I wrote a couple of blogs ago about teaching the long term nurses I work with about insulin. I decided it was important for my readers to also learn this information. I will do a three part blog series on insulin. I hope by the end of the series, you will gain more knowledge.

First, I will talk about basal insulin. Every moment of the day, your liver is producing sugar (glucose). This function happens to people with or without diabetes. The pancreas for individuals without diabetes also produces insulin to offset the sugar their liver produces. People with diabetes produce less or no insulin, depending on their stage of diabetes, so their blood sugar remains high. The job of basal insulin is to release insulin at the same rate the liver produces glucose so the blood sugar stays stable. Basal insulin is necessary for someone with insulin dependent diabetes even if this person is not eating.

The first basal insulin people started to use was called NPH (Neutral Protamine Hagedorn). According to the Wikipedia website, NPH was invented in 1936 by a man named Hans Christian Hagedorn. Hagedorn was able to add a protein called Protamine to insulin to slow down the time insulin started to work. The insulin function was to neutralize the glucose produce in the liver, hence the name NPH. Most medical professional refer to NPH as intermediate insulin because this insulin typically works from 10 to 14 hours a day. Most people need to inject the insulin twice a day to get 24 hour coverage. Common brands of NPH are Humulin N or Novolin N.

The second type of basal insulin is long acting insulin. Examples of long acting insulin are Glargine and Determir. The brand name for Determir is Levemir. Lantus is the brand name for Glargine. Scientists are always working to perfect a product and insulin is no different. Long acting insulin is just an advanced form of basal insulin. For most people with diabetes, one shot works for 24 hours. When I explain long acting insulin to my clients, I compare cars as an example. NPH is like driving a Pinto with no seat belts. It will get you to your destination but the ride will be a bit bumpy. The long acting insulin is like driving a new hybrid car with safety bags. The hybrid will save you more gas and the ride should be safer.

Why do people still use NPH? NPH is cheaper than the long acting insulin; just like buying a Pinto is cheaper than buying a new hybrid car. Also, you can mix NPH with other insulin. I will explain why doctors may want to mix insulin in a later blog. However, if anyone can afford the long acting insulin I would suggest they use it.

In my next blog, I will write about bolus insulin. I hope this blog provided some insight for you. Email me at askard@stablebloodsugar.com if you have any questions about basal insulin. Allison