All There is to Know About Insulin

Type of Insulin & Brand Names	Onset	Peak	Duration	Role in Blood Sugar Management
Rapid-Acting
Humalog or lispro	15-30 min.	30-90 min	3-5 hours	Rapid-acting insulin covers insulin needs for meals eaten at the same time as the injection. This type of insulin is used with longer-acting insulin.
Novolog or aspart	10-20 min.	40-50 min.	3-5 hours
Apidra or glulisine	20-30 min.	30-90 min.	1-2½ hours
Short-Acting
Regular (R) humulin or novolin	30 min. -1 hour	2-5 hours	5-8 hours	Short-acting insulin covers insulin needs for meals eaten within 30-60 minutes
Velosulin (for use in the insulin pump)	30 min.-1 hour	2-3 hours	2-3 hours
Intermediate-Acting
NPH (N)	1-2 hours	4-12 hours	18-24 hours	Intermediate-acting insulin covers insulin needs for about half the day or overnight. This type of insulin is often combined with rapid- or short-acting insulin.
Lente (L)	1-2½ hours	3-10 hours	18-24 hours
Long-Acting
Ultralente (U)	30 min.-3 hours	10-20 hours	20-36 hours	Long-acting insulin covers insulin needs for about one full day. This type of insulin is often combined, when needed, with rapid- or short-acting insulin.
Lantus	1-1½ hour	No peak time; insulin is delivered at a steady level	20-24 hours
Levemir or detemir	1-2 hours	6-8 hours	Up to 24 hours
Pre-Mixed*
Humulin 70/30	30 min.	2-4 hours	14-24 hours	These products are generally taken twice a day before mealtime.
Novolin 70/30	30 min.	2-12 hours	Up to 24 hours
Novolog 70/30	10-20 min.	1-4 hours	Up to 24 hours
Humulin 50/50	30 min.	2-5 hours	18-24 hours
Humalog mix 75/25	15 min.	30 min.-2½ hours	16-20 hours
*Premixed insulins are a combination of specific proportions of intermediate-acting and short-acting insulin in one bottle or insulin pen (the numbers following the brand name indicate the percentage of each type of insulin).