BI back down?

Hi
My BI is Lantus and I've been on 16 units for ages. Every now and again I've put it up but had laods of hypos so put it down again. A couple of weeks ago I was running high all the time and was correcting at every meal so decided to up my Lantus to 18 again. Hypo'd all day for a couple of days so reduced to 17. I'm still having quite a few hypos and am really worried about having night hypos (my BIG fear) so am thinking about going back down to 16.
Any thoughts?

There have been a few people describing similar behaviors with there BGs and BI (Lantus).....

If your having lots of hypos with the 17 units, then you need to put it down, however this means you may have to over compensate throughout the day with your QA insulin as this now lower dose, the 16, is not sufficient throughout the rest of the day......this can be managed with great difficulty.........

It all boils down to the flexibility of Lantus, which for the majority of people is not enough. The next logical step would be to think about Levemir, and a split dose, you can establish a safe dose to keep you steady during the night, then you could give yourself a heavier, more accurate dose during the day to keep your numbers down and your ratios......

Have you tried Levemir.........?

If you have and didn't get on with it, the Lantus can also be split, but changing doses and seeing an effect can take days, unlike Levemir.....

Hi
Thanks for the reply. No I've not tried Levemir, I'm really reluctant to have another injection on a regular basis. I wonder if I go back to BI 16 tonight, keep an eye on my reuslts then think about upping my QA ratio. If I can't work it out I'll try Levemir but only as a last resort!
Michelle

Only do so after discussion with your team..............i was just pointing out the mechanics of the two insulins and why you may be getting problems....

Its definetly worth trying to compensate with QA if you are not up for another injection, but in my own opinion, getting the BI bang on and the QA as low as possoble will give the most benefits............

Keep us posted on the results of your 16 units......

Hi - I agree with your own daignosis the BI needs to be reduced. Try and follow a step by step dafne appraoch - I know how hard it can be when your whole world feels upside down with either lots of highs or in your case at the moment lows.
Start by Lowering your BI - when you get your overnights sorted then start looking at your ratio's in the daytime one by one as I think you are right in saying that things for you will get a bit higher - so they may need to be adjusted - rather than having to correct all the time. I find that i am really sensitive to insulin and raise or lower ratio's by only a 1/4 each time, but my advice would be to try and work on one at a time - as sometimes trying to do too much at once can just cloud what's going on.
I too am on Lantus, but take it on a split dose taking it at 10.30 am 5u and 10.30pm 7u - but I am still jugging with it all and have just been going through what you are describing and am still adjusting - have reduced nightime BI and concentrating on getting my teatime ratio right - so I can go to bed on a good level, before I move on and look at my lunchtime ratio.
It really is trial and error and it can take its toll on you trying to get it right. Stick with your plan and beieve in yourself and if your still struggling seek advice from your HCP. Good luck.