how long does Apidra actually work for?

scotchpie

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Hi guys! Does anyone actually know how long the effects of Apidra rapid acting insulin last?
I've heard anything from 2-7 hours. Surely that cant be right :?
I find that if i take enough to reduce my bg to a safe level within two hours, it keeps working far to long and i go hypo but if i take less, my bg stays far too high. :? :? :?
Could it be that Apidra is mabey not the right insulin for me?
 

iHs

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Apidra is very fast in its onset but its length of duration is approx 4hrs depending on how high your bg is and what carb you have eaten. Its good that you have got yr bg to your target range within 2hrs but you will probably need to eat a snack in order for it to do still its work without causing you to hypo. The secret is to eat smaller amounts of carb 'little and often', then you get decent control without putting on excess weight.

Unfortunately all the analogue fast acting insulins last more or less for the same amount of time.
 

kegstore

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The advice on insulin duration also varies between individuals, sometimes quite widely. For example, NovoRapid lasts 4 hours max with me, is quoted as 4-6, but I've heard people talk of 6-7 hours. It's a starting point only, and unfortunately the only way you're going to nail it is by trial and occasional error.
 

scotchpie

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Cheers guys :!:
Any more info on the carbs little and often thing? Thats another blackspot for me. What should i have? How much is little and how often is often?
If my bg drops below 5 i know its a safe bet that im going to have a hypo so i tend to have a preventative snack, like a sandwich (wholemeal bread with a sliced tomato or similar). Is that what could be considered a 'snack' ? Could anyone reccomend something better? I do need to snack quite often at night and the pounds are piling on guys! :(
 

iHs

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scotchpie said:
Cheers guys :!:
Any more info on the carbs little and often thing? Thats another blackspot for me. What should i have? How much is little and how often is often?
If my bg drops below 5 i know its a safe bet that im going to have a hypo so i tend to have a preventative snack, like a sandwich (wholemeal bread with a sliced tomato or similar). Is that what could be considered a 'snack' ? Could anyone reccomend something better? I do need to snack quite often at night and the pounds are piling on guys! :(

Hi Scothpie

The term 'little and often' can be applied to most insulin regimes and is a very tried and tested way of controlling bg levels without too much effort.

In simple terms if you for instance eat 100g of carb per day, instead of eating 30g at BR, 30g lunch and then 40g for evening meal, you space your carb intake out over 5-6 meals something similar to this: 20g BR, 10g snack mid morning, 20g lunch, 10g snack mid afternoon, 30g evening meal and then 10g before bed. The amount of carb that you eat can be varied according to how much insulin you bolus but doing this often allows people to keep their bg more level. You need to try and get your bg levels to be around 4-5 before you eat and then 2hrs later be somewhere no higher than 7 or 8.

Sadly MDI has its limitations and many bolus insulins do not finish their action within 2.5hrs, they carry on going for some time. Its often easier to bolus and 'feed your insulin some carb', than to have a row with it every day :wink:

Regarding your snack of a sandwich, two slices of bread is about 30g carb, so that is a bit too much carb to eat for a snack :( :lol:

If the pounds are piling on, you are injecting and eating too much so if you want to lose weight, inject less bolus and eat less carb but still space it out. Your bg meter is going to be your best friend as you should be able work out your insulin doses from those readings.

Have a google for BDEC diabetes and you will hit on a good explanation of how to get your insulin to carb ratios better sorted, also it will tell you roughly how much insulin you will need to use as a correction.
 

scotchpie

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Thanks ihs. All sound advice.
Thats my sandwhich put into perspective :oops: