Insulin glargine for Diabetes, Type 1 User Reviews (Page 3)

• Nic...
• February 7, 2018

Insulin glargine "My insurance made me switch from Lantus to Basaglar just because Basaglar was a measly 15% cheaper. It did not work for me at all. I don't understand how this drug was ever approved for type 1 diabetes. My blood sugar readings went from being predictable to a complete tailspin. I tried to control it with my fast-acting insulin (Novolog), and not even that worked! Complete nightmare. I contacted my doctor's office with blood sugar readings, and they put in an emergency authorization request for my Lantus. The only reason I didn't have to go to the hospital or end up in DKA was Lantus. Bottom line: if you are a Type 1, try it at your own risk and make sure you still have some of your old long-acting insulin for backup just in case."

• Lad...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 2, 2021

Insulin glargine "As soon as I switched to this formula, my highs and lows were so erratic. I had lows, then over 300 constantly. Stop telling us what insulins we can use based on price. This Basaglar stuff is garbage. I literally just tossed out 2 vials and opened a Lantus."

• Kim...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• September 17, 2022

Insulin glargine "I used to have excellent control while taking Lantus. Then, like most diabetics have said, insurance switched me. I’ve been taking Basaglar for about 5 years, and every day, I have to constantly try to bring down my numbers. I should have stopped taking it many years ago since my energy level suffers. I wish we could all sue Basaglar for not working and stop insurance from ruining our health. Basaglar seems to be like sterile water! I have an appointment in 4 days, and I plan on getting back on Lantus so I can finally feel alive again."

• Nat...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 2, 2021

Insulin glargine "My insurance switched me to this insulin, and ever since I've been taking it, I have extreme low blood sugars in the middle of the night. One night it got down to 15, and my mom called 911. Other times, it dropped to 40, and I've never had hypoglycemia to this degree as I've had since taking this medication. I'm severely depressed and have anxiety, which I've never had before. I also feel sluggish and tired all the time and have no energy to do anything. This is garbage insulin, and I need to go back to Lantus, which has been working for me for the past 17 years. I'm very frustrated and feel so defeated by all of this! Take this off the market!!"

• LBi...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• March 21, 2018

Insulin glargine "A little background: I’m a T1 diabetic who’s successfully used pens forever. I’m also a medical student and like to tinker with my prescriptions when I learn new stuff. I had been on a split dose of Lantus for years and had given degludec (Tresiba) a shot with frustrating results. I was tired of the split Lantus, so I opted to give Toujeo a try – my endo advised me that many of her patients liked Tresiba better, but I had the exact opposite experience. My A1Cs went from 6.9 to 6.5 to 6.3 while on Toujeo… it hasn’t been 6.3 since high school! At first, my Toujeo dose was lower than the Lantus dose I’d been on, but I experienced the two-month bump I’d read about – basically, I had to increase back up to my old Lantus dose after 2 months. The only other downside is that the pen tips seem to get clogged more easily… which just reminds me that I should be changing them out more often anyway! Very, very happy with Toujeo overall."

• Nor...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 13, 2018

Insulin glargine "My insurance company switched me to Basaglar, and my blood sugar (BS) readings went up. I increased the dosage from 30 units of Lantus to 40 units of Basaglar, and now my BS is where it should be. I have no idea why my insurance company switched me-maybe some insurance clerks found a way to save some money!"

• Mar...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• July 19, 2022

Insulin glargine "I've been using the Lantus Solostar insulin since the end of 2016 or the first part of 2017. The past several pens, I can't get 100 units of injectable insulin. I'm only able to get 80-87 units total from the pens. Am I the only one having this happen? Has something changed with the manufacturing of the pens? Wondering what's going on with these pens?"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• June 6, 2020

Insulin glargine "Started using Basaglar and have crashed 2 times, 1 day after using it. Had to call 911 as it made my blood sugar drop from 169 to 40 in 1/2 hour. Never had that happen before with Lantus and never had to call 911 for low blood sugar. Will just be taking Novolog unless my insurance agrees to let me use Lantus."

