What Is Insulin Lispro Protamine/Insulin Lispro Used For?

Insulin Lispro Protamine/Insulin Lispro Uses

Insulin lispro protamine/insulin lispro (Humalog^® Mix50/50, Humalog^® Mix75/25) is a prescription diabetes medication. It is a combination of two different types of insulins. Insulin lispro protamine is an intermediate-acting insulin, while insulin lispro is a rapid-acting insulin.

 

Humalog Mix50/50 contains more of the rapid-acting insulin and less of the intermediate-acting insulin, compared to Humalog Mix75/25.

 

The need to take insulin is usually associated with type 1 diabetes (sometimes known as juvenile-onset diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes). Although type 1 diabetes usually begins in childhood or adolescence, this is not always the case. With this type of diabetes, the pancreas stops producing insulin. This means that people with type 1 diabetes need to take insulin on a regular basis to help keep their blood sugar at the right level. Insulin is absolutely essential for people with type 1 diabetes.

 

Unlike people with type 1 diabetes, people with type 2 diabetes (sometimes called non-insulin-dependent diabetes or adult-onset diabetes) often do not need to take insulin. The problem with type 2 diabetes is that the cells of the body do not respond to insulin as well as they normally should. As a result, the cells do not remove sugar (glucose) from the blood very well, resulting in high blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia). Therefore, people with type 2 diabetes need much more insulin than is normal to control their blood sugar. The pancreas cannot keep up with such a high demand and eventually starts to fail. Generally, people with type 2 diabetes take insulin only if they simply cannot produce enough insulin (even with the help of oral diabetes medications).

 

For treating either type of diabetes, insulin lispro protamine/insulin lispro is taken immediately before meals, typically just twice a day.