Sample Insulin Treatment Schemes

Insulin therapy is the main method of treating diabetes mellitus. It allows you to control blood glucose levels and prevent possible complications of the disease. At the same time, each patient must have an individual treatment regimen, which is selected by the doctor taking into account the duration and severity of the disease.

Insulin treatment should begin in a hospital, where doctors determine the optimal dose of the drug for each patient. If diabetes mellitus appeared 1-2 years ago, then the average daily dose of insulin is calculated from the ratio of 0.25-0.5 units per 1 kilogram of weight. With a disease duration of 3-5 years, the patient requires approximately 0.7 units of insulin per 1 kilogram of weight per day. In severe cases of the disease, at least 1 unit of insulin is needed for every kilogram of weight.

To treat type 1 diabetes mellitus, doctors most often use the following insulin therapy regimens:

1. A regimen with two insulin injections per day. In the morning and evening, with an interval of 12 hours, injections of medium-acting insulin are given. Before breakfast, lunch and dinner - injections of short-acting insulin. In this case, 2/3 of the dose of both long-acting and fast-acting insulin is administered in the first half of the day. The accepted ratio of long-acting and simple drugs is 1:1, that is, in half. Sometimes long-acting insulin can be approximately 2/3, and simple insulin - 1/3 of the daily dose of insulin.

2. A regimen with three insulin injections per day. Repeats the first one, but with the only difference that there is no injection of short-acting insulin before lunch. This is explained by the fact that sometimes the need for insulin at lunchtime is completely satisfied due to the peak of maximum activity of long-acting insulin administered in the morning. If this scheme does not work, then you cannot skip the injection of simple insulin before lunch. Here it is important to make the right choice between normal blood sugar levels and an “inconvenient” injection schedule.

3. A regimen with one evening injection of long-acting ultratard insulin and three injections of simple insulin before breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Some patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who are receiving glucose-lowering tablets need small doses of insulin. In this case, the doctor can transfer them to combined glucose-lowering therapy: in the morning before breakfast, long-acting insulin or long-acting in combination with simple insulin, in the evening - glucose-lowering tablets. If the need for insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes is high, then the insulin therapy regimen, as well as the dose of the drug, are selected in the same way as for type 1 diabetes. In this case, the pills can be discontinued completely.

In life-threatening conditions (ketoacidosis, coma), the patient, regardless of the type of diabetes, is transferred to intravenous administration of fast-acting insulin for the period of crisis. Multiple injections of only simple insulin are also used in cases of severe exacerbation of any chronic diseases, injuries, operations, and pustular skin lesions.

It is important to remember that the insulin treatment regimen is individual for each patient and may change over time depending on the effectiveness of treatment and changes in health status. Therefore, to achieve the best results, patients should consult their doctor regularly and follow his recommendations.