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November 17, 2004

Insulin Analogs

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Question from San Jose, California, USA:

I am a 16 year old diabetic. I have had diabetes for about six months. Recently, my mom has switched jobs and the new doctor that I go to wants to switch me from Humolog to NovoLog. is there any real difference between the two? I really don’t want to switch.

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

There is no difference between the two types of insulin analogs, but also no reason to switch either. Some people believe that NovoLog is a bit slower acting than Humalog and lasts a bit longer than Humalog, but the single comparative study did not confirm this a few years ago. Most diabetologists do not recommend such changes from one to another brand unless there is a rare allergy or control problem that might respond to the switch. Some insurance companies sometimes “force” such changes but this is almost always based upon discounts from manufacturers and ways to save the insurance systems money rather than any scientific rationale. You should go back to your doctor and find out what is the reason for considering such a change and discuss this in some detail.

SB