How does insulin work? Insulin is at the center of the universe for people with diabetes. While other topics are often discussed more frequently, the core of diabetes treatment is making sure you get enough insulin to function properly.
Nonetheless, it is surprising to search various diabetes websites and see relatively little focus on this important subject.
Well not here! On this page there is a tremendous amount of information on insulin to get you up to speed on whatever you are looking to learn.
I also like this very thorough video on insulin. It discusses the types of insulin, concentrations and even some injecting tips. If you like your information in video format, this will get you started.
Brand Names
| Rapid Acting Insulin | |||
| Generic Name | Brand | Type | Company |
| Insulin Aspart | Novolog | Analog | Novo Nordisk |
| Insulin Glulisine | Apidra | Analog | Sanofi-Aventis |
| Insulin Lispro | Humalog | Analog | Eli Lilly Nordisk |
| Regular Insulin | |||
| Generic Name | Brand | Type | Company |
| Regular | Humulin R | Human | Eli Lilly |
| Regular | Novolin R | Human | Novo Nordisk |
| Intermediate Acting Insulin | |||
| Generic Name | Brand | Type | Company |
| NPH | Humulin N | Human | Eli Lilly |
| NPH | Novolin N | Human | Novo Nordisk |
| Long Acting Insulin | |||
| Generic Name | Brand | Type | Company |
| Insulin Detemir | Levemir | Analog | Novo Nordisk |
| Insulin Glargine | Lantus | Analog | Sanofi-Aventis |
| Insulin Mixes | |||
| Generic Name | Brand | Type | Company |
| 70/30 NPH and Regular | Humulin 70/30 | Human | Eli Lilly |
| 70/30 NPH and Regular | Novolin 70/30 | Human | Novo Nordisk |
| 50/50 Lispro Protamine* and Insulin Lispro | Humulog Mix 50/50 | Analog | Eli Lilly |
| 50/50 Lispro Protamine* and Insulin Lispro | Humalog Mix 75/25 | Analog | Eli Lilly |
| 70/30 Aspart Protamine and Aspart | Novolog Mix 70/30 | Analog | Novo Nordisk |
Other Insulin: Please note that there are 1 or 2 other insulin types but they are very rare. Also, most insulin sold in the United States
Insulin Size or Strength: In the United States, insulin is most commonly sold as U-100. This is a unit of measurement and means that there is 100 units of insulin per milliliter of fluid. Sometime you may see U-500, which means there are 500 units of insulin per milliliter of fluid. Outside the U.S., insulin is typically sold in U-40 strength, so make sure you have enough insulin and syringes for your trip.
Human vs. Analog Insulin: You will note that one of the columns above denotes whether the insulin is analog or human. When synthetic insulin was first developed, it was called “human.” As technology evolved, synthetic insulin was developed that could take on different properties, they called these “analog” insulin. Most endocrinologist recommend analog insulin nowadays.
We have broken down some of the more common insulin types or brands in the following articles.
- Lantus Insulin
- Levemir Insulin
- Humulin Insulin
- Humalog Insulin
- Novolin Insulin
- Novolog Insulin
- Rapid Acting Insulin
- NPH Insulin
In the future, scientist are also working on an alternative to injectable insulin. We provide an overview of one such technology called oral insulin (a.k.a. inhaled). Check out this current update on this breakthrough possibility.
Insulin Delivery
Here is where the rubber meets the road, insulin delivery or injections. What are the best insulin injection sites? Where are they? What site is appropriate for which insulin type (rapid acting, intermediate, etc.) and delivery method (injection, insulin pump, etc.)?
What are the different insulin syringes? Why are there different needles? What syringes hurt the least? What are the needles best for you? Do different countries use different syringes? Take a look at the articles and see what you think.
Learning how to inject insulin properly is critical to long term health (and Pain Avoidance!). Are there better ways than others to do this?
Is Sliding Scale Insulin treatment right for you? Are there better options? We do our best to keep you informed of your options.
Side Effects
Unfortunately, side effects can and will happen. One common side effect is insulin shock. Find out what it is, how it occurs, the symptoms and what the best treatment options are.
Are there other insulin side effects? Learn what they are and how to best treat them before they happen.
More Information
Still want more? Take a look at the following:
How Is Synthetic Insulin Made: Fascinating account of how synthetic insulin developed. After this scientific breakthrough using animal insulin was no longer required.
How to Boost Your Insulin Production: Interesting ideas about how you can increase your insulin levels, without shots!
What is the Role of the Liver and Blood Sugar Management? Nice overview of how your liver helps your diabetes health.
What is the treatment for hyperinsulinism?: Most diabetics worry about not having enough insulin, but from this article you should also be aware of the opposite situation.
Function of Insulin: Great overview of how insulin actually works. Insulin is such a huge part of a diabetics life, sometimes it is good to take a step back and learn what it actually does and how.
Insulin Treatments: This article just provides a very basic primer of insulin and some of the common terms you may come across. Good for beginners.
There is so much more to learn and know. Hopefully, we have covered the basics and helped you get started.