Dosage Of Insulin To Diabetic Patients

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Thursday, August 26, 2010, 17:39

How many times a day I need to take Insulin?

This depends on the Insulin regimen your doctor advices; there are several regimens we use. The best regimen is to use three short acting insulin before main meals and a longer acting insulin at bedtime to take you through the night. The problem of this regimen is you need to take four injections a day. We have now insulin available in a mixed form which can be injected two times a day, before breakfast and dinner. If you are on a combination of Insulin and tablet, you can manage with one injection a day. In that case the best time to take Insulin is before dinner, not before breakfast. Recently, we have a longer acting insulin is available which works for 24 hours.

I have type 2 Diabetes; do I need to take Insulin always once I have started?

There is absolutely no reason to think like this. As we have told above, Insulin can improve pancreatic function and if the control is very good with a relatively small dose of Insulin, you can stop and start tablets to see the effects. If not successful, we can always restart Insulin. This, at least, will convince you that your body needs Insulin.

Can I take tablets along with Insulin?

Yes, tablets can be taken with Insulin. With combination treatment the dose of Insulin can be less and so is the cost. Also, with a combination the number of Insulin injection may be less, i.e., you might manage with one injection a day - usually a basal insulin. This combination is very well practiced all over the world. This is called the BIDS (Bedtime Insulin Daytime Sulfonyluria) regimen

What should be the correct dose Insulin?

There is no correct dose of Insulin; the dose depends on what your body needs. We should aim for good control, whatever the dose of Insulin you require, no point in half-hearted treatment.

Can I adjust my Insulin dose?

Absolutely, yes. Our idea is to make you comfortable with the adjustment. You know your body best, so you can adjust. It is advisable to go slow, say by 2 to 3 units at a time rather than by changing the dose too quickly.