# When to use Humulin I kwikpen.....



## BULLDOG64 (Jan 29, 2019)

Hi i a bit confused as to when i should use my Humulin I kwikpen before a main meal or after ?
I did read that it is best to take it before a main meal about 20 - 30 mins before but then others say its best after a main meal so now iam really confused can someone please tell me when is the best time to take it.
Thank you in advance for anyone who can put me right.......


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## SB2015 (Jan 29, 2019)

Good morning @BULLDOG64 
WHEN I first started injecting I did so just before a meal.  
Later when I was using a Libre sensor I realised how much my BG would spike after meals, even though they returned to normal levels within the 2 hours.   

Reading on here I saw that people were injecting some time before a meal.  I now do this but adjust the length of time depending on my pre meal BG.  The period of time before the meal at which I inject I have found by trial and improvement, but in general if my BG is high or on target I deliver a while before the meal, If my pre meal BG is low I wait until I am about to eat.  

I only do this pre-bokusing when I am absolutely sure of when I am going to start eating.  I do not do this in a restaurant, or when eating at friends (unless they are those that understand all this and help out with timing).

I hope that that is of some help.


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## Robin (Jan 29, 2019)

SB2015 said:


> Good morning @BULLDOG64
> WHEN I first started injecting I did so just before a meal.
> Later when I was using a Libre sensor I realised how much my BG would spike after meals, even though they returned to normal levels within the 2 hours.
> 
> ...


Humulin I is an intermediate acting insulin, though, so it’s effects dont kick in as quickly as a short acting, and it lasts 12-16 hours, so I think timing is less important. If you’ve been told to take it once a day, @BULLDOG64,  with your evening meal, it should help your levels stabilise overnight, but your diabetes team will want to introduce it gradually, and keep altering the dose til they feel they’ve got it right, so keep pestering them if you don’t think it’s working properly for you.


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## BULLDOG64 (Jan 29, 2019)

Robin said:


> Humulin I is an intermediate acting insulin, though, so it’s effects dont kick in as quickly as a short acting, and it lasts 12-16 hours, so I think timing is less important. If you’ve been told to take it once a day, @BULLDOG64,  with your evening meal, it should help your levels stabilise overnight, but your diabetes team will want to introduce it gradually, and keep altering the dose til they feel they’ve got it right, so keep pestering them if you don’t think it’s working properly for you.


Hi thanks i will do as i said i got to go and see my gp soon again so will show them my diary and see what they say thanks again....


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## BULLDOG64 (Jan 29, 2019)

SB2015 said:


> Good morning @BULLDOG64
> WHEN I first started injecting I did so just before a meal.
> Later when I was using a Libre sensor I realised how much my BG would spike after meals, even though they returned to normal levels within the 2 hours.
> 
> ...


Hi thanks for your reply it has been of some help ive been taking it after a meal so will try before meal times to see if that lowers my blood thanks again for your help......


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## SB2015 (Jan 29, 2019)

As Robin says Humaln I is a medium acting insulin. 
Some find it easier to control their levels using quick acting insulin for meals (for which my earlier reply is a lot more relevant. Thanks @Robin ).  At your next appointment it would be worth discussing different types of insulin available.
If you are in the hands of your GP it is quite possible that they will not be familiar with all the options available and it would be worth asking to be referred to a specilalist team.


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## BULLDOG64 (Jan 29, 2019)

SB2015 said:


> As Robin says Humaln I is a medium acting insulin.
> Some find it easier to control their levels using quick acting insulin for meals (for which my earlier reply is a lot more relevant. Thanks @Robin ).  At your next appointment it would be worth discussing different types of insulin available.
> If you are in the hands of your GP it is quite possible that they will not be familiar with all the options available and it would be worth asking to be referred to a specilalist team.


Thaks for letting me no i will do when i go to see my gp thanks again.......


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## trophywench (Jan 29, 2019)

If you are Type 1 as you say - why on earth have they prescribed this insulin in the first place?  It's not suitable for Type 1 people at all.

Please tell us how you came to be diagnosed.


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## BULLDOG64 (Jan 30, 2019)

trophywench said:


> If you are Type 1 as you say - why on earth have they prescribed this insulin in the first place?  It's not suitable for Type 1 people at all.
> 
> Please tell us how you came to be diagnosed.


Hi thanks for your reply's i was first diagnosed by the hospital and then by my gp they said i had type 2 put me on metformin after many blood tests my blood was still very high so they put me on metformin prolonged - release 500mg 4 tablets a day but still the same so then they gave me 100mg of sitagliptin at 1 a day + the metformin but blood results were still coming back as very high so my gp called me in and told me to take my blood levels every day before meals and after 2 hrs of eating meals give me a chart to fill in for the week which i did went back to my gp and they took one look at my readings and said sorry it looks like you are now type 1 and said that they would put me on this insulin to see how i go then to go back to them in 2 weeks with my readings to see if they need to up the dose or put me on another type of insulin.
The insulin iam using at the moment does not seem to be working as my blood level readings still seem to be high to me.
Most of the males in my family are type 1 so maybe i was diagnosed wrong in the first place only time will tell when i go back to my gp next-week.......


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## Robin (Jan 30, 2019)

You wouldn’t be the first to be misdiagnosed as Type 2 in the first instance because of your age, i certainly was! It sounds like Type1 runs in your family. Sometimes in older people the onset is more gradual, so a full basal/bolus onsulin regime isn’t felt necessary to start with. If the Humulin I isn’t controlling your levels, though, it sounds like you may have reached the point where a full insulin regime is the way forward.


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## BULLDOG64 (Jan 30, 2019)

Robin said:


> You wouldn’t be the first to be misdiagnosed as Type 2 in the first instance because of your age, i certainly was! It sounds like Type1 runs in your family. Sometimes in older people the onset is more gradual, so a full basal/bolus onsulin regime isn’t felt necessary to start with. If the Humulin I isn’t controlling your levels, though, it sounds like you may have reached the point where a full insulin regime is the way forward.


Thanks mate as i said ive got to go back next week so will see what they say then it could be that iam the same as my dad he was type 2 at first then later in life he became type 1.....


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## SB2015 (Jan 30, 2019)

Hi @BULLDOG64 as a type 1 it is well worth pushing for Basal Bolus regime.  You may not be able to rely on the GP being familiar with appropriate management of T1 and also they seem to get confused with those of us who have a slower onset.  Do you know what tests the hospital did when they said you were T1.  Worth finding out, as if you were Gad Antibodies positive (they are the pests that set out to destroy your beta cells) then you have T1, however slowly it progresses.

Back to Basal/Bolus regime.  This system is so much more flexible as it makes it possible to adjust background insulin to deal with the glucose dribbled out by your liver, and then the Bolus can be matched at each meal to the carbs you eat. (But I suspect you know all this if you other members of the family with T1)

I hope things get sorted for you.


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## trophywench (Jan 30, 2019)

Thanks for explaining the story so far.

When you say your blood glucose isn't under control - what sort of numbers are you seeing at the moment?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Feb 17, 2019)

I’ve moved your thread out of the pumping section @BULLDOG64, as you might get more responses in the general board, and your question doesn’t relate to insulin pumps.


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