Hey guys.
I've been a type 1 diabetic for fifteen years now and I'm set to graduate the program in May 2013 -- I clarify that because I don't want anyone to think I'm already working or think that I'm trying to be a know-it-all, but this drives me nuts.
At a few facilities I've been to I've noticed an alarming trend regarding Lantus. Now, I'm sensitive to this because I actually take Lantus and know how it works, but a lot of med-surge nurses don't seem to know -- and equally alarming is SOME DOCTOR'S DON'T, EITHER!
A patient had a blood glucose of 56 (low, not that terrible, to be honest... an OJ will fix it just fine) at bedtime check and because of that the nurse called the doctor and with held the lantus!
Now, lantus is a baseline insulin. It lasts ~24 hours and keeps the blood sugar at normal operating level (65-110 or thereabout) for that time period. If you with hold lantus there is no insulin left in the body (for practical purposes) to keep glucose normal!
Needless to say, patient woke up with a glucose of 500+ because they had no lantus on board. Morning shift nurse (more experienced) corrected the error by calling doctor again and administering the lantus.
Please, please, please be a patient advocate. If I were in the hospital you couldn't pry my insulin from my cold dead fingers because I don't trust that the knowledge is out there on exactly how diabetes and the meds work. If you're not diabetic and your glucose has never hit 500, I can't explain to you how crappy you feel for a long time even after it returns to normal.
/rant