Splitting?

[acron^]

I frequently see people talk about 'splitting' their basal insulin and it occurs to me that I haven't got a clue what this means. I'm on premix right now so it's not something I've had to know before.

Can anyone enlighten me?

 

[suzi]

Hi Acron,
You will probably be put onto a basal insulin in the future, but if your premix is working thats great.
Splitting is when a basal insulin ie Levemir is split into 2 dosages. One before bed and one in the morning. Not everyone does this, as everyones requirements are different. My son is on Levemir and takes 20u before bed, but if he did required to spit his dose, it could be done. I know Fergus uses Levemir and splits his dose, 50/50
Hope this has helped with your query.
Suzi x

 

[kewgirl]

Hi Acron

Don't worry about not knowing what "splitting" is - diabetes has a language all of its own. :lol:

A basal insulin is also known as background insulin.

As Suzi explained splitting a basal (background) insulin is when that insulin is taken in 2 or even more doses over a 24-hour period.

Long acting basal insulin varies from person to person - an analogue such as Lantus was promoted initially by the manufacturer as one that could be given once a day although some people who use it do split the dose.
Levemir tends to be marketed as a twice a day analogue but many individuals including Suzi's son use it once a day.

It’s all very much down to individual’s requirements. Splitting the dose also doesn’t always mean you take the same dose twice a day - I take Porcine (Piggy) Insulin as my basal and take a higher dose at night than in the morning.

Some people split their basal dose 12 hours apart some 10 hours etc. It’s a very individual thing & factors like how long each basal insulin lasts or is supposed to last will influence whether a dose is split or not and how long it actually lasts in each person is a very individual thing. My basal is listed as lasting for between 8-14 hours and I can on average get it to last about 11 hours.

Hope that has helped and not confused you even more. :shock:

Please feel free to keep asking questions

Txx