If you are controlling diabetes glucose levels with insulin supplementation, you are most certainly suffering from diabetes type 1, a chronic condition that is sometimes also considered to be an autoimmune disease because it affects the cells within the pancreas that are charged with the formation and secretion of insulin. Administered with the help of daily injections, insulin is vital to your survival and as such your physician will take great care to prescribe the kind of synthesized formulation of supplemental insulin that is the most complementary fit to your body type, insulin deficiency, and response to glucose levels in the blood.

Those unfamiliar with controlling diabetes levels with insulin supplementation will be surprised to learn that there are a number of different formulas, even though only about three manufacturers are known to provide the majority of the currently available forms of the hormone.

1. The slowest acting form of the drug is concurrently the longest acting one and is useful for those whose glucose levels are well controlled and do not spike. Generally speaking, one injection provides more than 24 hours of effectiveness, but the downside rests in the fact that upon injection there is no measurable effect within the bloodstream for about five hours.
2. With a slightly shorter duration of active control, the formula that offers about 18 hours of systemic glucose control is achieved via the use of intermediates. Such an insulin formula will take about two hours to present with any measurable effects on glucose in the bloodstream, but its long lasting formula makes up for this. Those with set mealtimes and well controlled glucose levels may benefits from this more than the other formulas.
3. Those who still require frequent adjustments will require the insulin formula that becomes effective in controlling glucose within as little as one half hour and will continue on working for about six to seven hours. Granted, this will usually require two or more injections per day, but the level of control is highly desirable.
4. The final and fastest acting form of insulin sets to work in as little as five minutes. This is a premier emergency dose if an unanticipated spike in blood glucose is experienced or a prior dose was forgotten and the spike has already occurred. The downside of using this formula rests in the fact that it remains active for only about three hours and thus will need to be reapplied frequently.

Controlling diabetes glucose levels with insulin is a process that requires great discipline with respect to nutritional choices, timing of both nutritional intake and subcutaneous supplementation of the insulin itself, and of course the understanding that changing situations will require adjustments when it comes to the administration of the synthesized hormone. Patients who have a hard time keeping their glucose from spiking are often encouraged to write down their blood values, times of injections and also times of food consumption, and then with the help of a highly trained physician seek to tweak the schedule for a better control of the blood levels.