If you’re living with type 2 diabetes, your doctor may suggest you use insulin to help control your blood sugar levels. Doing this will help you stay in charge of your health and keep your diabetes under control.

Not sure what short-acting insulin is or why your doctor has asked you to use it? No problem. Here’s what you should know about this important medication for controlling diabetes.

1. Short-Acting Insulin Is Also Known as Regular Insulin

Short-acting insulin is also known as regular insulin. It’s one of the more common forms of insulin used today because it acts quickly enough to be useful for people with type 2 diabetes around mealtimes. People with other types of diabetes, like type 1 diabetes or gestational diabetes, may also use insulin.

Your healthcare provider may use these two terms interchangeably. Some providers may focus on one term or the other. No matter what you hear, these two phrases refer to the same type of insulin.

What Are Short-Acting Insulins?

Short-acting insulins work fast to help your body use insulin the way it should. It’s usually given as an injection with a syringe (needle). You can learn to give these to yourself so you can use insulin whenever your doctor tells you to use it.

2. Short-Acting Insulin Is Different From Rapid-Acting Insulin

Short-acting insulin and rapid-acting insulin are not the same thing. This can be confusing for some people. Rapid-acting insulin works faster than short-acting insulin. It also peaks in your bloodstream faster and doesn’t last as long. If you have questions about what kind of insulin you’re using or should be using, talk to your medical provider to get some clarity.

3. Short-Acting Insulin Is Also Different From Long-Acting Insulin

Other types include intermediate-acting, long-acting, and ultra-long-acting insulin. These all work differently in your body than short-acting insulin. Your doctor may have you take one of these medications as well as short-acting insulin to control your blood sugar throughout the day, not just around mealtimes.

4. Short-Acting Insulin Helps Lower Blood Sugar Levels

When you’re living with type 2 diabetes, your body usually makes insulin but doesn’t use it the way it should. Your body becomes resistant to insulin, so you need to make more and more to have the same effects. If your body can’t keep up, your blood sugar levels go up, and you develop type 2 diabetes. Sometimes, type 2 diabetes may mean that your pancreas doesn’t make insulin, or doesn’t make enough for your needs.

When this happens, your body needs more insulin to function properly. Insulin helps lower your blood sugar levels by moving sugar, or glucose, into your cells. Then, your body can use this sugar as energy instead of letting it build up in your bloodstream. Insulin also helps your liver stop releasing extra glucose, which can cause more problems.

5. Take Short-Acting Insulin 30 Minutes Before a Meal

Most doctors recommend taking your short-acting insulin approximately half an hour before eating. Since this type of insulin starts working somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes after it’s injected, it will provide your body with insulin when it needs it most — after you eat food that needs to be broken down and effectively used as energy.

You may need to take different amounts of short-acting insulin based on what you plan to eat. If you’re going to eat more carbohydrates, you may need to take more insulin. This usually involves carb counting or learning how to estimate the number of carbohydrates a meal contains. If you need to do this, your doctor will make sure you understand the process before having you apply it.

Your healthcare team may tell you to use short-acting insulin in other situations, too. You should always follow their advice as closely as possible so you can get maximum control over your blood sugar. If they have additional goals for you beyond controlling blood sugar around meals, they’ll tell you what to do to achieve these.

6. Short-Acting Insulin Has Some Risks

Like all medications, there are some risks of taking short-acting insulin. These may happen if you don’t take the right amount of insulin or don’t time it correctly before eating. If your mealtimes are out of your control, these may be more likely to happen.

Some risks and side effects of short-acting insulin include:

• Low blood sugar, or hypoglycemia — If you take too much insulin, you may feel confused or dizzy
• Allergic reaction — If you haven’t used short-acting insulin before or you’re changing the brand or type, look out for swelling and trouble breathing
• Low potassium, or hypokalemia — If you feel weak or your muscles cramp after taking insulin, you may be experiencing low potassium
• High blood sugar, or hyperglycemia — This can make you feel nauseated and like you need to urinate all the time

If you have any unusual or unexpected symptoms after using your short-acting insulin, get medical help right away. Similarly, if you take a dose and then can’t eat, keep an eye on your symptoms. You may need to find some food quickly or see a doctor to help raise your blood sugar.

7. The Benefits of Short-Acting Insulin Usually Outweigh the Risks

Type 2 diabetes has a lot of complications if it’s not well managed. It can affect your heart, lungs, eyes, kidneys, nerves, skin, and more. Keeping your blood sugar under control becomes important to avoid complications.

Since short-acting insulin helps control your blood sugar, especially around meals, it’s an important part of preventing other health issues with diabetes. Having control over your blood glucose levels is usually worth the potential risks associated with short-acting insulin. If you’re concerned about how this all balances out in your particular case, talk to your healthcare provider to get the answers you need.

8. Your Healthcare Provider Will Tell You How Much Short-Acting Insulin To Use

You don’t have to figure out short-acting insulin on your own. In fact, you shouldn’t. Your diabetes care team will tell you how much to take and when to take it. All you need to do is follow their instructions. They will calculate how much insulin you need to lower your blood sugar by determining your insulin-to-carbohydrate issue. You can apply this when eating any meal, after you’ve learned to determine (and eventually correctly estimate) the amount of carbohydrates in every meal.

In addition, you should keep track of how your body responds to the insulin you inject. This is especially true when you’re just starting to use it to treat type 2 diabetes. You may need more or less insulin than your doctor originally prescribed. The timing of your insulin injections may depend on the type you use.

If tracking insulin and blood sugar levels is hard for you, talk to your doctor about using a patch or an insulin pump. These can help you assess your glucose levels and make sure you get the treatment you need when you need it. Your doctor can also monitor your A1c levels to make sure your type 2 diabetes is under control in the long term, as well as the short term.

Your healthcare provider should be there to support you as you learn to live with type 2 diabetes. They can guide you through the different treatment options. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions about short‑acting insulin.

Find Your Team

On DiabetesTeam, the social network for people with type 2 diabetes and their loved ones, members come together to ask questions, give advice, and share their stories with others who understand life with type 2 diabetes.

Do you use short-acting insulin? How has it affected your overall blood glucose levels? Share your experience in the comments below, or start a conversation by posting on your Activities page.