About Humalog

Need better control of your blood sugar? Adding Humalog to your basal insulin can help.

You may have been taking a long-acting insulin for a while now. So why did your doctor prescribe another insulin? Well, it's to help control the blood sugar "spikes" that happen naturally when you eat. Everyone gets them, but when you have diabetes you may need extra help controlling them. That's where Humalog comes in.

Humalog mealtime insulins are used to treat people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes for the control of high blood sugar.
Humalog is a fast-acting insulin that starts working faster and works for a shorter period of time than regular human insulin.
Humalog is taken within 15 minutes before eating or right after eating a meal.

Select Safety Information

Do not take Humalog, Insulin Lispro Injection, Humalog Mix50/50, Humalog Mix75/25, or Insulin Lispro Protamine and Insulin Lispro Injectable Suspension Mix75/25 if you have:

symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
an allergy to insulin lispro products or any of their ingredients.

Types of Insulin

Your longer-acting insulin will still manage your blood sugar levels at night and between meals. Taking mealtime insulin in addition to longer-acting insulin may help to control your blood sugar throughout the day.

It's important to talk to your healthcare provider about when and how often you should check your blood sugar.

Comparing types of insulin

Take a look at our overview below to find out about the different types of insulin. You’ll notice that there are differences in when the types of insulin reach your bloodstream, when they “peak” in your body, and how long they can last (length of time the insulin keeps lowering your blood sugar).

Fast-acting insulin (also called rapid-acting), is absorbed quickly and starts working in about 15 minutes after injection to lower blood sugar after meals. Humalog is fast-acting insulin. In people with type 1 diabetes, Humalog is generally used with a longer-acting insulin (except when using an external insulin pump).
Short-acting insulin can cover insulin needs for meals eaten within 30 minutes after injection. Short-acting insulin is also considered a mealtime insulin.
Intermediate-acting insulin can cover your insulin needs between meals and during the night. It generally takes about 2-4 hours for this insulin to start working after injection.
Longer-acting or basal insulin manages blood sugar levels at night and between meals. Humalog works together with longer-acting insulin to help balance out your blood sugar throughout the day.

The times shown in the graph are estimates. Always work with your healthcare provider to see when and how often you should check your blood sugar levels.

Fast-acting insulin (Humalog) starts working within 15 minutes after injection, peaks in about 1 to 2 hours after injection, and lasts between 2 to 4 hours after injection. Short-acting insulin starts working about 30 minutes after injection, peaks 2 to 3 hours after injection, and lasts for approximately 3 to 6 hours after injection. Intermediate-acting insulin starts working 2 to 4 hours after injection, peaks 4 to 12 hours after injection, and lasts 12 to 18 hours after injection. Long-acting insulin starts working several hours after injection, has no peak, and tends to lower glucose levels up to 24 hours.

Select Safety Information

Do not change the type of insulin you take or your dose, unless your doctor tells you to. This could cause low or high blood sugar, which could be serious. Do not inject your insulin into the exact same spot or where the skin has pit or lumps. Avoid injecting into thickened, tender, bruised, scaly, hard, scarred, or damaged skin.

About Mealtime Insulin

Mealtime insulins are fast-acting insulins that are taken right before or after meals.

Type 2 diabetes may progress over time. This does not mean that you failed. All your hard work still counts, but it means sometimes you have to change how you care for it. That's why your healthcare provider has prescribed Humalog to help lower your blood sugar.

You've just taken an important step in learning to manage your diabetes. There will be ups and downs as you learn to fit Humalog into your life, but by taking it in small steps, you can find your rhythm for living with mealtime insulin.

Managing Blood Sugar

When using mealtime insulin like Humalog, you must test your blood sugar (glucose). For example, you may need to test before and after meals and at bedtime. Your doctor will tell you when and how often you should test.

Select Safety Information

Humalog, Insulin Lispro Injection, Humalog Mix50/50, Humalog Mix75/25, and Insulin Lispro Protamine and Insulin Lispro Injectable Suspension Mix75/25 may cause serious side effects. Some of these can lead to death. The possible serious side effects are:

Low blood sugar. This can cause:

dizziness or light-headedness
headache
shakiness
irritability

sweating
blurred vision
fast heartbeat
mood change

confusion
slurred speech
anxiety
hunger

If you are at risk of having severely low blood sugar, your doctor may prescribe a glucagon emergency kit. These are used when your blood sugar becomes too low and you are unable to take sugar by mouth. Glucagon helps your body release sugar into your bloodstream.

