Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Syndicate. Types of Insulin. Minus Related Pages. Insulin is classified by how fast and how long it works in your body. Often used with longer-acting insulin. Rapid-acting inhaled 10 to 15 minutes 30 minutes 3 hours Usually taken right before a meal. Often used with injectable long-acting insulin. Intermediate acting 2 to 4 hours 4 to 12 hours 12 to 18 hours Covers insulin needs for half a day or overnight.
Often used with rapid- or short-acting insulin. Long acting 2 hours Does not peak Up to 24 hours Covers insulin needs for about a full day. It is also useful for those who have poor eyesight or dexterity and is convenient for people whose diabetes has been stabilized on this combination. In an inhaled insulin product, Afrezza, became available in the U. Afrezza is a rapid-acting inhaled insulin that is administered at the beginning of each meal and can be used by adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
Afrezza is not a substitute for long-acting insulin. Afrezza must be used in combination with injectable long-acting insulin in patients with type 1 diabetes and in type 2 patients who use long-acting insulin. All insulins come dissolved or suspended in liquids.
The standard and most commonly used strength in the United States today is U, which means it has units of insulin per milliliter of fluid, though U insulin is available for patients who are extremely insulin resistant.
U, which has 40 units of insulin per milliliter of fluid, has generally been phased out around the world, but it is possible that it could still be found in some places and U insulin is still used in veterinary care.
If you're traveling outside of the U. Log in menu Manage Account Search. Donate now. Insulin Basics. There are different types of insulin depending on how quickly they work, when they peak and how long they last. People with type 1 diabetes must inject insulin every day, often up to 4 or 5 times per day.
They may use a pump to deliver insulin which means they insert a new cannula very fine plastic tube under the skin every 2 to 3 days. Sometimes, people with type 2 diabetes also need to begin using insulin when diet, physical activity and tablets no longer effectively control their blood glucose levels. Having to start injecting insulin can be frightening. However, injecting insulin is much easier than most people imagine.
There are different devices that can be used to make insulin delivery easy. Pen needles are very fine and so are cannulas. Often people needing insulin feel much better once they start having insulin. If you need to start using insulin, your doctor or diabetes nurse educator can help with education and support.
They will teach you about:. Your doctor or diabetes nurse educator will help you to adjust your insulin. An important part of insulin adjustment is regular blood glucose monitoring and recording. When you start using insulin it is important to have a review by an accredited practising dietitian to understand how carbohydrates and insulin work together. If you have type 1 diabetes, learning how to count carbohydrates and matching your insulin to the food you eat is the ideal way to manage it.
Depending on what you eat, your mealtime insulin doses may therefore vary from meal to meal and day to day. Insulin is grouped according to how long it works in the body. Both help manage blood glucose levels. The 5 different types of insulin range from rapid- to long-acting. Some types of insulin look clear, while others are cloudy.
Check with your pharmacist whether the insulin you are taking should be clear or cloudy. Before injecting a cloudy insulin, the pen or vial needs to be gently rolled between your hands to make sure the insulin is evenly mixed until it looks milky.
Often, people need both rapid- and longer-acting insulin. Everyone is different and needs different combinations. Rapid-acting insulin starts working somewhere between 2. Its action is at its greatest between one and 3 hours after injection and can last up to 5 hours. When you use this type of insulin, you must eat immediately or soon after you inject. Fiasp — released in Australia June — is a new, rapid acting insulin with faster onset of action.
It is designed to improve blood glucose levels after a meal. Short-acting insulin begins to lower blood glucose levels within 30 minutes, so you need to have your injection 30 minutes before eating. It has its maximum effect 2 to 5 hours after injection and lasts for 6 to 8 hours. These insulins begin to work about 60 to 90 minutes after injection, peak between 4 to 12 hours and last for between 16 to 24 hours.
Mixed insulin contains a pre-mixed combination of either very rapid-acting or short-acting insulin, together with intermediate-acting insulin. In Australia, the strength of the above insulins is units per ml. Some countries have different strengths.
The exception to this is the once-daily long-acting insulin Toujeo which was released in and has a strength of units per ml. Do not change between Lantus and Toujeo without consulting a health professional. Different insulin delivery devices are available. The main choices are syringes, insulin pens and insulin pumps.
Syringes are manufactured in unit 0. The size of the syringe needed will depend on the insulin dose. For example, it is easier to measure a 10 unit dose in a 30 unit syringe and 55 units in a unit syringe. The needles on the syringes are available in lengths ranging from 6 to 8 mm. Your doctor or diabetes nurse educator will help you decide which syringe and needle size is right for you.
Most Australian adults no longer use syringes to inject insulin. They now use insulin pens for greater convenience. Insulin companies have designed insulin pens disposable or reusable to be used with their own brand of insulin. Disposable insulin pens already have the insulin cartridge in the pen. They are discarded when they are empty, when they have been out of the fridge for one month, or when the use-by date is reached.
Reusable insulin pens require insertion of a 3 ml insulin catridge. The insulin strength per ml is units. When finished, a new cartridge or penfill is inserted. Pen cartridges also need to be discarded one month after commencing if insulin still remains in the cartridge.
Your doctor or diabetes nurse educator will advise you about the right type of pen for your needs. Pen needles are disposable needles that screw on to an insulin pen device to allow insulin to be injected. They are available in different lengths, ranging from 4 to However research recommends that size 4 to 5 mm pen needles are used.
The thickness of the needle gauge also varies — the higher the gauge, the finer the needle. It is important that a new pen needle is used with each injection. Your diabetes nurse educator can advise you on the appropriate needle length and show you correct injection technique.
An insulin pump is a small programmable device that holds a reservoir of insulin and is worn outside the body. The insulin pump is programmed to deliver insulin into the fatty tissue of the body usually the abdomen through thin plastic tubing known as an infusion set or giving set.
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