another Type 1 diabetic that was switched from Lantus to Basaglar by my insurance company. Prior to the switch, my A1c was 5.7-6.3; now it's in the 7-7.5 range. Basaglar is a complete dud for me. The only thing consistent with it is my morning 200+ BGs. I finally went back to using my insulin pump, and within a day, perfect stable BGs with almost 1/2 the amount of insulin. When I go back on syringe therapy, I'll have my Endo require my insurance to prescribe Lantus."

• Alg...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 13, 2020

"After being diagnosed with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) in March of 2019, I was given this drug and Humalog for meal dosing. I have good experiences with Toujeo SoloStar for 3 weeks at a time, then sugars go crazy, ups and downs. So I would change pens way earlier than prescribed, and sugars would be fine for a while. The first box I got said good for 28 days, now they say 56 days. Well, not so, only good for at least 3 weeks, then I have to discard and open a new pen. Hope this info helps someone."

• Bri...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• October 2, 2019

"It's terrible. I just started last night, and my experience is horrible. This should be recalled. My stomach has the worst cramps ever, I can't sleep. My glucose is very high, and I feel extremely sluggish. In the morning, I'm going to get back on Lantus. This medicine is like a poison."

• Ama...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• February 1, 2021

"No. Just no. I haven't had the 'unpredictable' that others have had. To me, it's very predictable; it doesn't work. And I mean, BGL (blood glucose levels) behave as if I had injected water under the skin. Nothing. Needing to wake up every two hours through the night to inject bolus correction, like some kind of human insulin pump. Toujeo, or rather 'the glorified water', is a hard no."

• Bra...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• April 11, 2018

"Endo was trying to help us save $ and said this tier 1 medication was cheaper than Levemir, which is tier 2, and should be the same thing. It's NOT! Blood sugar levels (BSL) had previously been 140-160 in the morning with Levemir. The only thing we changed was I started taking Basaglar at night. BSL is now 250-290 in the morning. It takes all day to come back down, and I'm having to take higher doses of Novolog during the day to control my BSL. This medication is terrible! It should be taken off the market immediately."

• Rll...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 10, 2016

"My doctor tried switching me from Lantus to Toujeo because my blood sugar was always high in the morning. It started out working to bring my blood sugar levels down, but within four to six weeks, I had gained 10 pounds (and I am not tall), I had swelling, and I could barely feel my toes due to poor circulation. I have never had problems with circulation that could not be regulated. I have had type 1 diabetes without too many complications for 35 years and am otherwise healthy. I had to have my doctor switch me back to Lantus because Toujeo was destroying my body. I hope this does not replace Lantus or I will not be around for long."

• Mom...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 14, 2016

"When I experienced lipodystrophy on the insulin pump, my endocrinologist prescribed Toujeo pens for my basal insulin and Humalog pens for my mealtime and correction doses of insulin. I have always been somewhat brittle, but on the Toujeo, I was even more brittle. My dosage of 16 units of Toujeo was too low, but an increase of only one unit per day caused extremely low blood sugars. In fact, in my almost 40 years of Type 1 Diabetes, the lowest blood glucose readings I ever experienced (25 mg/dl) were while on Toujeo. I am not a medical professional, but I would not recommend Toujeo to anyone."

• Pix...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• January 5, 2020

"Like many others, I was forced off Lantus by my insurance company. I just started the Basaglar 3 days ago. Luckily, I decided to not take my usual full dose until I saw how I reacted. Yesterday, I crashed 2x. Today, I cut the morning dose again. I have crashed and had to eat some fast carbs 3x today. It has been so erratic that I couldn't use my fast-acting insulin with my meals... and have still crashed. I ate a Christmas cracker and crashed... That alone should have sent me well over 200 without fast-acting insulin. Sort of scared to go to bed. It has been 12 hours since my injection... and an after-dinner crash is what sent me to this site to read reviews."

• san...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 22, 2019

"My Basaglar pens constantly malfunction, so I never get the required dose, sometimes not getting any, and wonder what happens if the malfunctioning pen delivers too much one time. My other insulin pens do not have these issues."

• NJa...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 10, 2019

"My son has diabetes since the age of 3. He was for 23 years on Humulin N, which wasn’t great, but we kept the blood sugar under control. The doctor switched his insulin to Basaglar.... it is a disaster! His blood sugar is 450 to 500. If something happens to him, I will sue the doctor and Lilly Co. for selling this useless insulin to patients. We tried Lantus a few years ago.... was not working either...."

