Insulin

The inside info

Let’s start with the basics

Insulin is produced by the pancreas and is a type of hormone. The insulin that you inject comes from one of two sources:

Human insulin. Scientists have discovered a way to engineer certain types of bacteria to produce an insulin that is identical to human insulin.
Animal insulin.This comes from the pancreas of cows or pigs. The make-up of this insulin is similar to that produced by humans with a few differences.

Insulin comes under different names ...

... and there are different types.

By talking to your doctor and healthcare team you may find you are taking a combination of insulins and are generally injecting two to four times a day (or maybe more), or having continuous insulin by a pump.

Whatever you’re doing, your diary or log book becomes really important to help work out if this is the best thing for you.

The whole package

If you are using a pen injector your insulin will be in a cartridge. If you are using a syringe to inject, you will draw up your insulin from a bottle or vial.

The needles on the pen injector or syringe need to be injected under the skin - not into a muscle or vein as would happen when you have an injection in hospital or a blood test. Once injected, the insulin is then absorbed into your bloodstream.

Storing your insulin

How to store your insulin properly.

Find out more