Lantus sting

[jchitty]

Hello everyone, I was diagnosed with type one 3 weeks ago. I have noticed that no matter what I do the lantus stings after I inject it before I go to bed. Is this common? Is there any tricks anyone has learned that has helped them?

[wademryan]

Hi jchitty,

There is actually a really simpe reason to why Lantus stings when coming into contact with the body. The reason lies back to the pH value of the Lantus and the pH value of your body. Values of pH simply describe how acidic or how basic a solution is, the closer to 1 the solution is more acidic and the closer to 14 the solution is, the more basic. Your body resides at a neutral pH of 7 and the pH value of Lantus resides at about 4, which explains why it stings when it comes into contact.

Injecting the Lantus slowly can help for some people, but what I find the best is taking an ice cube and pressing over the skin where I will inject my Lantus for about 4-5 seconds (or however cold you want to get it, the colder, the less sting) and then inject the Lantus. The body is more concerned with the cold effects of the ice cube than the acidity of the Lantus and while it may not remove the sting entirely, I have found it reduces it drastically.

[elkor]

Hey i always had this problem, try pushing it slowly it helps alot better then pushing it faster and change the injection location more frequently.. You'll get used to it

[Super_sally888]

Hi,
it is quite common that people report that lantus stings.

Some people may find it better if the insulin is room temperature.

If you really cannot tolerate it, you may ask your Dr about alternative long acting insulins such as Levemir (injected twice a day) and Tresiba (injected once a day), which may be alternatives to Lantus.

[MStewart31]

Try injecting more slowly. The faster I inject the more it stings.