Insulin glargine for Type 2 Diabetes User Reviews (Page 4)

• Two...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• April 1, 2021

"Lantus works very well. The pen itself is awful. It jams all the time. Then you have to get a new pen and inject yourself again. That means you have to use a new needle also. These needles and pens are very expensive. You can't use all of this insulin that you have paid for."

• tla...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 10, 2015

"I have been on Lantus for over 3 weeks, and I feel I have less control of my sugar levels. I take 22 units at bedtime, and it isn't lowering my levels like it should. Per doctor, I cannot take regular insulin with it as the Lantus is a 24 hr dose. So if my level spikes to say 435, I can't take a shot of regular insulin to bring it down, I have to ride it out till bedtime when I can take another dose of Lantus. I would rather take regular insulin every 6 hrs than do the Lantus, as it gives me more control of the dose I need for my sugar levels."

• Miz...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• March 18, 2015

"Lantus is great, but I'm going to try Levemir as their delivery system looks better. Lantus SoloStar is fine for strong, large-handed people, but if you have arthritis or are older, it is a chore to deliver - it's too hard to push and too big to stretch your hand to ensure it doesn't slip."

• Bew...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• September 13, 2021

"The problem is not with the medication, the problem is with the design of the pen itself. The pen often jams. This is a problem when it happens during the injection. Sometimes it won't budge, and the entire pen must be thrown out. Other times it will continue delivering the insulin if you apply a lot of pressure on the purple button at the tip. This happened to me and caused the needle to scratch the tissue under my skin. Within 2 days, I was in the emergency room and then spent four days in the hospital trying to get this infection under control. Surgery was considered, but finally, IV antibiotics over 5 days helped, and I was released to continue medicating at home. The problem I believe is with the 'gear' mechanism that they use for delivery inside the pen. Each click of the gear is a nanosecond pause and opportunity for the pen to jam. I have seen other insulin manufacturers use a 'spiral' instead of a gear, which propels the insulin fluidly and safely. Try Tresiba instead."

• Anonymous
• September 6, 2009

"I have been on Lantus for a few years now. I love it, the ease in administration of the SoloStar and the cartridge pen is wonderful. I have never had a problem with it, and when using it, my sugars remain in good control, and I feel wonderful."

• Leh...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• March 25, 2018

"Don't buy this and waste your money and/or Medicare benefits. Get a sample first. I injected 40 units at 9 pm the first night. By 9:30, my eyes were swelled shut and my throat was swelling shut. Called an ambulance and was treated for anaphylactic shock. Released the next day with a red, black, and blue welt at the injection site and a handful of Tresiba samples (which was what I had used prior to insurance trying to save a buck). Tossed all the Basaglar samples out except the one I used in case the FDA should want it after I filed my MedWatch report. A horrid drug, was obviously rushed past the FDA with under-table handshakes. Shame on them. Two days later, still shaky with an unending headache!"

• Fay...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• June 14, 2023

"I wanted to put this out there because it may be helpful to other Lantus SoloStar users. I have a lot of arthritis in my hands and was having a difficult time getting the needle off after using. It helps to squeeze the plastic top, but I didn’t have the strength to do this. I now hold and squeeze it with a nutcracker and then turn the vial counterclockwise. It works every time. I hope this is helpful."

• Bad...
• September 13, 2020

"I have been using Basaglar for a couple of years, and my count was down to a max of 156 in the evening, under 100 in the morning. Since the last refill back in June 2020, the count is never below 290 at any time and having serious problems with my feet swelling, worse than when I was taking Lantus. This is a very bad batch and needs to be recalled."

• Jac...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 6, 2020

"Basaglar is dangerous. 1/2 to 1 full hour after a 10 mg shot, my sugar dropped to 32. Not gradually either. Fine one second, almost passed out the next. You feel like you are dying. This happened 3 nights in a row. I had been using it for 10 months up to the scary events. It was not a new pen. I had used 3/4 of the pen that gave me the dangerous shot."

• Def...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 11, 2018

"I have been fortunate. I've been on Lantus or Levemir for approximately 15 years. Despite its signature burning, I use Lantus now because it's more effective. I find that it doesn't burn if I use a longer needle, so that helps. Because I'm in the Medicare donut hole, I've asked my doctor (just today) for a Basaglar rx. In the past, he's given me sample Basaglar pen needles, and I've found its effectiveness is identical to Lantus. I hope the cost will be lower since the donut hole cost right now is almost $300 for the Lantus. That means I've been relying on my regular insulin for control."

• Bee...
• September 19, 2019

"I was on Lantus. I changed to Basaglar for insurance reasons. I have had good results with my use of the insulin. My sugar levels have gone down: 113-140 in the morning. I used to be over 150-200 each morning. I do take 48 units every morning, but I used to take more."

• emg...
• March 12, 2016

"Taking 62 units, used to use Lantus with no problem, have had major problems last month or so with pounding heart and rapid pulse. Heart problem comes any time during the day and is getting increasingly more of a constant... going to go back to Lantus, and that is too bad, but cannot deal with side effects."

• DrR...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• April 17, 2019

"I am a Type 2 diabetic patient for almost 4 years. I used metformin and sitagliptin tablets, but my A1C was always higher than 7.6 or even 8. I also had acute pancreatitis from sitagliptin. My doctor prescribed me Toujeo SoloStar with metformin, which improved my results, but after-meal blood sugar was still high. The doctor added NovoRapid insulin with the meals. Now my A1C is 5.6 and fasting glucose is below 7.2, very satisfied with my medication."

• Fis...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 18, 2015

"I was put on Toujeo SoloStar on 07/13/2015. It was discovered that I have a carcinoid tumor, and my endo said that Metformin can irritate the cancer, so he wanted me to start Toujeo and Humalog KwikPen ASAP. When I was taking the Metformin, my BS were in the low 100's. On Toujeo and Humalog, the sugars are in the 200's. I'm at my wits' end. Every time the endo decides to put me on insulin, my sugars go through the roof, if I'm on Metformin, the sugars are far below the 200's."

• Ras...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 27, 2022

"I’ve been using Semglee for at least 6 months now since insurance said no to Lantus! I’ve had no bad experiences with this insulin. I’ve used 3 others, and though not my preferred, it works with no ill side effects, least not for me."

• Lau...
• February 27, 2018

"For some reason, this formula seems to work better for me than Lantus did. Not sure why, because they are allegedly the same thing. However, I never actually experienced anything like a 'low' with Lantus. In fact, it seems to me that Lantus just didn't do much for me at all in terms of lowering blood sugar. Makes no sense unless maybe Lantus really needs to be refrigerated the whole time. The Basaglar pen is easier for me to use because it is just smoother during the injection process for me."

• Lur...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 18, 2018

"I find it takes much more pressure to administer the insulin than it should. Also, I'm concerned that I'm not getting the proper dose because there seems to be a puddle of insulin on my skin after dosing. I've used the Tresiba pen, and it was great - but my insurance won't cover anything but the Lantus pen."

• Wre...
• April 11, 2021

"I found this to be great at first, but like Victoza, after 4 weeks of using it, my body reacted to it horribly. I started rotten egg burps, which is a buildup of sulfur dioxide because food was now passing slower through the digestive system, this would cause me to vomit rotten-smelling food. The other side effects were feeling extremely tired and nauseous, chronic diarrhea, which lasted for over a week. In conjunction with the diarrhea, this caused a few accidents, which was embarrassing at work as it would happen any time. It made me scared to eat anything, my stomach became bloated within minutes of the injection. This was supposed to be a weekly dose for me. I stopped taking it 3 weeks ago, and all my symptoms went away. I then wanted to be sure this medication was the cause of my issues and that I hadn't caught some other virus. So, I took it on Thursday, April 8, 2021, by Friday afternoon and all over the weekend, my symptoms returned, making me feel so unwell. So, I won't be taking this anymore."

• Lou...
• October 28, 2016

"I have been using Lantus SoloStar for more than 5 years with excellent results. I inject 80 units before bedtime. While the medicine certainly does its job and keeps my sugars in check, I have to agree with the fact that using the plunger mechanism is a nuisance quite frequently. I have large hands, so the small hand complaint is not my issue -- it's a matter of the amount of force required to push the plunger to make it operate that's the problem. It would be appreciated if the manufacturer would take people's complaints into consideration and redesign the plunger system. I have used other such pens in the past in an effort to help control my sugars, and their plungers were nowhere near as difficult as the Lantus."

• Reb...
• July 18, 2016

"When my doctor first put me on this, I didn't like it. My sugars went up, but since I have been on it for a while now, my A1C numbers have come down, and my sugar numbers in the morning have also come down. Here lately, they have been around 145, and in the afternoon, they are around 106. I am impressed with Toujeo so far."

• bet...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• May 16, 2023

"Was put on Toujeo SoloStar back in early December and ended up using 90 units to gain glucose control. My downsides were stiff joints and breathlessness, which worsened with time and became a terrible pain in the top of my right lung 5 months on. I stopped the insulin, and the pain was reduced within 24 hours and cleared within 72 hours. When I resumed taking the insulin, I had awful pain back again within two hours, so I stopped again and now a slow recovery over the next 72 hours. This should be removed from prescribing as it is an awful drug and really made me ill."

• Ala...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 13, 2018

"My doctor prescribed Lantus, but as we all know, what the doctor prescribes is merely a suggestion as far as the insurance company is concerned... so I was placed on Basaglar. Instructions were to increase dosage gradually until my glucose levels were down. Note that I was taking Victoza, which was no longer working, yet I still had some key side effects dealing with digestive issues. My glucose is down at 40 units per day and just a small dose of Victoza. However, I have no energy, just plain out of steam. Also, I have a strong appetite and have gained weight - yet don't have the energy to exercise. Frustrating! Sure my glucose is down, but so is my energy! I see my doctor in a week and hope we make a major change."

• Ala...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 17, 2019

"I have been taking Lantus for about 10 years and like it. I have always been getting it in the vials and using the BD needles (1/2 inch). This 3-month supply came in the pens due to a screwed-up order from the doctor's office. The pens are complete garbage, with 'ease of use' a ZERO. To set the dose, you rotate the end cap to the desired amount. As my dose is 100 per day, the pen only goes to 80. Therefore, I must dial up 2 50-unit doses. The needles are so thin and too short. Administering requires forcefully pressing the end cap button, making the dial unwind back to 0 each time. Excessive pressure is required, while trying to hold the 1/4-inch needle in at the same time always results in bent needles and often breaking needles. Whoever designed this piece of rubbish should be forced to use it daily. If you have a choice, never use the pens and stick to the standard needles!"

• Bil...
• May 2, 2016

"Getting better results than with Lantus. Used Lantus for 7 years. I have used Toujeo for 1 year as of April 2016. Did not experience any adverse side effects. Blood sugar much more stable - not as many highs or lows. Makes it easier to do fine-tuning with my mealtime insulin. A1c came down and stayed between 6 and 6.3."

• Mar...
• July 29, 2010

"I've been using this for a month now, and it seems to be helping with the blood sugars. However, I find the pen hard to use. I have small hands, and the pen is too wide for me to grip easily, and the plunger is even harder to push down to inject. I hate needles, so this is an ideal way for me, but something slimmer and easier to push would help. At 56 units now, it's virtually impossible to avoid pain with the injection."