Diabetes Talking

Question:

Are there any insulins that are Pregnancy category A (best) or B (pretty good)? NPH and Regular….. sigh

What about Lente or Ultralente?

Response:

Are there any insulins that are Pregnancy category A (best) or B (pretty good)? NPH and Regular….. sigh What about Lente or Ultralente?

good point…. i don’t know why, but in the high risk clinic i was at, NO and i think they are far superior insulin’s i took NPH back when i was preggers, and switched over to Humalog at the same time…. to keep the pp spike lower AND to reduce the 911 trips

Response:

no beef insulin or pork available in the USA any longer wrong Lilly’s 100% pork-insulin (Iletin-II) is still available in both the USA and Canada (pork-L, pork-NPH and pork-R)

ahhh……. ok……. i have tried 4 pharmacies to get pork insulin…… and i get blank stares and "it’s discontinued" stories from the pharmacists……. sigh oh well, i do like the UL

Response:

no beef insulin or pork available in the USA any longer

wrong Lilly’s 100% pork-insulin (Iletin-II) is still available in both the USA and Canada (pork-L, pork-NPH and pork-R) i also suspect that there is nothing wrong with using "human"-UL as background insuiln during pregnancy my further personal guess is that since the T2 mothers far outnumber the T1 mothers that this is why "human"-NPH has become "the standard" for use by all pregnant mothers <T1 shudder bill t1 since ‘57

Response:

no beef insulin or pork available in the USA any longer

I still get Regular and Lente Pork (IlitinII) from Walgreens by prescription. It’s not that different than Ilitin I, which admittedly by Lilly in 1973 was 30-40% Pork. Go to google and type in insulin+canada

Response:

Thank you Tiger Lily and Mack! Mack, the DiabetesMommy dot com was a little intimidating for me, as the last thing I need to do is join **another** forum. But thank you, it sure looked interesting and helpful to many. I’ve bookmarked it. Tiger Lily – thank you for the great info. Esther

Response:

I see Lantus (I think that’s the 24 hr insulin) is pregnancy category C (use only if benefit outweighs risk factors). Are there any insulins that are Pregnancy category A (best) or B (pretty good)? I know nothing about insulin, but looks like I’m going to need it this time. Esther

 Lantus is C because there is simply no data to evaluate the risk. It is an area of clinical trials that drug companies avoid like the plague.  Humalog and Novolog probably fall into the same category  There is no evidence one way or the other at this point, and any clinical trial that aims to find out is a huge potential liability problem, so the only way it will be established is via retrospective study. The corrolary is that high maternal blood sugar clearly hazardous for both mother and child, and at least with Humalog and Novolog the potential benefits to mother and child (which are WELL established) are likely to outweigh the risks (which are unknown, but probably very low. If they were significant, we’d know about them by now. The prolbem is how low are they?

Response:

I’m at 32 weeks (33 tomorrow). Due around New Year’s time. I don’t bother with precise ‘due dates’ as they’re kind of a joke. Anyway… now my BGs go up after a meal and don’t come down by 2 hours like they used to. Last night’s dinner was 170 at 2 hours, 170 at 3 hours, and 150 at 4 hours. So, I think it’s going to be time for insulin this time…… Thank you for the answers. Since I know nothing about insulin, which is the slowest "non-peaky" insulin: NPH, Regular, or Humalog. Are any of them animal based? I’m completely dumb on the subject but I want to keep two things in mind:         – avoid hypos as best I can (as I’m prone to them anyway….)         – and I hope to still be a blood donor in the future. Esther

Response:

I’m at 32 weeks (33 tomorrow). Due around New Year’s time. I don’t bother with precise ‘due dates’ as they’re kind of a joke.

lol….. i hear you……. John was 3 weeks, 4 days early according to the Dr’s estimates….. but right on time according to MY estimates… Anyway… now my BGs go up after a meal and don’t come down by 2 hours like they used to. Last night’s dinner was 170 at 2 hours, 170 at 3 hours, and 150 at 4 hours. So, I think it’s going to be time for insulin this time……

looks like…. sigh Thank you for the answers. Since I know nothing about insulin, which is the slowest "non-peaky" insulin: NPH, Regular, or Humalog.

NPH is more of a basal insulin with added punch for the meal that’s 5 hours after the shot…. Regular is a slower onset insulin, but has quite a long duration…… Humalog is short sweet and to the point…. meats the meal timing pretty well…… Are any of them animal based?

nope….. all are "human" insulin’s now in the USA I’m completely dumb on the subject but I want to keep two things in mind: – avoid hypos as best I can (as I’m prone to them anyway….)

the 2 hour mark down….. the Regular tends to be around for a while, and i always used to hypo on it before the next meal others will have different experiences…. YMMV! – and I hope to still be a blood donor in the future.

not a problem at all….. no beef insulin or pork available in the USA any longer take care! kate

Response:

I see Lantus (I think that’s the 24 hr insulin) is pregnancy category C (use only if benefit outweighs risk factors).

translation….. untested Are there any insulins that are Pregnancy category A (best) or B (pretty good)?

NPH and Regular….. sigh but you MAY be able to swing Humalog if you push your ob/gyn or endo I know nothing about insulin, but looks like I’m going to need it this time.

how far along are you, Esther??? and congratulations! kate

Response:

I see Lantus (I think that’s the 24 hr insulin) is pregnancy category C (use only if benefit outweighs risk factors). Are there any insulins that are Pregnancy category A (best) or B (pretty good)? I know nothing about insulin, but looks like I’m going to need it this time. Esther

Response:

following madness into the void: I see Lantus (I think that’s the 24 hr insulin) is pregnancy category C (use only if benefit outweighs risk factors). Are there any insulins that are Pregnancy category A (best) or B (pretty good)? I know nothing about insulin, but looks like I’m going to need it this time. Esther

some of the problems with Lantus are it takes a day or more before changes in dosage show any effect on BG and it is relatively new and not yet tested and approved for pregnant women.  Their may be other known issues with pregnancy, but I have not gone looking for them. I can tell you this, there are several women who lurk who have or have had gestational diabetes, as well as many type 1 & 2 diabetics who are or have been pregnant reading and posting in this group, alt.support.diabetes , http://www.diabeticmommy.com (it might end in .org I forget) and in http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com (again it might be .org)  Post in all of those forums and you will get plenty of hands on experience shared with you. Make sure your prenatal care team are experienced with diabetic pregnancies. Mack Type 1 since 1975 Minimed 508 Insulin Pump http://www.alt-support-diabetes.org http://www.insulin-pumpers.org http://www.us.zerolimit.net (irc server webpage for our chat room) #diabeticnet is the name of our IRC chat on zerolimit.net http://www.zerolimit.net/files/zl-mirc.exe  http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/misc/webtv.html http://www.xs4all.nl/~ircle/  <–Ircle Mac IRC software

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