"rapid" activity time (type 1 only, please!)

[Eddy]

Re http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-1-diabetes/30354-diabetes-and-hypglacaemia.html#post356621 :

I'm curious to know what people have for total duration of rapid analogs (Apidra, Humalog, Novolog). Subcutaneous administration only, for all you wise-guys. ;)

Type 1 only, please! (Note that the poll is public for that reason...)

[grace girl]

I voted 3-4 hours...but it's really 3...I can test at three hours, then test again any time many hours after that and get the exact same reading within a few points.

[RobiJo]

I choose 1:30-2:00 hours. My active insulin (usually Humalog) time on my pump is 2 hours. I feel plenty safe doing another bolus at or after the 2 hour mark without "stacking" a bolus and risking a low. Larger boluses may be a bit more like 2:30 on duration. I typically see action in 30 minutes according to CGMS, but given the delay that has, I'm getting action in about 15-20minutes after the bolus.

[peej07]

I just switched to Apidra and find it is much more sensitive and lasts a bit longer in my sytem.

[LancetChick]

I didn't vote in the poll because I've used two different rapid-acting insulins (Humalog and Novalog), and they are absorbed differently in me. Humalog starts working in about 15 minutes, and continues strongly for about 4 hours, with a tail after that. Humalog's action tail is such that I ignore it if my BG is on the upper end or middle of normal, but pay attention if I'm on the lower end of normal, since it can j-u-s-t push me into a low zone that I need to correct for.

Novalog, on the other hand, starts working in 10 minutes, and goes strong for a good 4 1/2 hours, after which the tail is unnoticeable.

I have not yet tried Apidra, but I'm counting the minutes until Viaject is introduced.

[dgrilli]

Apidra about 2.5 hours
Novolog about 3 to 3.5

Apidra acts faster and tails off sooner for me.

[kansas]

I voted from 1.5 to 2.0 hrs. I use humalog and if I over-estimate the amount (like when eating out), I will have a low in exactly 1.5 hrs.

[Gary_W]

I went for the 3-4 hours. Whilst the vast majority of Apidra is gone by hour 3, there is still a tad left. My reason for believing this period is that I have a pretty flat basal these days and I test lots. I will still be dropping between hour 3 and 4, whereas if I am basal testing I won't be. So there.

I'm really surprised folks are voting that much lower. According to the manufacturer bell curves, Novo etc are just over 5 hour duration, though the bulk of that is gone by 3-4. As they make the stuff and came by these numbers in clinical trials, the folks here are either an unusual bunch who don't fit the profile given by the manufacturer (we're all different) or are not measuring it right....

I'll go and sit under a bridge now and wait for 3 goats to pass.

Gary

[Gary_W]

I voted from 1.5 to 2.0 hrs. I use humalog and if I over-estimate the amount (like when eating out), I will have a low in exactly 1.5 hrs.

1.5 hours is when (according to Lilly) Humalog PEAKS. This is a very different thing from how long it actually lasts. Which, according to Lilly, is about 5 hours before every last little bit of it is gone.

1.5-2 hours after eating is the time I'm most likely to go low if I've stuffed up the carb counting. It's the double whammy of getting it wrong and surfing that nice peak.

Gary

[Lizzie G]

1.5 hours is when (according to Lilly) Humalog PEAKS. This is a very different thing from how long it actually lasts. Which, according to Lilly, is about 5 hours before every last little bit of it is gone.

1.5-2 hours after eating is the time I'm most likely to go low if I've stuffed up the carb counting. It's the double whammy of getting it wrong and surfing that nice peak.

Gary

guys, i just read this and i have learnt something that never occured to me...i know that my novorapid peaks around the 1.5 hour mark, yet it never occured to me that if i had gone for overkill this is when i would feel it...and weirder still i agressively bolused about 1 hr 15 mins ago as i woke up high (annoying as i thought i had that one sorted, must have been some pesky chinese still lurking and my 6.2 b4 bed became 8.1 this morning - OUCH)...so anyhow, i will test in 15 mins and see where i am. ;)

[shabbie]

novolog action time for me is never more than 3 hours. i like its predictability for me ;)

[xMenace]

I'll go and sit under a bridge now and wait for 3 goats to pass.


