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Insulin

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plr36

Member
Messages
6
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Hi and happy new year
I'm diabetic type 2 and on insulin 2x a day.im on humulin M3 kwikPen.. can anyone tell me once injected how long after do I wait to eat???
 
plr36 said:
Hi and happy new year
I'm diabetic type 2 and on insulin 2x a day.im on humulin M3 kwikPen.. can anyone tell me once injected how long after do I wait to eat???
Click to expand...

Hi @plr36
Very difficult to give you a definitive answer because of the number of variables.

As a generalisation though, the rapid part of your insulin should start to show up in glucose readings in 10 to 20 minutes. Your own metabolism, insulin resistance, activity levels and even the temperature introduce a level of variability in comparison to somebody else.

Sorry if it's obvious but it will also depend where you start from. For example, if you start at 10mmol then you can take longer than if you started at 5mmol.

If you have constant glucose monitoring then you can watch for the downturn in levels, otherwise it's a guessing game.
 
@urbanracer I understand Humulin is a mixed (not fast acting) insulin. Therefore I am not convinced it is taken before food.
@plr36 this type of insulin is not common for people with Type 1 diabetes who vary their timing and dose according to what they eat.
I recommend checking with your diabetes nurse or doctor.
 
In Response said:
@urbanracer I understand Humulin is a mixed (not fast acting) insulin. Therefore I am not convinced it is taken before food.
@plr36 this type of insulin is not common for people with Type 1 diabetes who vary their timing and dose according to what they eat.
I recommend checking with your diabetes nurse or doctor.
Click to expand...

You are quite correct in stating Humulin M3 is a mixed insulin. However it in effect a 30/70 short acting and intermediate acting insulin.
The OP is T2. & Urbanracer as a T1 has had personal experience using this insulin. ;)
 
Last edited:
I take Humalin I, I take it once a day at bedtime, usually 4 or 5 hours after food, I believe it lasts for 27 hours approx. The insulin before food is novorapid for me, try googling your particular stuff.

Not sure if your insulin is the same as it is M3 though.

Good luck!
 
In Response said:
@urbanracer I understand Humulin is a mixed (not fast acting) insulin. Therefore I am not convinced it is taken before food.
@plr36 this type of insulin is not common for people with Type 1 diabetes who vary their timing and dose according to what they eat.
I recommend checking with your diabetes nurse or doctor.
Click to expand...

I had several years on mixed insulin and had to fight to get on MDI. It's not uncommon in the area I live in - or at least it wasn't before the resident Endo' upped and moved to Scotland.
Always took 'my' Mix25 before breakfast and before my evening meal. After a while I sussed out that the rapid pen I'd been given for sick days could also supplement for carby meals and lunchtimes which were problematic with mixed insulin.
 
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