broke my bottle of Humulin N while out of the country on vacation; now given NPH...

[cwathne]

Hi everyone; I'm on a working vacation in Norway and I broke my bottle of Humalin N. (I have about 2 days worth left of another bottle however). I just got back from the doctor here and got a prescription for some insulin that I will be able to pick up from the local pharmacy tomorrow afternoon before the last of my old bottle of Humalin N gets used up.

The one predicament is that apparently in Norway they don’t have Humalin N, so they are giving me NPH. From a quick google search it looks like it lasts about 24hrs, much longer than the 12hrs that my N lasts. Any tips for how I should split the doses? I currently take 25units of N in the morning and 13 in the evening then bulus for meals with Humalog. Should I just take about 38units of the NPH in the morning, or do you think I should split it up? It will be another 2 weeks until I get back to the states and get some more Humalin N.

[fairyblood]

As far as I know NPH and humulin N are one and the same. I could be wrong but I don't think I am.;)

[cwathne]

As far as I know NPH and humulin N are one and the same. I could be wrong but I don't think I am.;)

lmao, I think you are correct.

I swear I'm usually not that dumb haha :D

[johnleveritt]

Unless it's Humulin N u/500 instead of u/100, it's the same. I use Humulin N u/500.

[shiftzor]

You crazy NPH users :D from everything I have read and heard it’s pretty dodgy stuff peaking at around 4-9 hours and lasting 14-20 hours compared with Lantus that peaks at 6 hours and lasts 18-26hours. On Lantus I experienced unpredictability can't imagine how hard it must be on NPH. Good luck with it.

[Delphinus]

Hi everyone; I'm on a working vacation in Norway and I broke my bottle of Humalin N. (I have about 2 days worth left of another bottle however). I just got back from the doctor here and got a prescription for some insulin that I will be able to pick up from the local pharmacy tomorrow afternoon before the last of my old bottle of Humalin N gets used up.

The one predicament is that apparently in Norway they don’t have Humalin N, so they are giving me NPH. From a quick google search it looks like it lasts about 24hrs, much longer than the 12hrs that my N lasts. Any tips for how I should split the doses? I currently take 25units of N in the morning and 13 in the evening then bulus for meals with Humalog. Should I just take about 38units of the NPH in the morning, or do you think I should split it up? It will be another 2 weeks until I get back to the states and get some more Humalin N.

As mentioned, Humulin N is the brand name, and NPH(Intermediate/slower acting) just refers to the type of insulin it is, which is sold under several brand names. :D

[VinceF]

I think they're the same...except origin...humulin of human recombinant DNA and NPH from beef/pork I've taken both they're the same. You do need to make sure the U-100 is the same that would screw up the dosage. different syringes for U-40 VS U-100.
-Dave

[fairyblood]

I think they're the same...except origin...humulin of human recombinant DNA and NPH from beef/pork I've taken both they're the same.
-Dave

That actually isn't true humulin N is still NPH. Originally NPH came for beef/pork however they made the synthetic version later. It is still NPH but not made with animals pancreases.

[SueM]

That actually isn't true humulin N is still NPH. Originally NPH came for beef/pork however they made the synthetic version later. It is still NPH but not made with animals pancreases.

NPH pork/Beef is still made and used.
I used bovine NPH until last year when I switched to a pump.
I use the neutral/regular in my pump :)

[Subby]

How was Norway for seeing a doctor and getting a script for insulin, as a visitor, Cwathne?

[cwathne]

How was Norway for seeing a doctor and getting a script for insulin, as a visitor, Cwathne?

extremely easy, especially considering that I went in at 10pm on a Saturday.

They have a building next to the hospital (in Kristiansand) that is a doctors office for people that can’t wait till the morning when the regular doctors are open. I walked in, pressed a button to get a number and was called to the reception desk in a few minutes. I then explained what had happened to my insulin bottle and they told me to have a seat and wait for a doctor. I only had to wait about 15 minutes until I was seen by a doctor. I let her know what happened, and what my insulin regumine was like. After about 15-20min of questions/small talk I was handed a note to give to the emergency room to get 2 days worth of NPH in case I needed it, and a prescription to be given to the pharmacy the next day to pick up a vial of NPH.

The visit cost about 35 dollars and all the staff and doctors were very nice.

[ant hill]

I have always wanted to go to Switzerland, As it's a cool place. :D & yes it's cold. At least medical care is good. ;):)

[fairyblood]

NPH pork/Beef is still made and used.
I used bovine NPH until last year when I switched to a pump.
I use the neutral/regular in my pump :)

That might be true in the UK but it is next to impossible to get pork insulin in the US. However that really wasn't my point. I was just saying that there is pork/beef NPH and synthetic NPH but they are both NPH. Someone was saying that one was called N and the other NPH. It really doesn't matter at this point. :T