Insulin and its Delivery

In this article, I will take you through the various options of delivering insulin to a Type1 Diabetic and also the two main types of insulin based on their active time.

Insulin & its function:

Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells of pancreas which in turn is responsible for the control of blood glucose in the body. We all know that because of the stoppage of secretion of insulin, T1D occurs. Let’s see how a normal human body without T1D, responds to spikes in glucose levels.

So , when a non-diabetic eats something, it will get into the digestion process which is a normal one. After digestion, slowly various nutrients are released into the blood along with glucose as well. When this high amount of glucose (carbs) enters into the blood, our body automatically triggers the beta cells in the pancreas. These cells then release a bit higher amount of insulin to balance the spikes in blood glucose . How complex and wonderful our human body is!!😎

Note: Even if you are idle and haven’t eaten anything for a long time, there is always a minimal amount of insulin that circulates around the body which is responsible for blood glucose control. Because blood glucose is not only affected by the food. There are so many factors . But the major one is food.

Now things are totally upside down for a type 1 diabetic. If he/she eats something, blood sugar spikes enormously because of lack of insulin which in turn is because of destroyal of Beta Cells of Pancreas. So , a type 1 diabetic has to get his/her insulin by some external means. And this is for life long . No other option. 😶

Types of Delivering Insulin:

There are few various types of delivering insulin to a human body from external means.

Syringe & Vial:

This is how a syringe and vial looks like. Need to get the required dosage into the syringe before injecting. Then a shot of dose .🤨 This the oldest method of injecting any medicine into the body. Also it is less expensive . But quite tricky and a lot of patience is needed. Need to carry so much fuss in his or her bag. So as technology advanced, some new options came into existence.

Insulin Pens:

This is how a typical reusable insulin pen looks like. More like a normal refill pen. Only difference is instead of ink, we fill it with a refill of insulin in the reservoir. This refill of insulin is called Insulin Cartridge. And a needle is attached at the tip of the pin to inject . This needs to be changed frequently for 4 or 5 shots. A push button with dosage setting dial is at the top to adjust the dose and deliver the shot. This is a reusable pen because, once the cartridge gets empty, we can refill the reservoir with a new cartridge. There is another type of pen called use and throw pen which comes with a prefilled insulin. And once it gets used up fully, we have to throw away. Can’t refill.

This system is actually very compact . Carrying is so easy like a normal pen and no such worries like in carrying a syringe and vial. But the price of this system is expensive compared to the syringe system.

I am using Insulin Pens only. I am very much comfortable with it and very easy to carry anywhere for giving a shot.

Insulin Pump:

Next comes the most advanced system of delivering insulin.

This is how a typical insulin pump system attached to a type 1 diabetic looks like. A small needle is present in the white patch which is inserted into the skin. This part is called Cannula. This cannula is connected to the insulin reservoir in the pump device through a tube . And some controls will be there in the pump to select a dose setting which delivers dosage continuously like how a normal pancreas in human body does. So it is like, a constant amount will always be flowing according to the setting.This will be very small like how pancreas delivers small amount of insulin when we are not eating. At the time of eating, need to change the dosage setting in the device such that the dose for that food is being delivered correctly to regulate the spike. Excellent control is possible with pumps . But this system is very very expensive and the maintenance cost is also very high.

There are some tubeless pumps as well which deliver insulin from the reservoir via a bluetooth signal which are still more expensive.

Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages. One such case is like, while using pens or syringes, there will be two types of insulin will be injected normally. One type is basal , slow acting insulin (analogic to the less amount of insulin delivered by pancreas while not eating) . And another one is bolus, fast acting insulin to cover the glucose spikes results from eating the food.

So Basal type of insulin is normally given one time per day to function throughout the day. And bolus type of insulin is given many times like whenever we eat. In pens or syringes this is how it is done. But in Pumps, only one type of insulin will be there.That is bolus type of insulin. Normally they will be delivering this bolus type of insulin in a very slow rate as explained in the pump section and at a faster rate based on setting when we eat something. So if something anamoly happens in the pump functioning, the person will be having no insulin in the body unlike the pen or syringe type . He / She has high chances of going into Diabetic Keto Acidosis(DKA) very quickly due to unregulated blood sugar levels. So that’s why each has its own merits and demerits.

Similarly tight control is not possible using pens or syringes(Of course possible with rigid plan), but with pumps it can be done very easily.

So these are the main ways of delivering insulin to a body from outside.

Take a look at the first insulin pump which is below. You will be wondered by its size. Bye 😎