International Diabetes Center > Treatments > Insulin

Insulin

People with type 1 diabetes and many people with type 2 or gestational diabetes take insulin injections as part of their diabetes treatment plans.

Two main kinds of insulin used in diabetes treatment are bolus insulin and background insulin. Bolus insulin supplies a burst of insulin and usually is taken before a meal. The two types of bolus insulin are rapid-acting and short-acting. Rapid-acting bolus insulin works quickly and leaves the body quickly. Short-acting bolus insulin stays in the body longer.

Background insulin supplies a low level of insulin throughout the day and overnight. The three kinds of background insulin are: intermediate-acting, prolonged intermediate-acting and long-acting. Of the three different background insulins, long-acting insulin stays in the body the longest. Bolus and background insulin also come mixed together, called premixed insulin.

The following table lists the different kinds of insulin and their action times.

Type of insulin		Begins to work	Working hardest	Stops working effectively
Mealtime (bolus) insulin
Rapid-acting	Lispro (Humalog®)	Five to 15 minutes	One to two hours	Three to four hours
	Aspart (Novolog®)	Five to 15 minutes	One to two hours	Three to four hours
	Glulisine (Aprida®)	Five to 15 minutes	One to two hours	Three to four hours
Short-acting	Regular (Novolin®; Humulin®)	30 to 45 minutes	Two to three hours	Four to eight hours
Background (based) insulin
Intermediate-acting	NPH	Two to four hours	Four to eight hours	10 to 16 hours
	Lente	Two to four hours	Four to eight hours	10 to 16 hours
Prolonged intermediate-acting	Ultralente	Three to five hours	Eight to 12 hours	18 to 20 hours
Long-acting	Glargine (Lantus®)	Two hours	No peak	24 hours
Premixed insulin
Background/mealtime	75/25 with Lispro	Five to 15 minutes	Bolus/background One to two hours/four to eight hours	10 to 16 hours
	70/30 with Aspart	Five to 15 minutes	Bolus/background One to two hours/four to eight hours	10 to 16 hours
	70/30 or 50/50 with Regular	30 to 45 minutes	Bolus/background One to two hours/four to eight hours	10 to 16 hours

To make an appointment with International Diabetes Center, call 952-993-3393 or toll-free at 888-825-6315.