Both analog insulins and human insulins have long-acting (basal) and rapid-acting (prandial) versions.

  • Analog insulins are categorized by rapid-acting, long-acting, and ultra-long-acting.
  • Human insulins are categorized by regular/short-acting and intermediate-acting. You may also hear human insulins categorized as R or NPH, which is the same as regular or intermediate-acting, respectively.

Analog insulin types:

Type Function Examples
Ultra-rapid-acting Onset: 12-20 min after injection

Peak: 30 min – 2 hours

Duration: 2-7 hours

Insulin aspart (Fiasp)

Insulin lispro (Lyumjev)

Insulin human inhalation (Afrezza)

Rapid-acting Onset: 30 min after injection

Peak: 1-2 hours after injection

Duration: 3-5 hours

Insulin aspart (NovoLog, Lispro)

Insulin glulisine (Apidra)

Insulin lispro (Admelog, Humalog)

Long-acting Onset: 1-2 hours after injection

Peak: none

Duration: 12-24 hours

Detemir (Levemir)

Glargine (Basaglar, Lantus, Semglee)

Ultra-long-acting Onset: 1-6 hours after injection

Peak: none

Duration: 36-42 hours

Degludec (Tresiba)

Glargine u-300 (Toujeo)

Human insulin types:

Type Function Examples
Regular or short-acting Onset: 30 min after injection

Peak: 2-3 hours after injection

Duration: 3-6 hours

Human Regular (Humulin R, Novolin R)
Intermediate-acting Onset: 2-4 hours after injection

Peak: 4-12 hours after injection

Duration: 12-18 hours

NPH (Humulin N, Novolin N)

To learn more about the types of insulin and which might be best for you, talk with your healthcare team.

Credits:

Excerpt from LEARNING CURVE

Image by Vince Alvino from Pixabay