Move it on over Gary! Those bollygoats won't know what hit them!

[poodlebone]

I have my pump's activity time set for 4 hours and that seems about right. Sometimes it seems like insulin doesn't last that long, but definitely does go past the 3 hour mark. I've always used Humalog in my pump and MDI.

[Real4]

Re http://www.diabetesforums.com/forum/type-1-diabetes/30354-diabetes-and-hypglacaemia.html#post356621 :

I'm curious to know what people have for total duration of rapid analogs (Apidra, Humalog, Novolog). Subcutaneous administration only, for all you wise-guys. ;)

Type 1 only, please! (Note that the poll is public for that reason...)

This is not a voting question: the answer is factual (and >4, BTW). Also, most Type II eventually use insulin, so the limitation, unless it's meant as an "us" thing, makes no sense.

[xMenace]

I suppose a little discussion on how one can even tell how long it lasts may be in order. I don't have all the answers, but I do know that food absorption times, meter variances, insulin sensitivity profiles, and gaps in basal dosages can all be tricky to get a handle on:


A well rounded meal of complex carbs, protein, and fat can add glucose to your system for at least four hours.
Perhaps when you are staying flat your bolus is still adding downward pressure but your basal gap is adding upwards pressure. I believe this is very comon. Very few if any have perfect rates.
Those of us with big basal spikes (DP and other times) can see our tailing boluses amplified as we drift into more insulin sensitive periods. My basals keep me flat, yet my morning bolus at 2.5x will drop me lower right up until noon when my ratio is a much more sensitive 1.0x. It basically works at 2.5x the strength in the 4-6 hour range and its effects are much more noticeable.

[NoelD]

novolog ~ 4 hours
apidra ~ 2.5 hours

This is in my case. It's different for everyone.

[Alice]

I think the Type 1 question referred to the fact that 1's don't get any help from natural insulin. So, it's pretty much only fast acting at work...(aside from our basal insulins)

[-sammy-]

it depends on the meals i eat but it usually quite fast for me, i put it as 1.30 - 2.00 hrs.

[Eddy]

This is not a voting question: the answer is factual (and >4, BTW).


Your statement is demonstrably false. Would you care to argue with a few thousand of my BG readings, and far more from others?

And, no, don't try blaming it on basal error. I've heard that before, and it's disingenuous at best.


Also, most Type II eventually use insulin, so the limitation, unless it's meant as an "us" thing, makes no sense.



I think the Type 1 question referred to the fact that 1's don't get any help from natural insulin. So, it's pretty much only fast acting at work...(aside from our basal insulins)


It refers to the lack of endogenous insulin, plus the [presumed] lack of resistance. And if someone comes in with a slower-than-average curve, I'm curious to know if they also observe IR.

Type 1 and type 2 are different mechanisms. I'm interested in one particular mechanism. If someone wants to call it "us versus them", whatever; go launch your own poll. (I don't cry "discrimination!" when a medication specifically states that it's not for use by type 1 diabetics...)

[owlyn]

Just over 4 hours, with the majority being used up in 3, but I voted for over 4.

[mcgriff]

4 hours is my pump setting. I've had a hypos at the 4 hour mark and I'm fairly certain it's not my basal rate. The book "Pumping Insulin" is a great resource concerning this. I use Novolog btw.

[Coppernob]

I am on Apidra and I chose 3 - 4 hours - that seems to work well with the bolus wizard for me. I have to admit, though, I haven't really done much in the way of experimenting - it was just what the diabetes educator recommended and I have been happy with the results.
By the way, Gary, it is unlikely you'll get 3 billy goats hanging out together - more likely to get them individually with a crowd of nanny goats in accompaniment!