NovoRapid v Fiasp

Starting with a disclaimer. This is my own personal experience and may not necessarily reflect how different insulin products will work in your body. 

In December my diabetic nurse changed my insulin. Long acting was changed from Lantus to Tresiba and fast acting was changed from NovoRapid to Fiasp. I started Tresiba straight away even though I had a full box of 5 lantus pens left. I gave the lantus to my nurse to give to another patient. I was halfway through a NovoRapid box so decided to wait until they were finished before starting Fiasp. I could see a change, for the better, in control of my blood sugar after only a few days of being on Tresiba. 

About a month later I started Fiasp. I took one less unit than I would have for my first meal with it. I was a bit high after so topped up with a couple of units as I would have done with NovoRapid. I was high before taking Tresiba that night. 

There was another time I needed to go somewhere one afternoon after eating my lunch. I checked and was over 11 so felt sure I could get there and back without worrying about a hypo. I got half way to where I needed and felt low. Both freestyle libre and meter confirmed I was hypo. So I sat on a wall (the weather was fine) and took a few glucose tablets. Once my blood sugar was back up it was too late to get where I needed so I popped into a nearby shop to get a snack in case of another low and went home. My blood sugar was in the high teens when checking before my next meal.

Here's what Fiasp felt like to me. The more I took the longer it felt like it lasted in my system but it never lasted as long as NovoRapid. It acted too quickly to be effective on slow release carbs at times. Whereas if I took 2 units of NovoRapid it'd last as long as 12 units even though the effects would be proportionately different. I needed less units generally to cover a meal with Fiasp but the effect of NovoRapid is more consistent. Once I was out of range under Fiasp it was a lot more tricky to regain control. But in range it felt pretty good. 

I asked my diabetic nurse to send me a new prescription for NovoRapid when I was coming to the end of my supply of Fiasp because I didn't like Fiasp overall. 

I'm back on NovoRapid now and I think NovoRapid and Tresiba are the best fast and long-acting insulin combination for me.

I Only Took 2 Units Today

A few weeks ago I was at work and couldn't take insulin at break time because I never brought a needle for my insulin pen. I ate anyway because my break at work is when I eat breakfast. My blood sugar went above 15mmol/l when I checked myself before leaving work and was above 16 when I got home. I took insulin and ate when I got home. I made sure to replace needles in my meter pack as soon as they run out after that, rather than occasionally forgetting the night before.

Today I checked myself as normal before break. I was 4.4 so decided to wait until after eating before taking insulin as I was going to be more active after break and wanted to bring my sugar up. I checked myself a while after break before getting into the most hard working task of the day and it was only gone up to 5.1 so ended up not taking any insulin at work. A big contrast from a couple of weeks previously. 

I had to be somewhere in the afternoon after work and it was about a 40min walk from where I live. My blood sugar was above 11 when I got home from work so I took 2 units in the leg and ate a banana on the way. On the way back my blood sugar read 4.4 again so I used it as an excuse to eat a Dr. Coy's chocolate bar. I also called into another shop for a small Schar chocolate bar. 

It's 17:20 as I'm writing this and I've only taken 2 units of insulin all day. It's amazing how different the need for insulin can be on a given day. It's also amazing the how different factors like activity levels and even the difference between warmer and cooler weather can affect one's need for insulin.