Types of Insulin
Because you can't make insulin, or don't make enough for your body's needs, you probably will need to use more than one type of manufactured insulin to get the same effect. These different types of insulin work at different rates and for different amounts of time. Here are more details about the different types of insulin available:
- Mealtime insulins: Mealtime insulins include rapid-acting and short-acting insulins. Rapid-acting insulin starts very quickly and works for the shortest time. Short-acting insulin starts more slowly and works longer than rapid-acting insulin. Humalog is a rapid-acting insulin.
- Basal insulins: Basal insulins include intermediate-acting and long-acting insulins. These start more slowly and last longer than mealtime insulins. Your doctor usually recommends you take basal insulin once or twice a day.
- Mixture insulins: Mixture insulins contain a mix of both basal and mealtime insulins in one solution. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 are mixture insulins.
* Typical profiles of insulin activity, based on glucose utilization from clinical trial data. Patients may experience
variations in timing and/or intensity of insulin activity due to dose, injection site, temperature, and physical activity.
Some common misconceptions
Even though insulin treatment may help bring blood sugar levels under control, many people with diabetes have some mistaken ideas about this type of therapy. For example:
- Some people believe that starting insulin or an increase in their insulin needs means they have "failed." Nothing could be further from the truth! Because diabetes changes over time, you simply have to adjust your therapy to keep up with your need for good blood sugar control.
- Other people fear taking insulin because they think injections will be painful. However, many people who take insulin say their initial worries about injections were actually worse than the injections themselves. Modern technology has given us better tools for injecting insulin, such as shorter and thinner needles. Once you know how to use your supplies and develop a technique, injecting insulin can be quite simple.
Remember, controlling your blood sugar is far more important than the treatment you use, whether it's pills, insulin, or both. The number one goal is for your blood sugar to be controlled as well as possible. Treatment plans are different for different people. Your doctor or diabetes educator, working with you, will determine the best plan for you.
Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 are available by prescription only. See Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 Patient Information for important facts about these products.
Important Safety Information
Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 are for use in patients with diabetes to control high blood sugar. Humalog should be used with a longer-acting insulin, except when used in combination with sulfonylureas in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Humalog insulins are contraindicated during episodes of hypoglycemia and in patients sensitive to Humalog or one of its excipients. The safety and effectiveness of Humalog in patients less than 3 years of age have not been established. Safety and effectiveness of Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 in patients less than 18 years of age have not been established. There are no clinical studies of the use of Humalog insulins in pregnancy or nursing mothers.
Potential side effects associated with the use of all insulins include low blood sugar, weight gain, low blood potassium, changes in fat tissue at the site of injection, and allergic reactions, both general and local. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 should not be mixed with another insulin. Starting or changing insulin therapy should be done cautiously and only under medical supervision.
Humalog insulins are available by prescription only. See the Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 Patient Product Information for important facts about these products.
Humalog is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 are trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company.
Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 are for use in patients with diabetes to control high blood sugar. Humalog should be used with a longer-acting insulin, except when used in combination with sulfonylureas in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Humalog insulins are contraindicated during episodes of hypoglycemia and in patients sensitive to Humalog or one of its excipients. The safety and effectiveness of Humalog in patients less than 3 years of age have not been established. Safety and effectiveness of Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 in patients less than 18 years of age have not been established. There are no clinical studies of the use of Humalog insulins in pregnancy or nursing mothers.
Potential side effects associated with the use of all insulins include low blood sugar, weight gain, low blood potassium, changes in fat tissue at the site of injection, and allergic reactions, both general and local. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 should not be mixed with another insulin. Starting or changing insulin therapy should be done cautiously and only under medical supervision.
Humalog insulins are available by prescription only. See the Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 Patient Product Information for important facts about these products.
Humalog is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 are trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company.
