Novorapid

This is the stated profile of NovoRapid.........

Onset
(approx.) 10-20 mins

Peak
activity
(approx.) 1-3 Hrs

Duration
of Action
(approx.) 3-5hrs

There will obviously be variables with each individual but that is what the makers say........

To be on the safe side you should eat straight away. It will last about 4 hours and sometimes up to 6 hours.

You should eat pretty much straight away after injecting otherwise you risk a hypo.

Hi sarah, For me at least, I need to eat within about 10 minutes...unless my BG was above 10, then I canleave it for about 30 minutes...as the drop caused by the novorapid just brings me back into normal ranges.. but if this is happening, I have to adjust the dose accordingly.

Sarah69 said:

Does that mean I should eat within 20 mins of injecting?

Click to expand...

I wouldn't wait more 10 mins before eating, novo is a fast acting insulin and speed in which it acts can vary from person to person, always best to be safe so try and eat soon after injecting.

Nigel

Be very cautious about injecting before food arrives, in restaurants too. There can be a delay, as you experienced, which then causes problems with your blood glucose levels. Better to wait until the food is infront of you and then do the injection.

SophiaW said:

Be very cautious about injecting before food arrives, in restaurants too. There can be a delay, as you experienced, which then causes problems with your blood glucose levels. Better to wait until the food is infront of you and then do the injection.

Click to expand...

Good advice from Sophia, it's also important to wait for the food to arrive so you can count up the carb value on the plate and inject accordingly.

Nigel

Sarah69 said:

I just don't want the hassle of injecting and dishing food up tryin to keep it hot!

Click to expand...

You'll have to get used to it to a large degree I'm afraid. I've worked out that I can put toast on, inject, and it'll be ready. Inject before putting milk in the cereal. Things in the microwave - inject while they're cooking. Other than that, it's tough luck for a type 1, I know how you feel, but there's no alternative much of the time. I try to have worked out what to inject before I've got the food ready even if I do have to inject straight before eating and I get the needle on the pen ahead of time - at least then it's just whack it in and eat, no detriment to the food. But in restaurants, no way would I inject without seeing it. I even had to send my inedible food back once and had to make them get me a sandwich while I waited because I'd just had 5 units of novorapid when I'd seen what was on my plate. That was before I'd tried it of course. And despite me saying I needed a sandwich immediately, the idiots even took the time to toast it :shock:

Personally I NEVER inject before I eat, I always do it immediately after.

I was initially advised to inject just before I ate but then ran into a major problem. I was at work and injected just I started my to eat during my break. There was an emergency situation that I had to run off to having just taken (if i can recall) either 7 or 8 units. This then created a bigger problem than the one I had to run out to.

I've never had to return food but I did also once take what I needed for what was on the plate, but got half way through & started to feel full & left about a third of the meal, again this created a problem later on.

I find that unless I eat something like chocolate or other food that will break down very very quickly, this is the best option as by & large the novorapid starts to be absorbed & get to work quicker than the foods we generally eat.

Think about it, if you're blood sugars are low you are advised to take something FAST acting like orange juice WAIT 10 MINUTES & test yourself again, so even the fastest acting sources of glucose take at least 10mins to register in the body.

If you inject a minute or two after you've finished eating then there will be no problem with your BG's rising as the foods have only just got into the body & not yet started to break down and you can be more accurate with the amount of insulin you need.

When to inject Novorapid from the Emc medicines guide :

If you are injecting this medicine yourself, make sure that you find out from your prescriber the best time to have NovoRapid.

You must not use NovoRapid if your blood sugar levels are low. For more information, talk to your prescriber or a member of your diabetes team.

To get the best results from NovoRapid have it just before or just after a meal.

Click to expand...

In any case you should also discuss this with your GP/Nurse as well.

I have done it too, yes, sometimes. But I have a close colleague who always does it after - and always forgets, so it's often over an hour before he realises he feels terrible. I have a bad short term memory so if I'm going to do that, once again I get the needle on the pen, put it right next to me, and write down how many units I'm meant to inject. I wouldn't do it regularly because I know I'd also end up regularly forgetting. I think for a newbie though, getting into a good routine with it is a good idea.