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How fast is Trurapi

jaywak

jaywak

Well-Known Member
Messages
952
Location
Norwich
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Cold weather, angry people, queues,
A few months ago I was changed from Novo Rapid to Trurapi and am now noticing the spikes I get after just about every meal during the day , after tonights scampi and chips which was about 50 carbs I spiked about an hour later to 14 , two hours later it is dropping and am now looking at my Libre reading 7.8 and don't know when it will stop , I injected about 15 minutes before the meal , this is something I have only noticed since using the Libre and am not sure if it is the change of insulin or I just need to inject sooner .
 
Hi @jaywak - Trurapi is 'biosimilar' to Novorapid - so it 'should' have the same duration of insulin action (DIA) etc - but there is always the 'it might not' if your body disagrees with the insulin itself.

From my knowledge and experience of Novorapid - in normal conditions it doesn't really kick in for 1 hour (slow rise of activity), peaks at 2 (most active) and slowly fades over the next 2 - its DIA is 4 hours in most people (but we are all different so you might be different in some ways).

Fish and Chips are a 'challenge' due to carbs and fat - fat slows down absorption of the carbs in the first hour (or 2 hours), then it gets digested and you get a lump of carbs later on (can take 4 hours to fully digest the carbs. So - what you 'should' do is inject some up front - then more later when it's going to hit the 'big lump of carbs' you get. Not great - but avoids the eat-inject-initial low, followed by a high you cant chase (if on Multiple Daily Injections - MDI)

If you're on a pump - its a lot easier as you set a pattern for high fat meals (pasta, chips, curries etc)

If you have a good BG before the meal - inject 30mins or so before you eat to get insulin working before the food hits - just watch for the post-meal low (insulin working before carbs digested) and then a high afterwards as the insulin starts to fade and the carbs hit.
 
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I think I maybe getting a bit obsessed with my control since getting the Libre and all this has probably been happening for years , maybe since being diagnosed 48 yrs ago , I probably only tested 4-8 times a day so would not even have noticed the spikes after meals and the dawn phenomenon sending my blood sugars up to 14 from 3am in the morning and then rectifying with extra insulin and blaming it on what I ate for dinner the night before , it's taught me a lot and will say the low blood sugars are far better controlled now , perhaps I should leave it alone and just accept the spikes are part of my life and so far fingers crossed have not caused me any problems .
 
Why don't you previous earlier?
Or request a faster acting insulin like Fiasp?
Just because you think it has been happening for years doesn't mean you should accept it.
The way I saw it was now I had the knowledge from Libre, I should use it
And doing so, I have bought my Hba1c down to below pre diabetic levels (but i still have diabetes) so minimizing complications without letting diabetes take over my life.
 
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In Response said:
Why don't you previous earlier?
Or request a faster acting insulin like Fiasp?
Just because you think it has been happening for years doesn't mean you should accept it.
The way 9 saw it was now 8 had 5he knowledge from Libre, I should use it
And doing so, I have bought my Hba1c down to below pre diabetic levels (but i still have diabetes) so minimizing complications without letting diabetes take over my life.
Click to expand...
Maybe you are having issues with your keyboard, as that doesn't seem to make sense? (numbers instead of letters?)
 
I have an appointment with my diabetic clinic on Wednesday which will be the first one since starting the Libre so will ask the question about using a faster acting insulin , do you have experience of doing this ? I don't think I will be able to do anything about the dawn phenomenon though as it starts about 3 am and I have been trying different methods , different injection times doses etc but only made matters worse , strange though it seemed to me but but giving myself more Basel gave me higher morning blood sugars , yesterday I cut my Basel from 17 units to 14 and my morning bg only spiked into the 10s temporarily . Injecting bolus earlier might work but is not always easy if you're out and about as I quite often am .
 
I have been using Fiasp for a few years.
It took a bit of getting used to and doesn’t suit everyone.
For me, the speed it works is very dependent on my BG.

DP is a harder one unless you are interested in having a pump, You now have the evidence that you need one.
 
In Response said:
I have been using Fiasp for a few years.
It took a bit of getting used to and doesn’t suit everyone.
For me, the speed it works is very dependent on my BG.

