Types of Insulin

Insulin is a much-needed lifeline for those with type 1 diabetes and some with a more severe case of type 2 diabetes. While 23.6 million diabetics are in America, 14 percent take only insulin and 13 percent take a combination of oral medications and insulin injections. That is 27 percent of 23.6 million people who take shots every day of their life to live. A short-lived inhalable insulin, called Exubera from Pfizer, was put out in 2006 and then pulled from the market in 2007. Not counting that failure, five types of injectable insulin are available for diabetic use.

Quick-Acting Insulin

• Meant to be given at meal time, quick-acting insulin has a 10- to 30-minute onset (time before it starts to work in the body), depending on what brand is taken. It reaches its "peak" or peak effectiveness at the 30- to 90-minute mark. Rapid-acting insulin has a duration of three to five hours, again depending on what brand is taken. NovoLog or Humalog are two types of quick-acting insulin.

Short-Acting Insulin

• Short-acting insulin is taken with meals expected within a 30- to 60-minute time frame. Typically, this type of insulin has an onset of 30 to 60 minutes, peak of two to five hours and a 5 to 8 hour duration. Novolin R or Humulin R are two types of short-acting insulin.

Intermediate-Acting Insulin

• This type of insulin, the intermediate-acting type, will be used when the diabetic needs a half-day or half-night dosage. These are used with the rapid-acting or short-acting insulin. It has an onset of one to two hours, peak of 3 to 12 hours and a duration of 18 to 24 hours. Novolin N or Humulin N are two types of intermediate-acting insulin.

Long-Acting Insulin

• This is another type of insulin typically taken with the rapid-acting or short-acting insulin types. It should cover a full day of use. Long-acting insulin has a 30- to 180-minute onset (varies widely by brand), 6 to 20 hours to peak levels and then 20 to 36 hours of duration. Lantus falls into this category, but has no peak levels due to a constant release of insulin.

Pre-mixed Insulin

• Pre-mixed is the termed for already combined short-acting insulin and intermediate-acting insulin. Typically, these are in pens, but can be in vials. They are taken twice a day on average. They have a 10- to 30-minute onset time, peak in 30 minutes to 12 hours (depending on brand) and a duration of up to 24 hours. Novolin 70/30, Humulin 70/30 and Humulin 50/50 are three types of pre-mixed insulin.