How is insulin taken? How many different ways are there to take insulin?

How is insulin taken? How many different ways are there to take insulin?

Insulin is available in several different formats. You and your healthcare provider will decide which delivery method is right for you based on your preference, lifestyle, insulin needs and insurance plan. Here’s a quick review of available types.

• Needle and syringe: With this method, you’ll insert a needle into a vial of insulin, pull back the syringe and fill the needle with the proper dose of insulin. You’ll inject the insulin into your belly or thigh, buttocks or upper arm – rotating the injection spots. You may need to give yourself one or more shots a day to maintain your target blood glucose level.
• Insulin pen: This device looks like a pen with a cap. They come prefilled with insulin or with insulin cartridges that are inserted and replaced after use.
• Insulin pump: Insulin pumps are small, computerized devices, about the size of a small cell phone that you wear on your belt, in your pocket, or under your clothes. They deliver rapid-acting insulin 24 hours a day through a small flexible tube called a cannula. The cannula is inserted under the skin using a needle. The needle is then removed leaving only the flexible tube under the skin. You replaces the cannula every two to three days. Another type of insulin pump is attached directly to your skin and does not use tubes.
• Artificial pancreas (also called a closed loop insulin delivery system): This system uses an insulin pump linked to a continuous glucose monitor. The monitor checks your blood glucose levels every five minutes and then the pump delivers the needed dose of insulin.
• Insulin inhaler: Inhalers allow you to breath in powdered inhaler through an inhaler device that you insert into your mouth. The insulin is inhaled into your lungs, then absorbed into your bloodstream. Inhalers are only approved for use by adults with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.
• Insulin injection port: This delivery method involves the placement of a short tube into tissue beneath your skin. The port is held in place with an adhesive patch. You use a needle and syringe or insulin pen and inject the insulin through this port. The port is changed every few days. The port provides a single site for injection instead of having to rotate injection sites.
• Jet injector: This is a needleless delivery method that uses high pressure to send a fine spray of insulin through your skin.