September 24, 2008
Insulin Analogs
Question from Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, USA:
My 20-year-old daughter has been pumping Humalog for about eight and a half years. Last week, the mail order pharmacy contacted us and explained that I would either need to switch from Humalog to NovoLog or transfer her prescription to a local pharmacy due to the rising cost of Humalog and that my insurance would no longer cover the cost of it through them. I don’t have much information about NovoLog and didn’t know if it was going to be a huge change for her. My daughter is due to go to the clinic next month, so I will have her ask the doctor then, but was just looking for a bit of information.
Answer:
Please review our previous questions about Insulin Analogs. In general, the rapid-acting insulins lispro (Humalog), aspart (NovoLog), and glulisine (Apidra), while slightly different in their exact amino acid sequence make up, are very similar in clinical effect. Your daughter should likely not note any difference. Anecdotally, I have had patients who were on Humalog and switched to NovoLog and found that their insertion sites lasted a little longer, were a little less irritated, and that the effect of the insulin lasted perhaps slightly longer.
DS
