What is Diabetes?
What is diabetes mellitus?
Diabetes is when your body does not make or use insulin as it should.
Insulin helps your body take sugar from food and use it as energy. This keeps the level of sugar in your blood from getting too high.
Some people with diabetes cannot make enough insulin to keep their blood sugar in a healthy range.
Pills, insulin, and other shots are used to help keep your blood sugar in a healthy range.
Why do we treat diabetes?
We treat diabetes to keep your diabetes in a healthy range. If your blood sugar is not treated in the right way, it can lead to:
- eye problems
- kidney problems
- heart problems
- numbness in feet and/or hands
Treating your diabetes can help prevent these problems down the road.
How do we treat diabetes?
Insulin is one of the medicines we use to treat diabetes. There are four different types of insulin. Each type lasts (often referred to as “acts”) for a different amount of time. Please note: Your doctor may prescribe more than one type of insulin. This will help you better manage your blood sugar. Make sure you read the label before using the pen - some pens may look alike.
Rapid-Acting
Rapid-acting insulin starts working quickly.
It usually lasts for 2 to 4 hours.
Examples include: Aspart® (novolog), Lispro® (humalog), Admelog® (fiasp), Glulisine® (apidra).
Rapid-acting insulin is often called “meal-time” insulin, since it is taken before meals. It’s also used to correct high blood sugar.
Meal time insulin is best taken before eating to keep your blood sugar within target.
If you forget to inject your rapid-acting insulin before eating, you can take your full dose for up to 15 minutes after the start of the meal.
DO NOT inject the full dose after 15 minutes of the start of your meal because your blood sugar could get too low (See Low Blood Sugar for more information).
Regular/Short-Acting
Regular/Short-Acting insulin takes up to an hour to begin working.
It works for 5-8 hours.
Examples include: RHI, Novalin®, Humulin®.
Medium-Acting
Medium-acting insulin takes a few hours to begin working.
It works for about 10-20 hours.
Examples include: NPH, Novolin® N, Humulin® N.
Medium acting insulin is usually given twice a day, either every 12 hours or before breakfast and before dinner.
Medium-acting insulin is background insulin and works to keep your blood sugar in the target range.
Long-Acting
Long-acting insulin takes a few hours to begin working.
It works for 18-24 hours or longer.
Examples include: Glargine® (lantus), Detemir® (levemir), Degludec® (tresiba)
You can inject long-acting insulin at any time during the day. Aim to inject at the same time every day.
You don’t need to eat when you inject long acting insulin because this insulin does not cover your meals.
Long-acting insulin is background insulin and works to keep your blood sugar normal when you are not eating
Most people inject long-acting insulin once every 24 hours
If you forget to inject at the scheduled time, ask your provider how to get back on track.
To learn more about diabetes click HERE
Pills
Click on a pill medication below for more information:
A
B
C
D
E
G
L
M
N
P
R
S
COMBINATION PILLS (2 pills in 1)
Insulin
Click on an insulin medication below for more information:
RAPID ACTING INSULIN
begins to work quickly and only works for a few hours
SHORT ACTING INSULIN
takes a few hours to begin working and works for several hours.
LONG ACTING INSULIN
takes hours to begin working but works for 24 hours or longer.
CONCENTRATED INSULIN