Remember that the information presented here is not intended to replace the care of your own doctor. Before making any changes in the management of your own illness, you should consult your physician or other qualified medical professionals.
Question
Sometimes doctors prescribe BIDS therapy (bedtime insulin and daytime
sulfonylurea).
In such cases, why it is always NPH insulin that is recommended at bed time
and not Regular insulin?
Answer
NPH insulin is known as a
basal
or background insulin, and its job is to counteract sugar
released from
the liver during periods of fasting (such as overnight
and between meals).
Regular insulin is a
bolus
or mealtime insulin, meant to be taken a half hour before eating to cover
post-meal
blood glucose
surges. Since NPH insulin has
a larger peak and
longer duration of action than Regular
insulin, doctors use NPH to lower blood
glucose through the night and into the morning hours, hopefully
reducing the
next morning's fasting blood glucose levels.
slb
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