Lesson 46: Basic Types of Insulin

The goal of insulin therapy is strict blood glucose control
Rapid Acting
Humalog, Novolog
Onset-15 mins
Peak- 1 hour
Duration- 3 hours
Client Teaching-Give with meals

Short Acting
Humalog R, Novolin R
Onset-1 hour
Peak- 2 hours
Onset- 4 hours
Client Teaching- Clear appearance
Only type that can be given IV

Intermediate Acting
NPH, Humulin N
Onset-4 hours
Peak-8 hours
Duration- 12 hours
Client Teaching- Cloudy appearance
When mixing insulin draw Regular before Intermediate
Think "clear before cloudy"

Long Acting
Lantus
Onset 1 hour
Peak- No peak (continuous)
Duration- 24 hours
Client Teaching- Taken at bedtime

General Insulin Teaching
Inject subcutaneously-do not aspirate
Do not massage site after injection
Rotate injection site
May need to decrease insulin after exercise to prevent hypoglycemia

Oral Antidiabetic Agents
Must be used in conjunction with diet and exercise
comes in tablet form
give 30 minutes before meals
used to treat type 2 diabetes only
Do not give to type 1 diabetics
Examples: Metformin, Byetta, Glucophage, Avandia

Side Effects:
GI disturbance (diarrhea, nausea, etc.)
Headache
Weight gain

Client Teaching:-Several medications interfere with Oral antidiabetics:
Coumadin
Oral Contraceptives
Corticosteriods
Symptoms of hyper/hypoglycemia

Don't go into the NCLEX blindfolded let me tell you what to expect.