• MMP...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 19, 2020

Insulin glargine "I switched from Lantus to Basaglar. Had headaches for the first two weeks, which I never get, and terrible peaks and drops after injecting Basaglar. Don’t know whether it is due to the mechanism or the insulin. It needs to be re-evaluated for safety of use..."

• She...
• January 16, 2018

Insulin glargine "Like it, however, since there is no generic, it costs an arm and a leg. In the type 1 and 2 world, we need those. I have been on it for approximately 3 years and noticed that my blood sugar is more stable overnight, however, upon waking, blood sugar rises fast, which then I use Humalog. I'm 32 years old, type 1 at 5.6."

• Rac...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• August 26, 2021

Insulin glargine "I have been diabetic for 24 years and have used Lantus for about 20 years until my insurance said this winter that it would not cover it. I was changed to Basaglar and told that it was “basically the same,” but it's not!!! In 8 months, my A1C has jumped to a 10% from a 7-8%. My blood sugar drops really low in the morning without real explanation, and then it creeps up to ridiculously high levels no matter what I eat. I am very low carb and I exercise, but nothing helps. I am also unable to lose weight, and I feel terrible. This medication is a disgrace!! If you can even call it that. I am glad to see that I’m not alone in having these issues."

• Roc...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• August 13, 2017

Insulin glargine "My insurance made me switch from Lantus. I am still trying to gauge how closely 1 unit of Basaglar = 1 unit of Lantus, but I have other issues with the pen. For one thing, the numbers are really hard to read. Lantus numbers were very dark and easy to see. I also don't like the silence with the injection. It clicked on Lantus, and I could hear it was going in. The worst thing is that with the start of every new pen, it hiccups and then engages, so I don't get a full dose. I will start pushing out some of the insulin first and then start over from now on."

• Dia...
• June 27, 2021

Insulin glargine "Type 1 diabetic for 59 years. I have been on every insulin ever made over the years. Insurance switched me from Lantus, which worked very well for me. Basaglar is a poorly manufactured product - constant air bubbles in pens (which require wasted insulin as I tap and release trying to get rid of them). Have to be careful dialing up doses as it doesn't seem to deliver correct amounts. Have constant lows in the mornings and a strange drop around 10:30 at night. I have a G-6 which alerts me to this nonsense. I have found that I am developing a bulge on my left thigh. I don't think the insulin is absorbing properly. I had switched to injecting on the left thigh (side)."

• Dai...
• October 28, 2020

Insulin glargine "I’m a 40-year brittle insulin-dependent diabetic on a sliding scale. Been using the Basaglar pen since 2018. Had no problem besides the pen itself, until the past week. I’ve had to double my Novolog for each meal and had to increase my Basaglar by three units. Don’t know what’s going on? Control number D210703A, Exp. Date 04/2022, Serial No. 007881921625. Anyone else having the same problem? Love to hear from you. Thanks...."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 30, 2016

Insulin glargine "I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 21 years. I would like to thank the company and the employees of Sanofi-Aventis USA LLC for producing, packaging, and providing Lantus insulin to pharmacies so that I am able to receive Lantus insulin through my insurance company. The Lantus insulin helps me survive every day."

• Cal...
• August 13, 2020

Insulin glargine "Since using this insulin, I cannot bring my BS down with my R insulin. I am on a diet of less than 20 total carbs per day and did not previously have this problem. I dosed 6 units of Basaglar last night, and I have had to take 4 injections today of 20 units each, my sugar will not stay down. There is something very wrong with this Basaglar 'insulin,' and this will be looked into."

• Ms3...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• January 19, 2022

Insulin glargine "My experience with Basaglar will affect me for the rest of my life, and not in a good way. Of course, I doubt there is a doctor that will say results are due to this horrible 'biosimilar' creation, but I developed heart failure from Basaglar. All started when I went to see a doctor in an area I had just moved to. Without any discussion or notification, they put me on Basaglar, no change in the number of units that I needed to take. I was on it for a month before I started to feel my worst. Then I looked closer at the medication and realized it was not Lantus, which I had been taking for years. I gained 40 pounds. I could not sleep in my bed anymore because I couldn't breathe. My feet were swollen drastically. I could not make it up 13 steps without having to stop multiple times because I could not breathe. I was a very active person before all of this. After multiple trips to the doctor and a change in doctors, they found that my ejection fraction was 15%. Normal is 55-75%."