• Ken...
• July 14, 2017

"Moved from Levemir to Basaglar as my insurance, 'Discovery Medical Aid,' won't cover Levemir. Been using Basaglar for about 3 weeks now. It's been horrible so far. It appears to peak after 10 hours, so that made it unpredictable given how they say it should work. I halved the dose to counter the hypos, but now sugars are higher than usual any other time. I feel out of focus and dizzy. My chest feels 'fluish.' I am considering going back to Levemir and paying the large copayment."

• Aim...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• December 14, 2017

"I was on Basaglar for 6 months because of my insurance no longer covering Lantus. I had extreme anxiety, nightmares, and most scary was the fast heart rate. I am only 37 and have never had a heart problem or had shortness of breath like I did on this horrid medicine. I've been off for about 3 weeks, my heart rate has slowed somewhat, but my doctor is now sending me for an EKG. I seriously hope it didn't cause any permanent damage, dealing with type one diabetes is enough! I am getting a TAR to go back on Lantus. Please report side effects to the FDA as I did, to get this medicine pulled. I also had red dots where I injected, and it did burn. Absolutely scary stuff."

• che...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• October 8, 2020

"I've been type 1 for 20 years and been on Lantus the majority of the time. My insurance switched me to Basaglar 4 months ago, and I've gained 20 lbs. I also have had headaches, and I already suffer from anxiety and depression, but my depression seems to be a lot worse. DO NOT RECOMMEND!!! If I could give it a 0 out of 10, I would!"

• Rin...
• March 13, 2020

"35 years, type 1 for 5 years, was using Toujeo. In my case, Toujeo induced defensive responses, which caused unexplainable high BGs. E.g., went to bed with BG 100 and woke up with BG 270. I thought it was a rebound (Somogyi) effect or excessive DP. When I bought a CGM, it revealed that the jumps occur abruptly, with no apparent reason, in the middle of the night or in the afternoon (after 10 - 15 hours from bedtime injection, when Toujeo reaches peak activity). In the final weeks, Toujeo caused me heartburn, accelerated and irregular heartbeat, and shaking. My BG was in the range between 200 and 300, and bolus corrections had no lowering effect. In fact, Toujeo increased my BG, which is clear evidence of drug rejection. At the end, went to the ER with BG 450 and received NovoRapid infusion, which brought me down to BG 100. Before, I took 25-30 units of Toujeo while now I am on 14-16 units of Tresiba. I think I was Toujeo resistant from the very start, but things escalated in the last months."

• Tbb...
• February 27, 2017

"My blood sugars had been somewhat erratic, so my doctor suggested switching me from Lantus to Toujeo. The only benefit I've found with Toujeo is the ease with which the insulin injects (my Lantus pens took more effort to push). My sugars are more consistent now, but they are consistently high. I am hoping that this is just an adjustment period, but based upon the other negative reviews I've read, I don't think so. I expect that I'll be switching back to Lantus."

• Kat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 3, 2021

"I'm a foster mom to a 4-year-old with Type 1 diabetes. This pen is horrible!! Since he has OHP, the insurance switched from Lantus to this POS because of cost. Every night it's a fight to get the correct amount to come out, and we don't even know if he is getting the correct dosage because of how the pen is. The pens need to be fixed, we can't keep guessing if he is getting the correct dosage. And to make things worse, it hurts him even more because of how hard it is to push the button. His numbers have been all over the place because this med doesn't work as well as Lantus."

• Anonymous
• April 21, 2020

"I have used insulin pens in the past. I must say, this is the worst pen ever! I have been to my pharmacy twice, could not replace them. Even though we spend a lot of money for our medicine, the pharmacist did try to make it right. She called the company, and whatever they did, I started receiving my insulin from the pen. Now this month, same thing as last month. Hard to turn, no insulin will come out. I am a serious type 1. You should not have to do a special trick with the pen needle to get insulin out. I asked on Facebook. Others have the same problem! What good are the pens if the insulin does not come out?"

