When is the best time to take insulin?

For diabetic patients, they generally need to inject insulin regularly, so as to control blood sugar in the body and avoid some symptoms. When injecting insulin, it is best to inject it about 15 minutes before meals. Diabetes experts told us that it is best to inject insulin before meals, which is also to promote the absorption and effect of insulin.

When is the best time to take insulin?

1. Usually insulin is injected 15 minutes before meals. If your blood sugar level is high, you should inject insulin 45 minutes before meals. If your blood sugar level is low, you should inject insulin during meals.

2. The American Diabetes Association recommends using insulin based on blood sugar levels 45 minutes before meals, which helps control the rise in blood sugar after meals. If the blood sugar level 45 minutes before a meal is lower than 2.8 mmol/L, inject insulin during the meal; if the blood sugar level 45 minutes before a meal is 2.8-3.9 mmol/L, inject insulin after the meal; if the blood sugar level 45 minutes before a meal is 3.9-6.7 mmol/L, inject insulin 15 minutes before the meal; if the blood sugar level 45 minutes before a meal is 6.7-10 mmol/L, inject insulin 30 minutes before the meal; if the blood sugar level 45 minutes before a meal is higher than 10 mmol/L, inject insulin 45 minutes before the meal.

Should insulin be injected before or after meals?

Generally speaking, insulin injections must be performed before meals. In order to allow time for insulin to be absorbed and take effect, when using short-acting insulin, the injection method is usually adopted 15-30 minutes before meals. Rapid-acting insulin works more quickly. That is to say, when using this type of insulin, you can eat immediately after the injection. When insulin is used simultaneously with oral hypoglycemic drugs to treat type 2 diabetes, you can also start using intermediate-acting insulin or premixed insulin preparations.

If you use intermediate-acting insulin alone, it should be injected 30-60 minutes before breakfast, and premixed insulin preparations should be injected 30 minutes before meals. Of course, it can also be used before going to bed at night to better control fasting blood sugar. However, glargine or detemir insulin are ultra-long-acting insulin preparations that can be injected in the morning or in the evening, and are not required to be injected after a meal.

The difference between taking insulin before and after meals

1. There is a difference between injecting insulin before and after meals. Usually, short-acting and medium- and long-acting insulin are injected with food 15-30 minutes after injection, while rapid-acting insulin is injected with food immediately after injection.

2. As for the issue of booster shots after meals, it depends on which type of insulin is used. If it is fast-acting, it can be injected within 15 minutes after a meal. The effect of other blood sugar-lowering drugs is much worse.

3. Clinically, insulin is divided into short-acting, medium-acting and long-acting preparations according to how quickly the drug takes effect and how long its action lasts. Short-acting insulin takes effect half an hour after subcutaneous injection, with the peak effect occurring 1 to 3 hours after injection and the duration of action lasting 5 to 7 hours. It is mainly used to control high blood sugar after meals.

Intermediate-acting insulin takes effect 1.5 hours after subcutaneous injection, with its peak effect occurring 6 to 10 hours after injection and its duration of action being 18 to 24 hours. It is mainly used to supplement basal insulin and control basal blood sugar in the fasting state; long-acting insulin takes effect 3 to 4 hours after subcutaneous injection, with its peak effect occurring 10 to 16 hours after injection and its duration of action being 28 to 36 hours. It is also mainly used to supplement basal insulin. Clinically, long-acting insulin is usually mixed with short-acting insulin in a certain proportion and used.