humulin?

[portok]

first of all thank you for your welcome.
I wanted to ask you if anyone there uses the insulin called humulin from Lilly`s and what do you know about it.
Since i was diagnosticated i`ve been on humulin 3 shots/day and `till now it is ok, but with ups and downs which i think everyone has been through.
I still need to figure out why for weeks my blood sugar is in normal values and then it just go crazy like 200 or more without any changes in my life syle or diet.

[HeatherP]

When you say "humulin" do you mean NPH or a short acting insulin such as Humalog/Novolog?

I don't know what gender you are, but if you're a woman, your monthly cycle can cause havoc w/ the sugars.

Which insulins are you on? I just did a websearch, and "Humulin" is kind of vague. Are you talking about NPH, or Regular or one of the other versions?

HeatherP

[portok]

you realy confused me, i don`t know what NPH means, sorry.
All i know is that i`m on humulin regular with short action for the mornings and lunch and on humulin M3 long acting insulin in the evenings.
I know that this kind of insulin is made by Lilly France so maybe this is why you in USA didn`t heard about it. Maybe?
And yes I`m a woman and probably your answer is the right one because usually the high blood sugar occurs sometimes near my monthly cycle.
Thank you for your response.

[Batty]

well i use humulin N and humulin R...but there is also the short acting one called Humalog that Heather mentioned..

info on Humulin N + R http://www.rxlist.com/cgi/generic/humnph.htm
Humalog http://www.joslin.harvard.edu/education/library/humalog.shtml

which one is it you are on?

personally, i've used all three of these..i was on Humalog for almost 6months, until my mom forgot and started buying the Humulin R bottles(the insulin which Humalog had replaced) haha and so we just continued with that since my sugars were better.

[MarkMunday]

Portok,

Humulin is the Lilly brand name for their insulin products. Lilly makes different types of insulin. And each type of insulin acts over a different period of time. The letter after "Humulin" identifies the type.

Humulin R - short acting Regular insulin
Humulin N - intermediate acting NPH insulin
Humulin L - long acting Lente insulin
Humulin U - very long acting Ultra Lente insulin
Humulin 70/30 - premixed insulin

You will be able to see the type of humulin from the letter after "Humulin " on the vial. Because you are injecting three times a day, I would suspect that it is Humulin R.

Cheers,

Mark

[JasonSmithMT]

Humulin M3 is a premix insulin (30% soluble insulin/70% isophane insulin).

Jason

[KickStart101]

Hi Portok: I am on Humulin L(Lente), the long lasting. It
usually works well for me also. Except for those odd times
for no apparent reason they go up or down for a short
while. Most men go through the same thing is what I've
been hearing through the Boards. Maybe it's hormones,
maybe it's the insulin or change in the barometric pressure.
Who knows for sure? As long as it's short term and you can
get it back to a decent level.

[portok]

thank you for your responses. i was afraid that this kind of insulin is not very used in the world especially in the USA where the researches are more advanced.

[simstash]

Hey Portok, i was on Humulin N until 2 days ago :) I live in Croatia and that's what it's mostly used here.
I have heard a lot of good things about Lantus though, that's why i insisted on trying it. Anyway, i wasn't really impressed with Humulin. I also use Lilly's Humalog as my short acting insulin but that's fine or so it seems. I'll be really able to tell when i get used to Lantus a bit, as i have had a lot of sugar lows and highs and i know it was because of either Humulin (was taking it both mornings and nights) or this combined with Humalog.

So i'm patiently waiting...

[Andrea]

Portok,

Although mixed insulins are no longer considered "the latest" in diabetes management, they are still widely used in many countries, including throughout europe and north america.

What country are you in?

You should talk to your doctor about switching to insulins that would reflect your lifestyle better. With the mixed insulins, you have to make your lifestyle fit your insulin injection schedule, but with many other insulins, especially the newer insulin analogues, your insulin injection schedule can be made to fit the lifestyle you choose to live.

Like Jason said, the Humalin M3 is a mixture of 30% Humalin Regular and 70% Humanlin NPH. Even if you were to take these two insulins separately, instead of in this fixed ratio mixture, it could help with your daily blood glucose management. But now there are both rapid and long acting insulins that are much more adaptable to our lives, such as Lantus, Humalog, Novorapid...

Andrea