6 Common Insulin Mistakes to Avoid

From: www.myOptumHealth.com

You can avoid insulin dosing errors. Know the six big mistakes and follow these tips when giving yourself insulin.

By Louis Neipris, M.D., Staff Writer, myOptumHealth Share
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If you inject insulin to treat your diabetes, you know how important it is to get the dose right. Too much can cause potentially life threatening hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Not enough can let your blood sugar stay too high.

You also know that you use insulin because your body doesn't make enough. It's especially important to check your blood sugar as directed by your doctor when you are on insulin therapy.

Most errors with insulin involve veteran users who get distracted or are careless for a moment. Follow these tips to avoid six common insulin mistakes.

1. Be careful when drawing up two different types of insulin. Like many people, you may take two different types of insulin each day. It's easy to make a mistake while drawing up the dosages for the two types. This is especially true if one is rapid-acting and the other is intermediate-acting. Follow your doctor's instructions carefully when you mix insulin.

TIP for glargine (Lantus) or insulin detemir (Levemir) users: Do not mix them with any other insulin.
TIP for people who use glargine or detemir along with a rapid-acting insulin: Think about using an insulin pen for the rapid-acting doses. This reduces the possibility of mixing up the dosages for the two different types of insulin.

2. Don't assume you know the type of insulin based on its looks alone. Not all fast-acting insulins are clear and not all intermediate- or long-acting insulins are cloudy. For example, glargine is a clear, "peakless" 24-hour insulin. Some pre-mixed combinations of intermediate- and rapid-acting insulins are cloudy.

TIP: Go by the label of the insulin, never by what it looks like.
TIP: Always check to make sure you received the exact type of insulin your doctor ordered from the pharmacy.

3. Don't "guesstimate" doses. Don't try to estimate a dose beyond the marked units on the syringe.

TIP: Use a syringe that is large enough to hold your whole dose of insulin.

4. Store insulin properly. Heat, extreme cold or direct sunlight can deactivate insulin.

TIP: If you have insulin delivered to your door, make sure it's not left out in the hot sun or very cold temperatures.

5. Don't forget to replace your insulin when it is expired.

TIP for rapid-acting insulin: If you keep it at room temperature, replace it after one month.
TIP for intermediate-acting insulin: If you do not refrigerate it, keep it as cool as possible (below 86 degrees F) but not frozen.
TIP for glargine: Keep glargine in the refrigerator until opened. Use opened vials within 28 days, whether they are stored in the refrigerator or not.

6. Talk to your doctor if you are sick. Your dosage might have to be adjusted.

TIP: Develop a sick day plan with your doctor ahead of time, including how much insulin to take and when to call your doctor.