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