Learn more about the basics of diabetes, insulin, and more.
Common Questions About Insulin
Glossary
Protein
One of the three main nutrients in food. Foods that provide protein include meat, poultry, fish, cheese, milk, dairy products, eggs, and dried beans. Proteins are also used in the body to build cells, to create insulin and other hormones, and for other functions.
One of the three main nutrients in food. Foods that provide protein include meat, poultry, fish, cheese, milk, dairy products, eggs, and dried beans. Proteins are also used in the body to build cells, to create insulin and other hormones, and for other functions.
- What is insulin?
- How does insulin work?
- What are the different types of insulin?
- How do I know which insulin is right for me?
- How much insulin will I need?
- Will insulin alone control my diabetes?
- What are my choices for giving insulin?
- Where should I keep my insulin?
- Where do I give myself an injection?
- How do I give myself an injection?
What is insulin?
Insulin is a hormone. Hormones are made by glands to work as messengers in the body. Your body needs insulin to turn food into energy. The gland that makes insulin is the pancreas. In people with diabetes, their pancreas makes little or no insulin (called "insulin deficiency"), or their body may be unable to use insulin the way it should (called "insulin resistance").
Besides being a hormone, insulin is also a protein. It can't be taken by mouth. It would be digested, just like the protein in a hamburger.
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How does insulin work?
Your pancreas makes insulin to help lower your blood sugar. The sugar in your blood comes from your food. When you eat, the food is broken down into sugars and enters your bloodstream. Insulin acts like a key to "unlock" the body's cells and allow sugar to pass from the bloodstream into the cells. Your cells then use the sugar for fuel, much like a car uses gas. Without enough insulin, sugar can build up in your bloodstream. High blood sugar levels can damage your blood vessels and cause serious problems over a long period of time.
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What are the different types of insulin?
There are many types of insulin from which to choose. It takes different kinds to match what the body would make if it could. That's because normal insulin goes up and down throughout the day. Your blood sugar levels are lower between meals and higher after meals. One or more of these types might be used to match this pattern:
- Mealtime Insulins — Mealtime insulins include rapid-acting and short-acting insulins. Rapid-acting insulins start very quickly and work for the shortest time. Short-acting insulins start slower and work longer than the rapid-acting insulins. Short-acting insulins may not meet the mealtime needs as well as rapid-acting insulins.
- Basal Insulins — Basal insulins include intermediate-acting and long-acting insulins. These insulins work over time to help keep your blood sugar stable between meals and overnight. They start more slowly and last longer than mealtime insulin.
- Mixture Insulins — Mixture insulins mix together basal and mealtime insulins into a single solution.
How do I know which insulin is right for me?
First, you will need to find where and when your blood sugar problems are. To do this, you will need to check your blood sugar at various times during the day and at night. Write down your results. Also, keep track of the things that can make your blood sugar go up or down. This includes food, stress levels, and exercise.
To see if you make enough background insulin, check your blood sugar when you wake up and before each meal. According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), your target level before meals is 90 to 130 mg/dL. To find out if you make enough insulin to cover the food you eat, check your blood sugar 2 hours after each meal. The ADA target peak level for after meals is less than 180 mg/dL. Take this information to your healthcare team. It will help them choose the insulin or insulins that are best for you.
The above targets apply to many people, but not to everyone. Your goals may be higher or lower than those recommended by the ADA. Your healthcare team will help set the blood sugar targets that are right for you.
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How much insulin will I need?
Everyone is different. The amount of insulin you need depends on several things unique to you, including:
- How much you weigh
- How fit you are (how much fat and muscle you have)
- How sensitive your body's cells are to insulin
- How much you exercise
- How much you eat and the foods you choose
- What other medicines you take
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Will insulin alone control my diabetes?
Insulin helps make it possible to control your diabetes, but it doesn't make it a certainty. That's because insulin works only when it is balanced with all the other things that affect your blood sugar. You also need food, exercise, and blood-sugar monitoring to get the most out of your insulin.
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What are my choices for giving insulin?
There's more than one way to take insulin. The choices currently available are:
- Vial and syringe
- Prefilled pen
- Reusable pen
- Insulin pump
- Inhalable insulin device
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Where should I keep my insulin?
When insulin is not handled and stored correctly, it may not work the way it should. Be sure to read the directions that are packaged with your insulin vials, cartridges, or Prefilled Pens. For more information, please see the Insulin Storage section.
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Where do I give myself an injection?
You can give an injection anywhere there is a layer of fat under the skin. These areas include the stomach, buttocks, upper arms, and thighs. For more details, please see How to take mixture insulin or How to take Humalog.
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How do I give myself an injection?
Giving an injection is simple, but it does take practice. Once you deal with any worries you may have, a little practice will make you an expert. See Injection Tips or the Insulin Pens section for more information and tips for success.
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Important Safety Information
Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 are for use in patients with diabetes to control high blood sugar. Humalog should be used with a longer-acting insulin, except when used in combination with sulfonylureas in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Humalog insulins are contraindicated during episodes of hypoglycemia and in patients sensitive to Humalog or one of its excipients. The safety and effectiveness of Humalog in patients less than 3 years of age have not been established. Safety and effectiveness of Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 in patients less than 18 years of age have not been established. There are no clinical studies of the use of Humalog insulins in pregnancy or nursing mothers.
Potential side effects associated with the use of all insulins include low blood sugar, weight gain, low blood potassium, changes in fat tissue at the site of injection, and allergic reactions, both general and local. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 should not be mixed with another insulin. Starting or changing insulin therapy should be done cautiously and only under medical supervision.
Humalog insulins are available by prescription only. See the Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 Patient Product Information for important facts about these products.
Humalog is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 are trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company.
Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 are for use in patients with diabetes to control high blood sugar. Humalog should be used with a longer-acting insulin, except when used in combination with sulfonylureas in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Humalog insulins are contraindicated during episodes of hypoglycemia and in patients sensitive to Humalog or one of its excipients. The safety and effectiveness of Humalog in patients less than 3 years of age have not been established. Safety and effectiveness of Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 in patients less than 18 years of age have not been established. There are no clinical studies of the use of Humalog insulins in pregnancy or nursing mothers.
Potential side effects associated with the use of all insulins include low blood sugar, weight gain, low blood potassium, changes in fat tissue at the site of injection, and allergic reactions, both general and local. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 should not be mixed with another insulin. Starting or changing insulin therapy should be done cautiously and only under medical supervision.
Humalog insulins are available by prescription only. See the Humalog, Humalog Mix75/25, and Humalog Mix50/50 Patient Product Information for important facts about these products.
Humalog is a registered trademark of Eli Lilly and Company. Humalog Mix75/25 and Humalog Mix50/50 are trademarks of Eli Lilly and Company.
