Are all insulins the same?
Most common insulin types
Long acting insulins U100 - Levemir, Lantus, Basaglar, Tresiba
Last up to 24 hours (except Tresiba which can last up to 42 hours)
Usually taken at night, before bed
Their effect is seen on fasting blood sugars
Keep blood sugars stable throughout the night and in between meals
Slowly absorbed, very little potential for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
Rapid acting insulins - Novolog, Humalog, Admelog, Apidra, Fiasp
Last around 4 hours
Bring down high blood sugars very quickly
Taken 15-30min before eating to cover the carbohydrates eaten
High potential for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) if the insulin dose does not match the carbohydrate intake of the meal or of the correction bolus (insulin dose taken to correct a high blood sugar) is too high
Short acting insulins - Novolin R, Humulin R
Last around 6 hours
Bring down high blood sugars fairly quickly
Taken 30-60 min before eating to cover the carbohydrates eaten
High potential for hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) if the insulin dose does not match the carbohydrate intake of the meal or of the correction bolus (insulin dose taken to correct a high blood sugar) is too high
Usually cheaper than rapid acting insulins
Concentrated insulins - Tresiba U200, Toujeo U300, Humalog U200, Humulin R-U 500
Insulins that have the same amount of units in less volume
Usually for people that are very insulin resistant and require large amounts of insulin
Options for both long acting and rapid acting concentrated insulins