• Pre...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 7, 2018

"As with many others, experiencing headaches, anxiety, dizziness, feeling in mental limbo, tired, though some symptoms clear by afternoon or late day. My problem is that the endocrinologist I was seeing just since February quit at the same time he put me on Basaglar because Lantus was making me itch all over. I had side effects from all meds, so my family doctor sent me to him. Hope to see a regular doctor soon who also has diabetes. Maybe she can help? Only good note is that my points are down. Scary that someone checked the 'tube' on four or five and nothing came out. Sad to be a guinea pig or test subject. I'm older and only diagnosed in the last four years. Very disheartening to have this malady."

• Mom...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 21, 2020

"My daughter came home from the hospital after being diagnosed with diabetes 1, using Lantus. Our insurance won't cover it, and she was switched to Basaglar. We have used 5 pens, and each night she is in tears because the dose knob is so hard to push. We are fighting with the insurance to get Lantus, we never had a problem with the pens. I could understand 1 pen being defective, but not 5 from different boxes. Basaglar pens are not made well."

• t1d...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 12, 2018

"replying to already in use. I used up the last of my Lantus and my blood sugar levels were in my Dr's range. I took my 1st injection of Basaglar and ate normally. The next morning my BSL were over 300 and I was like, what! I took my Humalog and tested every 2/3 hours. My BSL went down and I took my Basaglar again and ate normally like I would, no big meals. BSL went down after taking more Humalog and the next morning again my BSL were around 300. Again, tested every 2/3 hours and went after 3 days, I called my Dr with my BSL, now waiting to hear back. I tried to figure out if my meter or my insulin was bad. I've had bad vials of insulin, so when the pharmacist says you can't get bad vials, they're so wrong. Now I'm having the same problems with my new insulin. I'm hoping they call tomorrow and either get me back on Lantus or up Basaglar. I got new pens, so I'm gonna try them tomorrow. I think Basaglar just isn't working for me. I'm thinking Basaglar isn't for TID. Anyone else having the same problems?"

• Cor...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 18, 2021

"I hate this insulin. Because of insurance, I was forced to change from the Lantus I was on that worked great. I’ll go to bed with perfect numbers and wake up high. Not just a little high, like in the 300s. For someone who is working very hard to keep her diabetes under control, I cannot describe this insulin as anything other than garbage."

• Ano...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• November 28, 2022

"My insurance company sent me a letter telling me they wouldn’t cover Lantus but wanted me to switch to Basaglar. This insulin is terrible in my opinion! I pay lots of money for what my doctor prescribes, and I constantly need more and more insulin. I feel like this is a scam for diabetics to take advantage of our money as it is already so expensive for our condition! This isn’t right! Why does our insurance companies tell us what insulins we need? Why is this not between the doctors and their patients? Now I’m having trouble managing my sugar. My A1c is off. I am trying to get enough insulin because this horrible insulin, in my opinion, doesn’t work for my body as well as the one that was working just fine. Why am I forced to switch medication? I feel like I am forced to try medication for a particular reason without being told? I think all of us who got these letters are owed an explanation."

• Goo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 20, 2017

"I've been type 1 diabetic for over 50 years. I've seen lots of changes, most of them an improvement. However, Basaglar is not an improvement over Lantus for me. It is supposed to be bio 'similar' (whatever that means), but my experience has not been a good one. Basaglar is unpredictable and has caused me much stress and anxiety because my blood sugar is all over the place and my insurance company has given me no choice. My last hemoglobin A1c was 7.2 on Lantus. I'm going for blood work today. We'll see. A1c may be decent, but my quality of life is not. Constant hypoglycemia at night and adjusting dosage ends up with high BS. I feel terrible!"

• Anonymous
• December 17, 2019

"This drug works very well. My A1C is consistently in the 5.0-5.3 range with no highs or lows. (taking Humalog as well) The other long-acting drugs just don't work as well. For example, when I was on Basaglar (for a few weeks due to an insurance change), I had unexpected highs and lows. It just didn't provide the same level of regular control that Lantus does. I have a continuous monitor and keep a close eye on my levels, so I'm convinced that Lantus works much better for me."

• Jad...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• January 17, 2020

"I am a type 1 diabetic and have been for many years. Have used different insulins. I was forced to start taking Basaglar when my insurance would no longer pay. I had never experienced the side effects that this insulin causes. It causes depression and anxiety. Also, it takes forever to work. I have to take twice as much, and blood sugars are still twice as high. Please take this off the market. The diabetes is enough, we shouldn't have to have meds for it that don't help. Instead, make matters worse!!! Oh, and also, pins malfunction all the time!!!"