How fast does insulin lispro work?
- Lispro starts working within 0 to 15 minutes of administration
- Lispro can be given 15 minutes before a meal or with a meal.
- Lispro is more convenient and safer than regular insulin.
Lispro is an analog insulin that is made by genetically modifying the structure of human insulin to give it a faster onset of effect and a shorter duration of action. Lispro:
- Starts working within 0 to 15 minutes after administration
- Peaks in 30 to 90 minutes
- Keeps working for less than five hours (usually two to four hours).
This means it can be administered 15 minutes before or with a meal. This has safety benefits over regular insulin that needs to be administered 30 minutes before food, especially if a meal is delayed or forgotten because hypoglycemia may result.
Lispro also has a shorter duration of effect than regular insulin. This allows it to better mimic how insulin is naturally released in people without diabetes and reduces the risk of side effects such as low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia) following a meal.
How is lispro made?
Insulin lispro is an analog insulin; another name for this is a genetically modified insulin. Human insulin is made up of a linked A and B polypeptide chains and insulin lispro is made by switching the sequence of two beta-chain amino acids: the proline at B-28 is switched with the lysine at B-29.
This results in more rapid dissolution of the insulin to a dimer and then to a monomer which means it is absorbed more rapidly after subcutaneous injection and lasts for less than five hours.
Although one unit of insulin lispro has the same glucose-lowering effect as one unit of regular insulin, it has:
- Faster subcutaneous absorption
- An earlier and greater insulin peak
- More rapid post-peak decreases.
A longer-acting form of insulin lispro is also available called insulin lispro protamine suspension.
Humalog 75:25 contains insulin lispro protamine suspension as the intermediate-acting insulin and insulin lispro as the short-acting insulin.
Related Questions
- Toujeo vs Lantus - What's the difference between them?
- How and where should I inject insulin?
- Can Trulicity be used with insulin?
What is insulin?
Insulin is a hormone that is produced naturally in our bodies. Its main role is to allow cells throughout the body to uptake glucose (sugar) and convert it into a form that can be used by these cells for energy. Without insulin, we cannot survive, and death from diabetes was a common occurrence until insulin was discovered in the early 1900s by Frederick Banting and Charles Best.
References
- Humalog Lilly https://www.drugs.com/pro/humalog.html
Read next
Related medical questions
- What is insulin icodec?
- Is Toujeo a fast or long-acting insulin?
- What type of insulin is Humalog?
- Is Admelog fast-acting insulin?
- Levemir vs Lantus: What's the difference?
- What is the difference between regular insulin and lispro (Humalog)?
- Humalog vs Novolog (Novalog): What's the difference?
- Are Humulin and Humalog the same thing?
- Toujeo vs Tresiba - What's the difference between them?
- Are glucagon and glycogen the same thing?
- Is Novolin the same as Humulin?
- Humulin N vs Humulin R - What's the difference?
- How long can Humulin be unrefrigerated?
- Does Tresiba cause weight gain?
- Is Humulin fast or long-acting insulin?
- How long does Humulin last?
- When is the best time to administer Humalog insulin?
- Insulin vs Glucagon - What do they have in common?
- When does NPH insulin peak?
- Is Tresiba a long acting insulin?
- Which type of insulin has the longest duration of action?
- Can regular and lispro insulin (Humalog) be mixed?
- What's the buzz on Ozempic and Wegovy?
- Can Admelog (insulin lispro) be used in insulin pumps?
- Is NPH a long acting insulin?
- What kind of insulin is NPH?
- How does diazoxide slow insulin?
- How do you use the GlucaGen hypokit?
- What is Diabetes?
- How do medications help with diabetes?
Drug information
Related support groups
- Insulin (85 questions, 223 members)
- Insulin Lispro (13 questions, 7 members)
- Diabetes, Type 2 (455 questions, 1,411 members)
- Diabetes, Type 1 (82 questions, 142 members)
- Diabetes Mellitus (20 questions, 24 members)