Carolyn N. Kinder
Short-Acting Insulin or Regular Insulin
Regular Insulin is the first used insulin and is considered mealtime insulin. It lowers blood sugar most in 2-5 hours and finishes its work in 5to 8 hour. Regular insulin is basal insulin because it still remains in the body cell after food is absorbed.
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Fast Acting Insulin
The fastest acting insulin is called lispro (Humalog) and insulin aspart (Novolog). This type of insulin should be injected under the skin within 15 minutes before you eat or 15 minutes after you take a shot or you may experience hypoglycemia because fast acting insulin starts working in five to 15 minutes to lower your blood sugar. With regular insulin you have to wait 30 to 45 minutes before eating. But lispro works most in 45 to 90 minutes and it finishes working in three to four hours. The quick action of insulin lispro makes it the best insulin for maintaining blood glucose levels below 180 mg per dl (10 mmol per L) for two hours after a meal. Many people like using lispro because it is easier to coordinate eating with this type of insulin.
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Intermediate Acting Insulin
NHP (N) or Lente (L0) insulin starts working in one to three hours and shows more rapid onset. It lowers blood sugar most in 6 to 12 hours and finishes working in 20 to 24 hours. Intermediate acting insulin has several important consequences. It affects the bioavailability and absorption rate of subcutaneously injected insulin.
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Another important factor that influences glycemia is the length of time between the administration of regular insulin or insulin lispro and the consumption (lag time) of a meal. In general, to ensure insulin availability during food consumption, regular insulin needs to be given 20 to 30 minutes before food consumption. Lag time need to be decreased when quick-acting insulin lispro is used.
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Insulin Mixtures
There may be advantages of using insulin mixtures. Most people who use insulin inject it with a needle and syringe, but there are several other devices that are available. One of these devices is a syringe. Syringes are one way insulin is delivered to the body. Today there are many different syringes, but all syringes are not the same. People who use syringes need to make sure that the dosages lines on the syringe match the dose of insulin being taken. The length of the needle can change how fast your body absorbs the insulin.
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Pumps
Another insulin delivery device is called a pump. Pumps are small mechanical and computerized devices that are about the size of a cell phone. Implantable insulin pumps are used to measure blood sugar or glucose levels and continuously produce insulin and release it into the blood stream with the exact amount of insulin needed. The way this works is that insulin is stored in the pump and travels to the body through a thin plastic tube called a catheter. One end of the tube is hooked to the pump. With help of a needle, the other end is pushed through the skin into fatty tissue and is taped into place. A pump is constantly dribbling insulin. This is called basal delivery since it forms a base of the insulin needed.
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Pumps should be worn at all times. Most pumps have the option for setting several rates. Pumps release bolus doses of insulin, which means several doses at a time at meals and when blood sugar is too high based on the user's programming. If an insulin pump is used, it is really important to monitor your blood sugar frequently so you can determine the right dose and also to be sure that the insulin is being delivered to the site.
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Blood sugar should be checked several times a day to make sure the pump and the catheters are working okay. By monitoring the blood sugar, adjustments can be made to avoid hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. Pumps can help some people better control their diabetes.
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It is important to check their pump and infusion site at least once every day.
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This probably means that only very conscious users should try pumps.
Implantable pump developers have overcome biocompatibility problems, which have been an obstacle to other implantable devices. Using microchip technology, have succeeded in creating a capsule that will not be attacked and destroyed by the body's immune system.
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Insulin Pens
Insulin pens are an easy, convenient and accurate method of insulin delivery. Insulin pens combine insulin and syringe in one piece. They have needles with an insulin cartridge all in one. In insulin pen all that needs to be done is to dial to measure out the dose by selecting the desired dose of insulin and press a plunger on the end to deliver insulin. The goal of delivering insulin with insulin pens is to improve glycemic control by making it less challenging to follow intensive insulin regimes.
Two types of insulin pens are in existence: a prefilled pen and reusable pen. In prefilled insulin pens you simply discard the pen when you use the entire cartridge. The reusable pens have a replaceable insulin cartridge that is loaded into and removed from the pen by patients. Prefilled and reusable have the same function.
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Children, whose perceptions of syringe injections include pain and rejection by peers, often have positive feelings about the pens.
Jet Injectors
Jet injectors are needle free insulin delivery devices that get insulin into the cells of the body. It does the same thing as syringes or pens. When jet injectors deliver one dose of insulin, they send a fine spray of insulin through the skin by a high-pressure air mechanism instead of needles. Insulin is forced through the skin with pressure. Pretend that you have a water gun and you squirt water out of the gun with a pressure-releasing device. You have the idea. Instead of a small amount of pressure, jet injectors require a lot of pressure.
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The insulin is distributed throughout a larger area of subcutaneous tissue that much greater than a needle administered insulin.
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In jet injectors there is a greater surface area of body tissue exposed to the insulin. This means a quicker rate of insulin abortion.
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The ability for a jet projector to liver insulin to the subcutaneous area does have advantages.
Infusers
Infusers are insulin delivery devices that make an opening in your skin where you can inject insulin. A tiny needle or tube is inserted right under the skin. It is taped so that it can stay in place for a few days. Instead of using the needle on a syringe or insulin pen to inject insulin, it is squirted through the infuser and right into the body.