October 9, 2001
Insulin
Question from Gibbsboro, New Jersey, USA:
I am a 59 year old, I have had type�1 diabetes for 53 years, and I currently use 70/30 insulin before breakfast and dinner along with a supplement of fast-acting insulin depending on blood sugar level. About six months ago, I switched from Regular to Humalog, but I don’t seem to get quick activity from it. I take the pre-breakfast injection an hour or more beforehand, almost never see any drop, and sometimes I see an increase in blood sugar in that hour. For example, I had a fasting blood sugar of 275 mg/dl [15.3 mmol/L], took my 70/30 with 7 units of Humalog, showered, got dressed to go out to breakfast with nothing to eat, and my blood sugar was 295 mg/dl [16.4 mmol/L]. I had breakfast containing about 500 calories, and two hours later, my blood sugar was about three hours after injection) was 325 mg/dl [18.1 mmol/L]. Are there any problems mixing Humalog with 70/30? Any ideas as to what might cause this action?
Answer:
There is not a big problem mixing the insulins. However, I would suggest that you could be more efficient with your insulin regimen.
If at all possible, I prefer for patients to mix their own insulins. This would allow you to take only Humalog and NPH insulin. However, you could vary the dose of Humalog you are taking, according to sugar and meal plan. Humalog is available in a 75/25 premixed preparation as well.
It may also be that your insulin is not working because it has degraded from shelf life, extreme temperature, or light. Try getting a new bottle, and think about changing to a different regimen.
JTL
