Insulin before or after food

[donnamum]

My daughter is type 1. Can anyone tell me why some people have insulin before food and some after food.

 

[timo2]

hello donnamum,
there is a rapid insulin called lispro that can be injected immediately after a meal.
most rapid insulins (such as novorapid) are taken immediately before eating.
other types (like humulin S) need to be injected 15-30 minutes before a meal.

If the weather is very hot or you've been very active, then injecting
rapid insulin after a meal instead of before can help to balance
the action of the carbohydrates with the insulins peak.
Just remember not to get mixed up and inject before and after
the meal, or else it's going to go into your diary as a particularly bad day.

all the best,
timo2

 

[diabetesmum]

Also, because children can be unpredictable and often don't eat everything they're given, parents often wait till after the child's finished eating and then give the insulin, to avoid overdosing and causing a hypo. This is really the case when the child is using fast acting insulin eg Novorapid to bolus for food, and especially when they're carbohydrate counting, so that the parent can work out the dose to be given according to the amount of carbs the child has actually swallowed.
Sue

 

[timo2]

diabetesmum,
I'm less aware of what I know, than of what I have left to learn. :wink:

 

[diabetesmum]

Yeah Timo, as my 13 yr old would say (best Catherine Tate voice), "Innit tho?!"