Resolved question:
I am a 62 year old man with an almost healthy build up. I have type 2 diabetes. My endocrinologist recommends me to use Levimore. Pharmacist says that it will control blood sugar that the body creates at night but not the glucose it produce during day. I have not started on insulin yet. Something that makes me worry more is about the discount. It would pay for Lovinox or Coumadin. They pay for a prescription costing 400 to 500 dollars for a period of 28 days. But I am not eligible for that. My blood sugar levels are at a range of 161 to 186. It is at its lowest at midnight. After seeing my endo, it changed to a 137 at 4.00 AM and to a 168 at 12.30 AM. These all makes me totally confused and lost. Is this due to this particular insulin? Can this affect my DNA? Is there any blood test available to find whether I am allergic to drugs? The info sheet of the medicine shows that it should not be consumed if I am allergic to any man-made things, How to find it our first?
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4 Days
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Thanks for your question. Let us go through some details of Lantus and Levemir insulins. Bothe are long acting insulin drugs. Of these, Lantus is slightly longer than Levemir. Usually, both of them are prescribed to administer once a day. In some cases, it is ordered twice a day also. Normally, they are ordered once at bed time. They will act slowly and help controlling glucose levels all day and night. At times they are even ordered along with some other rapid acting insulins also, before taking meals or along with other oral medicines. Secondly, body can produce more glucose at night, even if you haven’t eaten before your bed time. This increase in glucose level is caused by certain factors. Your liver reacts to your glucose level drop when you don’t eat anything for a while. But your body needs energy to keep it working. Both your body and brain are energy hungry as they work throughout the night. As your glucose level drops, liver starts producing glucose by itself. This process is more evident in people with diabetes than those without. Your body will react to stress also, during night. This is due to the release of cortical steroids which helps in healing stresses during day time. This is a part of that healing process itself. These steroids are also known culprits in increasing glucose levels. This is the cause of having high glucose levels even though you do not eat for a while, during your sleep. This can be well managed by taking some low carb snacks before you go to bed and some snacks when you wake up. This will turn off the system of making self-made glucose during night time. Allergy to insulin is a rare phenomenon. But it can happen also. If you experience some issue, better report to the provider. Taking insulin will never cause changes to DNA structure.