Cheaper R and NPH Insulins as Effective for Type 2 as Expensive Analogs

Page changed: Insulin for Type 2

Added reference to a new study of hospitalized people with Type 2 diabetes that found no significant differences in blood sugar control using R and NPH as compared to using the more expensive Levemir and Novolog combination.

Note that the target blood sugar in this study was very high, so it does not entirely answer the question of whether tighter and healthier control is easier with the newer insulins.

Since I have personally gotten very good control using R in the past--better, actually, than I get with analog insulins, my guess is that the only reason that R (regular human) insulin has been dropped from most physicians' prescribing habits is because it is not promoted by drug salespeople. Since R insulins cost less than 1/3 of what the analogs cost, this should be no surprise.

R insulin is an excellent choice for anyone who has poor insurance or who is having serious problems with post-meal hypos since its slightly slower action makes it easier to test and correct before you hypo. It also works very well with a lower carb diet or a diet rich in slow digesting carbs because of the shape of its activity curve.