Why keep track?

Checking blood sugar (glucose) will help you and your doctor:

Know if you're meeting your goals
Learn how different foods affect your blood sugar (glucose) level
Determine how much insulin you should be taking

Man checking blood sugar (glucose) levels on couch

Your blood sugar goals

The American Diabetes Association recommends blood sugar goals for people with diabetes. These don’t apply to everyone, however, so work with your doctor to set the right goals for you.

Blood sugar check	Goal
Before meals (Blood sugar self-check)	Goal: 80-130 mg/dL
1-2 hours after starting your meal (Blood sugar self-check)	Goal: Less than 180 mg/dL
A1C (Tested by your doctor)	Goal: Less than 7%

These goals are not applicable to pregnant women or children. These goals should be individualized.

These guidelines don't apply to everyone, so work with your doctor to set the right goals for you.

About low blood sugar

Low blood sugar is the most common side effect of Humalog. Low blood sugar (glucose) happens when a person's blood sugar falls below 70mg/dL. It can be caused by:

Being more physically active than usual
Taking too much diabetes medication
Eating at the wrong time for the medication taken
Other medications taken in addition to Humalog
Not finishing meals or snacks

Low blood sugar can also be caused by a combination of these or other factors.

What does it feel like to have low blood sugar?

Hungry

Tired

Shaky

Sweaty

Irritable

Headachy

Low blood sugar can include any combination of these symptoms and/or others not listed. And they might not be the same every time. You might feel differently depending on how low your blood sugar gets or on other factors, like what caused your blood sugar to go low. Some people may have no symptoms, so it is important to check your blood sugar regularly as your doctor instructs.

Managing Low Blood Sugar

Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can be serious. The American Diabetes Association recommends you do the following immediately:

Check your blood sugar (glucose). Remember: if it's below 70mg/dL, your blood sugar is too low.
If your blood sugar is too low, eat something with sugar right away (see below).
After 15 minutes, check your blood sugar level again.
Repeat treatment if necessary. If your blood sugar is still low after another 15 minutes, call your emergency service (911) or your doctor.

After you have treated your low blood sugar, be sure to eat regular meals and snacks.

These are guidelines only. Please discuss recommendations specific to the person's low blood sugar with a healthcare team.

How to quickly raise your blood sugar

Three good options for quickly raising low blood sugar levels include:

4-5 glucose tablets (follow package instructions)

15 small, sugary, chewable candies (such as jelly beans)

½ cup of fruit juice

These are examples of items that contain approximately 15-20 grams of carbohydrates. Check food product labels to ensure that you are getting the right amount of carbohydrates.

If you are unable to eat or drink, consider using a treatment for severe low blood sugar.

Remember that if low blood sugar is not treated quickly, it can become severe. And severe low blood sugar is very serious.

SAFETY SUMMARY

Warnings -

Do not take Humalog or Insulin Lispro Injection if you have:

symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia)
an allergy to insulin lispro products or any of their ingredients.

Do not reuse needles or share your insulin injection supplies with other people. This includes your:

prefilled pen for use by a single patient
cartridges
reusable pen that works with Lilly 3mL cartridges
needles
syringes

You or the other person can get a serious infection. This can happen even if you change the needle.

Do not change the type of insulin you take or your dose, unless your doctor tells you to. This could cause low or high blood sugar, which could be serious.

Do not use a syringe to remove Humalog from your prefilled pen. This can cause you to take too much insulin. Taking too much insulin can lead to severe low blood sugar. This may result in seizures or death.

Humalog and Insulin Lispro Injection may cause serious side effects. Some of these can lead to death. The possible serious side effects are:

Low blood sugar. This can cause:
- dizziness or light-headedness
- headache
- shakiness
- irritability
- sweating
- blurred vision
- fast heartbeat
- mood change
- confusion
- slurred speech
- anxiety
- hunger
If you are at risk of having severely low blood sugar, your doctor may prescribe a glucagon emergency kit. These are used when your blood sugar becomes too low and you are unable to take sugar by mouth. Glucagon helps your body release sugar into your bloodstream.
Severe allergic reaction.
Get emergency help right away if you have:
- a rash over your whole body
- sweating
- extreme drowsiness
- swelling of your face, tongue, or throat
- trouble breathing
- a faint feeling
- dizziness
- a fast heartbeat
- shortness of breath
- confusion
Low potassium in your blood. This can lead to severe breathing problems, irregular heartbeat, and death.
Heart failure. Taking diabetes pills called thiazolidinediones (thIE-uh-zOH-li-dEEn-dIE-OHns), or "TZDs," with insulin lispro products may cause heart failure in some people. This includes people who do not have any heart problems. If you have heart failure, it may get worse if you take TZDs with these insulin lispro products. Tell your doctor if you have any new symptoms of heart failure, or if they get worse. Some symptoms of heart failure include: shortness of breath, swelling of ankles and feet, and sudden weight gain. Your doctor may need to change or stop treatment with TZDs and your insulin lispro product.
High blood sugar and ketoacidosis. You can have these serious problems when your insulin pump or infusion set stops working. They can also happen if your insulin is no longer effective. For these reasons, always keep extra insulin injection supplies with you.

Common side effects

The most common side effects of Humalog and Insulin Lispro Injection are:

low blood sugar
reactions where you have injected insulin
swelling of your hands or feet
itching

allergic reactions
changes in fat tissue where you have injected insulin
weight gain
rash

These are not all of the possible side effects. Tell your doctor if you have any side effects. You can report side effects at 1-800-FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch.

Before using

Talk with your doctor about low blood sugar and how to manage it. Also tell your doctor:

about all of the medicines you take, including over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.
about any other prescription medicines you take, especially ones called TZDs.
about all of your medical conditions, including if you have heart failure or other heart, liver, or kidney problems.
if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant or breastfeed.

How to take

Read the Instructions for Use that come with your Humalog or Insulin Lispro Injection. Be sure to take your insulin lispro product and check your blood sugar levels exactly as your doctor tells you to. Your doctor may tell you to change your dose because of illness, increased stress, or changes in your weight, diet, or physical activity level. He or she may also tell you to change the amount or time of your dose because of other medicines or different types of insulin you take.

Before injecting your insulin lispro product

You can inject your insulin dose yourself, or you can have a trained caregiver inject it for you. Make sure you or your caregiver:

Check the insulin label before each injection. This will help you make sure that you are taking the correct insulin.
Use a new needle for each injection. You can get a serious infection or the wrong dose of insulin if you re-use needles.
Change (rotate) where you inject your insulin with each dose. This can reduce your chance of getting pits, lumps, or thickened skin where you inject your insulin. Do not inject your insulin into the exact same spot or where the skin has pits or lumps. Avoid injecting into thickened, tender, bruised, scaly, hard, scarred, or damaged skin.

When you are ready to inject

Inject Humalog or Insulin Lispro Injection, under your skin within 15 minutes before or right after you eat a meal.

Staying safe while taking your insulin lispro product

To stay safe while taking your insulin, be sure to never inject Humalog U-200 in your vein, muscle, or with an insulin pump. Also be sure not to:

mix Humalog U-200 with other insulins or liquids.
drive or use heavy machinery until you know how your insulin lispro product affects you.
drink alcohol or use other medicines that contain alcohol when taking your insulin lispro product.

Learn more

Humalog and Insulin Lispro are prescription medicines. For more information, call 1-800-545-5979.

This summary provides basic information about Humalog and Insulin Lispro Injection. It does not include all information known about these medicines. Read the information that comes with your prescription each time your prescription is filled. This information does not take the place of talking with your doctor. Be sure to talk to your doctor or other health care provider about your insulin lispro product and how to take it. Your doctor is the best person to help you decide if these medicines are right for you.

HI SP CON BS 14SEP2022

Humalog^® is a registered trademark owned or licensed by Eli Lilly and Company, its subsidiaries, or affiliates.

INDICATIONS

Humalog^® (HU-ma-log) and Insulin Lispro Injection are fast-acting insulins used to control high blood sugar in adults and children with diabetes.

Humalog comes in two strengths: U-100 (100 units per milliliter) and U-200 (200 units per milliliter). The Humalog U-200 prefilled pen contains 2 times as much insulin per 1 milliliter as standard (U-100) insulin. The dose window on the pen shows your insulin dose.
It is not known if Humalog or Insulin Lispro Injection are safe and effective for children with type 2 diabetes or for children younger than 3 years of age with type 1 diabetes. There were no studies done with these insulins in these groups of children. If your doctor decides to give your child one of these insulins, he or she may give you special instructions.

All Humalog and Insulin Lispro Injection products contain insulin lispro.