More information about insulin

What should I do with my needles and lancets when I have used them?

Always dispose of them in a special sharps disposal bin and not in your normal rubbish bin. 

Sharps disposal bins and needle clippers are available for free on prescription (some countries might not have this service, check with your health care team) and are designed to keep people safe As needles can harm someone.

What happens when my sharps disposal bin is full?

Each country will have different arrangements. please speak to your diabetes team to find out what you need to do.

More about Insulin

Why You Need To Rotate Injection Sites?  

If you keep injecting into the same area, small lumps can build up under the skin. They don’t look or feel very nice and they make it harder for the body to absorb and use the insulin properly. So it’s important that you change the spot that you use each time.

Will it hurt?

The needles used are very small and you inject under the skin and not into a muscle or vein. At first, the injections may be a little painful or uncomfortable – this is usually because you are tense or anxious. But as your confidence starts to build, they will get easier and soon they’ll become second nature.

Who will teach me?

Someone from your diabetes health care team, usually the diabetes specialist nurse, will teach you how and when to inject and work with you to find the right insulin.

How to Injected insulin

The needles used to inject insulin are very small as the insulin only needs to be injected under the skin – not into a muscle or vein. Once it's been injected, it soaks into small blood vessels and is taken into the bloodstream. It takes some time to build your confidence but  once you become more relaxed injections will get easier and soon become second nature.

There are 3 main areas where you can inject insulin – stomach, buttocks and thighs. Sometimes your health care team may recommend other sites such as your arms. Because all these areas is covered with wide skin. You should make sure to inject at different sites each time.

It is very important to rotate injection sites, as injecting into the same site can cause a build-up of lumps under the skin (also known as lipohypertrophy), if this happens your insulin will not work properly.

Test your blood glucose levels as recommended.

Make sure your hands and the area you’re injecting are clean.

Eject 2 units of insulin into the air to make sure the tip of the needle is filled with insulin (this is called an ‘air shot’).

Choose an area where there is plenty of fatty tissue, such as the tops of thighs or the bottom.

If you have been advised to, lift a fold of skin (the lifted skin fold should make sure you don’t  squeezed  tightly that will causes skin blanching or pain) and insert the needle at a 90° angle. With short needles you don’t need to pinch up, unless you are very thin. Check with your diabetes health care team.

Put the needle in quickly. If you continue to find injections painful, try numbing the area of skin by rubbing a piece of ice for about  15 to 20 seconds before injecting.

Inject the insulin, ensuring the plunger (syringe) or thumb button (pen) is fully pressed down and count to 10 before removing the needle.

Release the skin fold and dispose of the used needle safely.

Remember to use a new needle every time. Reusing a needle will make it blunt and can make injecting painful.

The main types of insulin

There are 7 main types of insulin:

Rapid-acting analogues –This insulin should ideally be injected just before food and have a peak action at between 0 and 3 hours. They tend to last between2 and 5 hours and only last long enough for the meal at which they are taken. They are clear in appearance.

Long-acting analogues - This insulin is  injected once or twice a day to provide background insulin lasting approximately 24 hours. They don't need to be taken with food because they don't have a peak action. They are clear in appearance.

Ultra long-acting analogues – This insulin is mainly used by people who are unable to inject themselves as they can provide background insulin for up to 42 hours. They should be injected once at any time of the day, preferably at the same time. They don't need to be taken with food because they don't have a peak action. They are clear in appearance.

Short-acting insulins – This insulin need to be injected 15–30 minutes before a meal to cover the rise in blood glucose levels that occurs after eating. They have a peak action of 2 to 6 hours and can last for up to eight hours. They are clear in appearance.

Medium- and long-acting insulins- This insulin is taken 1 or 2 times  a day to provide background insulin or in combination with short-acting insulins/rapid-acting analogues. Their peak activity is between 4 and 12 hours and can last up to 30 hours. They are cloudy in appearance.

Mixed insulin – a combination of medium- and short-acting insulin.

Mixed analogue – a combination of medium-acting insulin and rapid-acting analogue.

Insulin

Insulin is a hormone made by an organ in the body called the pancreas. The pancreas lies just behind the stomach. If your pancreas are not making enough insulin you will need to take man made insulin. 

The function of insulin is to help our bodies use glucose for energy. Everyone with Type 1, and some people with Type 2 diabetes, needs to take insulin to control their blood glucose levels.

There is 3 groups of insulin

There are 3 groups of insulin – animal, human (not from humans but it is man made to match human insulin) and analogues (where the chemical structure of human insulin has been changed to make the insulin work quicker or last longer).

 Nowadays, most people use human insulin and insulin analogues, although a small number of people still use animal insulin because they have some evidence that they otherwise lose their awareness of hypos, or they find animal insulin works better for them.

Types of diabetes medication

There are several different types of diabetes medication:

PLEASE NOTE THERE ARE MANY MORE MEDICATION ON THE MARKET NOW, YOU SHOULD ALWAYS FOLLOW THE ADVICE OF YOUR HEALTH TEAM.

Metformin

Biguanide

Sulphonylureas

Alpha glucosidase inhibitor

Prandial glucose regulators

Thiazolidinediones (glitazon)

Incretin mimetics

DPP-4 inhibitors (gliptins).

SGLT2 inhibitors

Note: These groups may contain more than one medication. Your doctor may advise you to increasing the dose of your medication or taking more than one kind of medication.

Medication

Medication

Diabetes medication lowers blood glucose levels, and there are a quite few different types. Which work in different ways. People with Type 2 diabetes may need medication including insulin. Remember diabetes medication cannot cure diabetes, and most people will have to take it for the rest of their lives.

Which type of medication you require will depend on your own individual needs and situation, Your health care team should help you with what types of medication are available and which one will suit  you best. 

Whichever medication you are prescribed, it will only work and help control your diabetes if you take it properly and regularly. Make sure that your doctor or pharmacist explains how much medication to take and when to take it – for example should you take it with food before food or after food.

You may find that, despite keeping to a healthy diet, physical activity and taking your diabetes medication regularly, your diabetes control is not as good as it should be. This is because Type 2 diabetes is a progressive condition and, over time, you may need more help to manage your blood glucose levels.