The difference between rapid and analogue insulins?

[email hidden] (Jupiter) wrote in
:"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

What is the difference? Which one is better? I assume that both are 'humane' ones.

TIA, Jupiter

There are a number of different categories or types of insulins and you can divide them up in
different ways. This leads to some confusion.

Human insulin is insulin which is identical to that found in people. It is produced by genetically
engineered E-coli or yeast. Human insulin is distinguished from animal source insulin, beef or pork.

Analog insulins are insulins that have been created and designed to have certain attributes that
affect their absorption rate. They do not exist in nature. Novolog and Humalog are absorbed more
rapidly than Regular human insulin. Lantus is absorbed much more slowly than Regular human.

Insulin can be combined with different compounds in order to slow down the rate at which it arrives
in the blood stream. Terminology varies but in the US the compounded insulins are, in decreasing
order of absorption, NPH, Lente, and Ultralente.

The overall list, again in decreasing order, is Humalog/Novolog, Regular, NPH, Lente, Ultralente,
Lantus. The two fastest and the slowest are analogs. Note this list does not include the animal
versions, the compounds of which tend to be more slowly absorbed than their human counterparts, for
simplicity.

In general,Humalog and Novolog are called rapid acting. Regular human is called fast acting. NPH and
Lente are called intermediate acting. Ultralente and Lantus are called long acting.

So much for the differences. Which one is better depends on what job it is selected to do and where
the individual patient falls in the significant range of absorption variability. The number of
different insulin regimens is large and the question of which insulin is best doesn't make any sense
outside of a particular context.

When people say, "This insulin is best", they are often saying, "This insulin works best for me". We
all have a strong tendency to over generalize our own experience.

Charly Coughran [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

When people say, "This insulin is best", they are often saying, "This insulin works best for me".
We all have a strong tendency to over generalize our own experience.

Charly Coughran [email hidden]

Thanks for your usual excellent posts

agreed...excellent post...very lucid and helpful...

--
Steve Type 1 DM since 1967 MiniMed 508 since early 2002 Toronto, ON Canada

"Charly Coughran" <ccoughran@DELETE_TO_REPLY_ucsd.edu> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (Jupiter) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

What is the difference? Which one is better? I assume that both are 'humane' ones.

TIA, Jupiter

There are a number of different categories or types of insulins and you

can

Quoted message said:

divide them up in different ways. This leads to some confusion.

Human insulin is insulin which is identical to that found in people. It is produced by
genetically engineered E-coli or yeast. Human insulin is distinguished from animal source
insulin, beef or pork.

Analog insulins are insulins that have been created and designed to have certain attributes that
affect their absorption rate. They do not exist

in

Quoted message said:

nature. Novolog and Humalog are absorbed more rapidly than Regular human insulin. Lantus is
absorbed much more slowly than Regular human.

Insulin can be combined with different compounds in order to slow down the rate at which it
arrives in the blood stream. Terminology varies but in the US the compounded insulins are, in
decreasing order of absorption,

NPH,

Quoted message said:

Lente, and Ultralente.

The overall list, again in decreasing order, is Humalog/Novolog, Regular, NPH, Lente, Ultralente,
Lantus. The two fastest and the slowest are analogs. Note this list does not include the animal
versions, the compounds of which tend to be more slowly absorbed than their human counterparts,
for simplicity.

In general,Humalog and Novolog are called rapid acting. Regular human is called fast acting. NPH
and Lente are called intermediate acting. Ultralente and Lantus are called long acting.

So much for the differences. Which one is better depends on what job it

is

Quoted message said:

selected to do and where the individual patient falls in the significant range of absorption
variability. The number of different insulin regimens is large and the question of which insulin
is best doesn't make any sense outside of a particular context.

When people say, "This insulin is best", they are often saying, "This insulin works best for me".
We all have a strong tendency to over generalize our own experience.

Charly Coughran [email hidden]

On Wed, 22 Oct 2003 15:28:05 +0000 (UTC), Charly Coughran

ccoughran@DELETE_TO_REPLY_ucsd.edu said:

[email hidden] (Jupiter) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

What is the difference? Which one is better? I assume that both are 'humane' ones.

TIA, Jupiter

There are a number of different categories or types of insulins and you can divide them up in
different ways. This leads to some confusion.

Human insulin is insulin which is identical to that found in people. It is produced by
genetically engineered E-coli or yeast. Human insulin is distinguished from animal source
insulin, beef or pork.

Analog insulins are insulins that have been created and designed to have certain attributes that
affect their absorption rate. They do not exist in nature. Novolog and Humalog are absorbed more
rapidly than Regular human insulin. Lantus is absorbed much more slowly than Regular human.

Insulin can be combined with different compounds in order to slow down the rate at which it arrives
in the blood stream. Terminology varies but in the US the compounded insulins are, in decreasing
order of absorption, NPH, Lente, and Ultralente.

The overall list, again in decreasing order, is Humalog/Novolog, Regular, NPH, Lente, Ultralente,
Lantus. The two fastest and the slowest are analogs. Note this list does not include the animal
versions, the compounds of which tend to be more slowly absorbed than their human counterparts, for
simplicity.

In general,Humalog and Novolog are called rapid acting. Regular human is called fast acting. NPH
and Lente are called intermediate acting. Ultralente and Lantus are called long acting.

So much for the differences. Which one is better depends on what job it is selected to do and where
the individual patient falls in the significant range of absorption variability. The number of
different insulin regimens is large and the question of which insulin is best doesn't make any
sense outside of a particular context.

When people say, "This insulin is best", they are often saying, "This insulin works best for me".
We all have a strong tendency to over generalize our own experience.

And that depends on many factors, including how many injections per day you will tolerate, your
eating habits, lifestyle, etc. I use Lantus every night and either regular (Novolin-R) or fast-
acting (Novolog) with each meal. For me, the choice of whether to use regular or fast-acting with a
meal depends mainly on the size and composition of the meal. For low-carb meals, I find it really
doesn't matter too much which insulin I use. For large, mixed/multi-course meals, I find it best to
use regular insulin about 30 minutes before hand. For quickly digested foods like pancakes, donuts,
etc., it works best to keep use fast-acting insulin, but keep both the carb and insulin intake
small. If I am in a rush and eating a large, mixed meal (with vegetables, protein sources, and carb
sources), I will use both regular fast-acting insulins at the same time in order to prevent both
early and late spikes in blood sugar.