I've been on Novolog MDI for almost 6 months now. I've never tried any other insulins. I take no basal, so a pump really isn't the answer for me at this point. Although Novolog MDI seems to be working quite well for me (latest a1c = 5.7) I'm quite interested in trying the other two as well. Do any of you have any experiences and comments on differences you noticed with two or more of these rapid actings? Thanks, Sam
Humalog and Novolog are essentially the same and people choose whichever is covered by their insurance. Apidra acts faster but doesn't last as long so it won't cover longer digesting meals as well.
Thanks for your answer on 'how low is low'. I was wondering why is it that you don't take any basal - your body produces some insulin or you just take more boluses?
All analog insulins are protected property of the company that invented them. This is because their protein sequence has been altered to speed up their unfolding after injection. Thus ALL analog insulins are different in their sequence. Years of clinical trials were necessary to prove that these insulins are safe for humans. This also means that we can show different reactions to these insulins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insulin_analog (you better do not read the section criticism. It has been written by idiots that do not believe in analog insulins - although most diabetics can see huge differences compared to human insulin).
I would recommend to try different analog insulins (at least NovoRapid and Apidra). Just to see differences at the one, two and three hour mark that might be worth to switch. In general NovoRapid has often a tail and Apidra has no tail. This little difference might make NovoRapid more versatily because we often eat food that contains slowly absorbed ingredients. The tail can help to cover these. In contrast with Apidra you might have better post prandial numbers but later you see the BG rising again. The advantage of the missing tail is that you might be less cautious about physical activity in the hours after the injection. A typical trade off situation.
Yes, during this "honeymoon period" I am producing enough on my own while fasting, but as soon as I eat it skyrockets...
Thanks for this description Holger.. I may trade off from Apidra to Novolog ( Is that the same as Novorapid, the name in Germany? Have not seen it here in Ohio)for the winter months, when I do not exercise as much and the missing tail is not needed. . Now I know why the Apidra does not seem to work as well unless I use an extended bolus after high fat meals, as opposed to how the Novolog did when I usedit, several years ago on MDI.But the apidra is free until the end of the year.. As you said,there are trade-offs.. Thanks so much, again, for your wonderful information.
God Bless,
Brunetta
Yes Novolog and Novorapid are the same insulin, different names.
Apidra shows its qualities used in a pump: you can always extend time of action with an extended bolus if you need, but in no way you can force insulin to act sooner, so the faster the better.
MDI is different
Yes, NovoRapid is the same as NovoLog. Obviously they thought that "Rapid" sounds more appealing than "Log".