How to Switch From NPH to Lantus

Type 2 diabetes is a medical condition that causes the pancreas to produce too much glucose in the body. Patients must inject insulin daily to regulate these blood glucose levels. If not treated correctly, this condition can lead to blindness, coma, and even death. Two types of insulin medications that are used to treat type 2 diabetes are NPH insulin and Lantus.

Instructions

• 1

  Start patient on a Lantus IV drip. You must ensure that you wait until the Lantus has been dispensed for two hours into the patient's blood stream before you cease NPH insulin dispensing.

• 2

  Start normal Lantus dosage. After patient has received Lantus via IV drip for at least 20 hours, you can then start Lantus dispensing through their portable insulin pump. According to the LANTUS website, the dosages should be as follows: Insulin naive patients should receive 10 units daily. Patients who received NPH insulin only once within a 24-hour period should receive one unit. Patients who receive NPH insulin twice within a 24-hour period should receive 80 percent of that dosage.

• 3

  Start patient on oral anti-diabetic drugs or OADs. You should start type 2 diabetes patients on OADs to ensure that they do not experience hypoglycemia, in which blood glucose levels are dangerously low. With the addition of these OADs, the patient's blood glucose levels will not drop to an extreme low and patient will not go into what is called sugar shock.