What insulin medications are approved to treat diabetes?

What insulin medications are approved to treat diabetes?

There are many types of insulins for diabetes. If you need insulin, you healthcare team will discuss the different types and if they are to be combined with oral medications. To follow is a brief review of insulin types.

• Rapid-acting insulins: These insulins are taken 15 minutes before meals, they peak (when it best lowers blood glucose) at one hour and work for another two to four hours. Examples include insulin glulisine (Apidra®), insulin lispro (Humalog®) and insulin aspart (NovoLog®).
• Short-acting insulins: These insulins take about 30 minutes to reach your bloodstream, reach their peak effects in two to three hours and last for three to six hours. An example is insulin regular (Humulin R®).
• Intermediate-acting insulins: These insulins reach your bloodstream in two to four hours, peak in four to 12 hours and work for up to 18 hours. An example in NPH.
• Long-acting insulins: These insulins work to keep your blood sugar stable all day. Usually, these insulins last for about 18 hours. Examples include insulin glargine (Basaglar®, Lantus®, Toujeo®), insulin detemir (Levemir®) and insulin degludec (Tresiba®).

There are insulins that are a combination of different insulins. There are also insulins that are combined with a GLP-1 receptor agonist medication (e.g. Xultophy®, Soliqua®).