DP is a harder one unless you are interested in having a pump, You now have the evidence that you need one.
Click to expand...
What sort of speed are we looking at ? If it will be less than 15 minutes that would suit me , but I was told that when I started taking Novo Rapid and I don't remember it ever working that quick .
 
jaywak said:
What sort of speed are we looking at ? If it will be less than 15 minutes that would suit me , but I was told that when I started taking Novo Rapid and I don't remember it ever working that quick .
Click to expand...
As I mentioned, it is dependent on my BG when I inject.
If my levels are in the 4s or 5s, it is pretty instant. It is faster than the time take to digest carbs so I have to inject after eating.
if my BG is between about 6 and 8, I can inject just before eating to avoid spikes.
if between 8 and 10, I need to inject 15 to 30 minutes before eat8ng.
if my bg is in double figures, it can take up to an hour to see any impact.

This are all approximate and what my body experiences.

Until I had Libre, I had no idea how fast my NoviSluggish would start acting. Like you, I was told to inject 15 minutes before eating but as carbs take time to digest, the NR was taking longer than that.
When I got my Libre, I realised NR had to be taken 49 minutes before eating and a lot can happen in that time when working.
 
In Response said:
As I mentioned, it is dependent on my BG when I inject.
If my levels are in the 4s or 5s, it is pretty instant. It is faster than the time take to digest carbs so I have to inject after eating.
if my BG is between about 6 and 8, I can inject just before eating to avoid spikes.
if between 8 and 10, I need to inject 15 to 30 minutes before eat8ng.
if my bg is in double figures, it can take up to an hour to see any impact.

This are all approximate and what my body experiences.

Until I had Libre, I had no idea how fast my NoviSluggish would start acting. Like you, I was told to inject 15 minutes before eating but as carbs take time to digest, the NR was taking longer than that.
When I got my Libre, I realised NR had to be taken 49 minutes before eating and a lot can happen in that time when working.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that in Response , like you say giving the jab an hour before eating could be dangerous if you're working or driving to a restaurant anything could happen , I will definitely ask about a faster acting insulin next week , what pens do you use for the Fiasp ?
 
jaywak said:
Thanks for that in Response , like you say giving the jab an hour before eating could be dangerous if you're working or driving to a restaurant anything could happen , I will definitely ask about a faster acting insulin next week , what pens do you use for the Fiasp ?
Click to expand...
Fiasp is a NovoNordisk insulin so can use the NovoPens just like NovoRapid, Levemir and Tresiba.
I use it in a pump so do not use any pens.
 
I too find Fiasp varies on pre time needed for injections. This will depend on levels like @In Response but also on time of day. Mornings are a nightmare for me and I can often inject at least half an hour before. I very rarely inject beyond 4pm as we eat a large meal in the middle of the day. But if I do eat and inject I am guided by my Libre and often inject up to an hour after I’ve eaten as it just works very fast very quickly.
 
How long do you think the insulin stays active for ? I ask because I am finding that if I have a high say 10 - 12 I inject a couple of units of my Trurapi , nothing happens so 2 hrs later I inject another couple , nothing , two hours later another couple and suddenly bang it drops like a stone and out comes the jelly babies , it seems like it needs a certain amount before it will do anything and this can be hours later , I was under the impression it would only stay active for about 4 hours but it has just happened this morning I had an extra dose 10 pm because of a high bg and it stayed high all night but 10 hrs later it now dropped to 3.7 and out came the jelly babies .
 
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Was on Novorapid for years - but it was more Novosluggish (as others on the forum have said). Just like you, I would take more and more as BGs went up and then wham. For me it didn't kick in for at least two hours or even longer. It then hung around through the night. I managed to change to Fiasp and that has helped a lot - starts working within an hour. Reading about Truapi it is the same as Novorapid, but a lot cheaper (NHS website) so probably has the same slow onset time. Fiasp has some extra components that makes the onset more rapid.

I used to do up to 15 blood tests a day - still hopeless, so the Libre was a revelation (self-funded at first). It is easy to track the BGs and get worried when it starts going up and start extra jabs and get into the rollercoaster. The important thing to realise is that a non-diabetic person after a high carb meal the BGs will go up to 12 and then come down. So that is fine for me, but if they keep on going up to 20 or more, then the insulin dose was too small. The big trigger for me are chips - bg rockets on turbo boast, so alas they have to be limited. Similarly bread causes a mad spike.
 
jaywak said:
How long do you think the insulin stays active for ?
Click to expand...
In my case, Trurapi doesn't seem to start working for 1.5 hours, or at least the amount of insulin that activates before 1.5 hours is very, very little. For me it keeps working for 6 or 6.5 hours with the 'peak' being around 3 to 4 hours.
 
It's nice to know i'me not the only one who's experience with Novo Rapid / Trurapi doesn't work the way it says on the tin !
 
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