Insulin for Diabetics

Insulin

Some people with non-insulin dependent diabetes may find that they need extra help, particularly as they get older, so they may progress to injecting insulin as well as taking tablets. Their pancreas is still producing insulin ... but not enough.

People with insulin-dependent diabetes are not producing any insulin of their own, of course, so they must all take insulin daily for the rest of their lives.

Insulin must be injected. It cannot be taken orally because it is destroyed by the stomach's gastric juices.

Attempts have been made to produce insulin in a form that can be inhaled, since nobody likes injecting themselves, but these are still at the experimental stage.

Where Does Insulin Come From?

Originally, insulin was extracted from cows' and, later, pigs' pancreases, and purified for human use. Insulin of animal origin is still used by a very few people with diabetes, but the overwhelming majority now inject human insulin. This is not extracted from human pancreases, but is a genetically engineered synthetic product identical to the real thing.

There are two types of insulin:

This type takes about half an hour after injection to reach the blood supply, and peaks within two to three hours of administering it It is active in the body for only about six to eight hours all up.

Additives, such as zinc, slow down the absorption rate of this type of insulin. It reaches the blood stream about two hours after injection, peaks about eight-10 hours later and is active in the body for about 16 hours.

Most people require faster or slower acting insulin at different times of the day (obviously, you need a slower acting one to get you through the night, for instance, or you'll wake up with high blood glucose levels). This is why many people with insulin dependent diabetes are on a combination of clear and cloudy insulin, to obtain both the short and long-acting benefits.

You might be required to mix a combined dosage of clear and cloudy insulin for yourself at home, or be prescribed a pre-mixed type. The only problem with pre-mixed insulin is that they are mixed in an unchanging ratio, which may not suit you. Some people with non-insulin dependent diabetes who just need the assistance of insulin may of cloudy insulin alone.

The exact dosage varies according to the individual and the demands and may be changed from time to time by the doctor or by the individual in consultation with the doctor. However,  with insulin dependent diabetes are on at least two day, some on three or even more.

How To Inject?

Insulin could be injected into the fat under the skin, not into a vein. You should choose a different injection site each time, to avoid lumps or pitting caused by always using the same site. The stomach is the sate, but the thighs or buttocks may also be used, according to your doctor's directions.

New pen-style injectors make injection much simpler and more particularly for children.

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