Best short acting insulin for low-carbing

[Dillinger]

Hi,

I have moved from Novorapid to Apidra and now to Humalog as my short acting.

I think I've finally hit the best short acting for a low carb lifestyle with Humalog; it has a longer peak than Apidra but is not as 'fierce' as Novorapid and seems to be really helping.

Here is a link that details the various 'actions' of insulin and whilst all the short acting ones seem fairly similar I've got to say I'm really liking Humalog.

http://www.diabetes.org.uk/Documents/Magazines/Insulinwallchart.pdf

Does any other low-carber have a view on this? Do people play around with their insulin much?

Best

Dillinger

 

[Danny Prince]

I'm not a low-carber but i have been on alot of insulins and found humalog to be my favourite , just seems to work best for me

 

[Marfmama]

I didnt even realise this was a choice! Im on novorapid - is that what they just start everyone on? Interesting!

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App

 

[noblehead]

I only ever used Novorapid went I went down the low-carb route and it wasn't suitable and found I had to inject twice for one meal (and still do if I eat a low-carb meal such as an omellette). I remember saying on the forum at the time that insulins such as Novo and Apidra work too fast and a much slower acting insulin would be better suited to low-carb diets, never tried Humalog before but did use Actrapid before Novo and I believe Actrapid would work well with the slower profile it has.

 

[robert72]

I was on Humalog since it came out but changed to Novorapid a couple of years ago. I've not tried Apidra. I find Novorapid has a smoother action and slightly extended peak which, I would have thought, is a better match to the slower BG rise I get from from low-carbing.

 

[robert72]

I only ever used Novorapid went I went down the low-carb route and it wasn't suitable and found I had to inject twice for one meal (and still do if I eat a low-carb meal such as an omellette). I remember saying on the forum at the time that insulins such as Novo and Apidra work too fast and a much slower acting insulin would be better suited to low-carb diets, never tried Humalog before but did use Actrapid before Novo and I believe Actrapid would work well with the slower profile it has.

I had also thought that going back to Actrapid would be better on low-carb

 

[Engineer88]

I'm seeing my consultant today, I want to suggest changing. Are you on a pump? I'm finding on novo rapid i have a delay of about 2 hours before insulin kicks in and then I get a rapid fall rate alarm (CGM) and feel almost hypo symptoms. Can anyone suggest anything better?

 

[noblehead]

I had also thought that going back to Actrapid would be better on low-carb

If I remember right Rob you have to inject Actrapid 30-45 mins before food which would give any LCHF meal a head-start on digesting before taking effect, that's my thinking anyway.

 

[robert72]

If I remember right Rob you have to inject Actrapid 30-45 mins before food which would give any LCHF meal a head-start on digesting before taking effect, that's my thinking anyway.

Yeah, I used to do about 30 mins before with Actrapid. Now I am waiting until I have finished the meal before injecting NR

 

[noblehead]

Yeah, I used to do about 30 mins before with Actrapid. Now I am waiting until I have finished the meal before injecting NR

And then you forget

I do this if my bg is borderline or the meal is high in fats like Saturday night gone when I had chips (sorry not very low-carb). With always injecting before it's easy to forget that you haven't injected and wonder why your high later

 

[smidge]

Thanks for this post Dilinger.

I am on Apidra and am finding it increasingly difficult to hit the peak of the food with the Apidra. I think I would like to try Humalog to see if this works better for me. I love Apidra - you really know where you stand with it - it gets in, does its thing and leaves the system - so i would like to keep it for corrections - but I find it a struggle to hit the peak of my low-carb evening meal, which I think might be what's causing my overnight and fasting problems. I think I will discuss this with my consultant next time I have an appointment.

I did think I might be better changing my basal back from Levemir to Insuman basal as the peak of the insuman can be used very effectively to catch that delayed post meal spike and my ovenight issues have only been there since my change onto Levemir, but my consultant wasn't keen on me using the basal in that way. He is very un-keen for me to have several different insulins for different purposes so I might struggle to get him to agree to a swap to Humalog but retaining the Apidra for corrections - I think he just thinks I'm mad - but mad with a staggeringly good HbA1c so he tends to humour me LOL!

Please will you keep this thread updated on your experiencee with Humalog.

Thanks

Smidge