• Ton...
• August 28, 2020

Insulin glargine "So I have been on Basaglar for 2 months, and as far as the effectiveness of the insulin, it isn’t the best, but it isn’t terrible either. What is the true downfall of Basaglar is the injecting mechanism. For example, Tresiba has a mechanism that helps push the insulin out of the pen into your body. Basaglar is completely manual, and you must push on the pen forcefully to get the dose out. It may not seem like a big deal, but if you have been a diabetic for years, you’ll realize that you might need extra help from your pen to push that insulin past all the scar tissue. In closing, the main reason I wrote this was because I just did a dose, and no less than 1/4 of the dose was wasted because the pen mechanism is an absolute abomination. Other than that, it’s okay."

• Geo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 2, 2020

Insulin glargine "I have been on Lantus about 7 weeks now. I was previously on Levemir, which worked perfect for me. I knew when it peaked and was on a very regular schedule. I switched to Lantus because of cost, my insurance supplement charges $152.57 for one vial. I need 2 a month, versus Lantus, which will be covered at $42.00 for one vial. But it is horrible. I have lows almost every single night - to 36, 40, 42, 46, which is driving me crazy. I feel awful! I have changed my dosage from the original 58 units with Levemir to the same with Lantus, and what a nightmare. So I've been adjusting and I am now down to 48-50 and still having lows in the middle of the night. I was told by my doctor to take it at night, so that's what I do at 12:30 pm since I am a night person. But I still have lows. This is a nightmare. This Lantus is going to be the end of me. I have got to somehow fit the cost of Levemir back in my budget: $270 a month if I get 2 vials at once. What a nightmare."

• Ana...
• December 24, 2013

"My daughter is two years old and has been diabetic type 1 since last Valentine's Day. She uses 2 units at 7:00 AM and 1.5 units at 7:00 PM. Glargine is great, but when used in such small quantities, it is very difficult to get an accurate dosage using a pen. The glargine pen does not have a half-unit dial, and it would be really great if the company introduced a pen more suitable for children. For now, I have to draw insulin with a syringe, which is more work, and syringe needles are longer, so it hurts more."

• Sou...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 11, 2022

Insulin glargine "Due to a shortage of Lantus, I had to get Basaglar as a replacement. 3 days in and it is awful. My sugars go up at night (alarm on my phone), so I took 2 units of Apidra. 2 hours later, I'm at 2.9. Alarms again. The pen is awful, it doesn't 'click' when you inject, so I can't count the units I'm actually getting. No comparison to Lantus. I absolutely can't stand this stuff. Stay away from the cheap stuff is all I can say."

• Exp...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 10, 2016

Insulin glargine "Sanofi advertises a savings card to get it for $15 for 1 year. Unfortunately, this is not true, and they may give it to you for that amount for 1 or 2 months, then much, much more $. Basically, false advertising, but nothing you can do about it except avoid them from the beginning."

• Bas...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• March 10, 2020

Insulin glargine "I have been a Type 1 diabetic for 43 years and have been using Basaglar in conjunction with Humalog for the past 3 years, and it works perfectly. My A1C has consistently been around 6.5. My use of Basaglar has been to set a baseline for 24 hours. I take the Humalog prior to eating. My lows can always be traced to not having enough carbs to counteract the insulin. For those experiencing problems, please talk with your physician and see if there needs to be dosing changes."

• Pen...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• May 23, 2020

"To all those with the pen problems, I had the same - but found the cause. It is the needle attachment. Keep changing the needle and test that insulin comes out - then there is no problem to inject it. Most nights I use two needle attachments, but the pen then works. Hopefully that helps you all."

• Sim...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 26, 2023

Insulin glargine "I have been on Lantus for almost 2 months now since I was diagnosed in early February. Taking Lantus through injection means I have no problem with this medication. Over the 2 months, I only had four low readings that were below four and high readings of 15, which there were factors on my part that contributed to those readings of lows and highs. Other than that, the medication has blended well with me, along with sticking to my diet and exercising as much as I can."