The only treatment for Type 1 disease is subcutaneous insulin.
Insulin replacement is designed to mimic the body's own insulin release; it is important to remember that, unlike endogenous insulin, the action of exogenous (artificial) insulin cannot be 'switched off' so too large a dose can cause hypoglycaemia and all diabetic patients must be able to recognise this.
Types of Insulin include:
- Fast Acting: Start working within 15 minutes, last for 2-3 hours.
- Novorapid, Humalog, Actrapid
- Long Acting: Slower onset, last for 20-24 hours
- Glargine, Levemir, Insulatard
- Mixtures: Combination of fast and medium acting insulins
- Mixtard 30, Humalog mix 25, Novomix 30
- NOTE: Insulin mixtures appear cloudy, all other insulin preparations are clear liquids.
The most regularly used preparations are Novorapid and Glargine.
Image by Alden Chadwick from Flickr, used under Creative Commons License