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Types of Insulin Therapy

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Types of Insulin Therapy
There are various brands and forms of insulin therapy available and your diabetes team will guide you through what you need to use. This may take quite a bit of time to get right once you are first diagnosed, so be patient and vigilant – make sure you ask questions about your medication and dosage. Essentially it can take a while for you and your medication to ‘settle down’. Over the years, your medicine usage may change due to your age, your time of life and other factors. 
The main types of insulin therapy available are:
Rapid-acting insulin begins working within 15 minutes and its action lasts a few hours. 
Short-acting insulin takes 30 to 45 minutes to work and lasts a few hours. 
Intermediate-acting insulin is mixed with a substance that causes the body to absorb the insulin more slowly. It begins to work within two to four hours.
Long-acting (basal) insulin acts in a way that is more or less stable for the whole day. It’s often referred to as 24-hour insulin as its release and effectiveness often lasts a whole day.
Most adults on insulin therapy take a long-acting and a short-acting insulin. There is a simple logic to this – it’s the best way to imitate what a non-diabetic’s body does. 
Non-diabetics have a certain amount of insulin present at all times, but when they eat, a larger amount of insulin is used as part of a feedback mechanism within the body. The pituitary gland in the brain constantly measures blood sugar levels. If the levels are too low, glucagon is released in order to raise blood sugar levels. If the levels are too high, insulin is released in order to lower those levels. 
If you are on insulin then you will have to start doing the work of your pituitary gland by doing a blood test to see what your blood glucose level is. Then you figure out how much insulin you need and give yourself a dose. 
Short-Acting and Long-Acting Insulin Therapy
Different insulins have been made to help people with diabetes. Each works slightly differently with its own release pattern. Insulins that get to work fast, do their job and then become inactive within a few hours are called short-acting insulin. This includes such insulins as Humalog from Eli Lilly and Novo Rapid from Novo Nordisk. 
Characteristically, these start working within about 10 or 20 minutes of being injected and will have started to wear off after about two hours. The idea is that this mimics the kind of release pattern that occurs in a non-diabetic around meal times. You’ll have an injection of short-acting insulin with a meal. 
The body needs insulin at all times, it just needs more at meal times. Along with short-acting insulins for mealtimes, you are likely to have a long-acting insulin as well. These include Lantus from Sanofi Aventis and Levemir from Novo Nordisk. By having a long-acting insulin (also known as 24-hour insulin or ‘peakless’ insulin), you have some insulin present all day long. These long-acting insulins are often the ones given to Type 2 diabetics when their condition requires it. 
Going on insulin therapy does not mean your diabetes is worse, though it may mean that the drugs you have been using are no longer working. Insulin therapy will only be suggested if it seems to be the best route to achieve better blood sugar control and therefore avert any possible diabetes complications. 
Human or Animal Insulin
Much insulin today is made by pharmaceutical companies and is called human insulin. Historically, all insulin was animal insulin – literally extracted from the pancreases of either pigs or cows. These porcine or bovine insulins are still available, though they are rarely given out. Some users who moved from animal to human insulin reported serious side effects, most likely attributable to bad calculations of how to convert the dose of animal insulin across to the ‘human’ version. As you need less human insulin (relatively), wrong conversions could give huge and horrid hypos (which would put any one off). Today, most people take to human insulin very well.
For more information about insulin therapy and diabetes in general, take a look at Diabetes – The Essential Guide. Buy a printed copy of the book and get the eBook absolutely free!

There are various brands and forms of insulin therapy available and your diabetes team will guide you through what you need to use. This may take quite a bit of time to get right once you are first diagnosed, so be patient and vigilant – make sure you ask questions about your medication and dosage. Essentially it can take a while for you and your medication to ‘settle down’. Over the years, your medicine usage may change due to your age, your time of life and other factors.

types-of-insulin-therapy.jpg

The main types of insulin therapy available are:

  • Rapid-acting insulin begins working within 15 minutes and its action lasts a few hours. 
  • Short-acting insulin takes 30 to 45 minutes to work and lasts a few hours. 
  • Intermediate-acting insulin is mixed with a substance that causes the body to absorb the insulin more slowly. It begins to work within two to four hours.
  • Long-acting (basal) insulin acts in a way that is more or less stable for the whole day. It’s often referred to as 24-hour insulin as its release and effectiveness often lasts a whole day.

Most adults on insulin therapy take a long-acting and a short-acting insulin. There is a simple logic to this – it’s the best way to imitate what a non-diabetic’s body does. 

Non-diabetics have a certain amount of insulin present at all times, but when they eat, a larger amount of insulin is used as part of a feedback mechanism within the body. The pituitary gland in the brain constantly measures blood sugar levels. If the levels are too low, glucagon is released in order to raise blood sugar levels. If the levels are too high, insulin is released in order to lower those levels. If you are on insulin then you will have to start doing the work of your pituitary gland by doing a blood test to see what your blood glucose level is. Then you figure out how much insulin you need and give yourself a dose. 

Short-Acting and Long-Acting Insulin Therapy

Different insulins have been made to help people with diabetes. Each works slightly differently with its own release pattern. Insulins that get to work fast, do their job and then become inactive within a few hours are called short-acting insulin. This includes such insulins as Humalog from Eli Lilly and Novo Rapid from Novo Nordisk. 

Characteristically, these start working within about 10 or 20 minutes of being injected and will have started to wear off after about two hours. The idea is that this mimics the kind of release pattern that occurs in a non-diabetic around meal times. You’ll have an injection of short-acting insulin with a meal. 

The body needs insulin at all times, it just needs more at meal times. Along with short-acting insulins for mealtimes, you are likely to have a long-acting insulin as well. These include Lantus from Sanofi Aventis and Levemir from Novo Nordisk. By having a long-acting insulin (also known as 24-hour insulin or ‘peakless’ insulin), you have some insulin present all day long. These long-acting insulins are often the ones given to Type 2 diabetics when their condition requires it. 

Going on insulin therapy does not mean your diabetes is worse, though it may mean that the drugs you have been using are no longer working. Insulin therapy will only be suggested if it seems to be the best route to achieve better blood sugar control and therefore avert any possible diabetes complications. 

Human or Animal Insulin

Much insulin today is made by pharmaceutical companies and is called human insulin. Historically, all insulin was animal insulin – literally extracted from the pancreases of either pigs or cows. These porcine or bovine insulins are still available, though they are rarely given out. Some users who moved from animal to human insulin reported serious side effects, most likely attributable to bad calculations of how to convert the dose of animal insulin across to the ‘human’ version. As you need less human insulin (relatively), wrong conversions could give huge and horrid hypos (which would put any one off). Today, most people take to human insulin very well.

Extract taken from Diabetes - The Essential Guide. For more information on types of insulin therapy, take a look at the book - available now in eBook, printed book and large print formats. Buy the printed version and get the eBook free!