What’s the Best Time of Day to Take Insulin if You Have Type 2 Diabetes?

For those living with type 2 diabetes, managing blood sugar levels is a daily balancing act. For some, this includes taking insulin. 

But one common question that arises is: when is the best time of day to take insulin if you have type 2 diabetes? 

The answer depends on the type of insulin you're using, your lifestyle, your meals, and your individual treatment plan. Here’s a breakdown to help you understand the best timing and why it matters.

Understanding the Types of Insulin

Before discussing timing, it’s helpful to understand the main types of insulin prescribed for type 2 diabetes:

Basal (long-acting) insulin: Works steadily over about 24 hours. Examples include insulin glargine (Lantus), detemir (Levemir), and degludec (Tresiba).

Bolus (rapid- or short-acting) insulin: Taken before meals to manage blood sugar spikes. Examples include insulin lispro (Humalog), aspart (NovoRapid), and regular insulin.

Premixed insulin: A combination of long-acting and short-acting insulin in one dose.

Best Times to Take Insulin for Type 2 Diabetes

1. Long-Acting (Basal) Insulin

For those who take once-daily basal insulin, the timing is often flexible — but consistency is key.

Evening or bedtime is commonly recommended, especially if morning fasting levels are high.

Morning administration may suit those who experience low blood sugar overnight or have issues with remembering a bedtime dose.

Same time every day: Choose a time that you can consistently stick to — whether that’s after brushing your teeth in the morning or before bed.

Tip: Some insulins, like Tresiba, have more flexibility and don’t need to be taken at exactly the same time each day.

2. Mealtime (Bolus) Insulin

If you're on a basal-bolus regimen, rapid-acting insulin is usually taken:

10 to 15 minutes before a meal, or

Immediately after eating, if blood sugar was low beforehand or if meals are unpredictable.

The goal is to match the insulin peak with the post-meal rise in blood sugar.

3. Premixed Insulin

This is usually taken twice daily, around 30 minutes before breakfast and dinner. Timing is crucial, as it contains short-acting components that need to align with meals.

Things to Consider When Timing Your Insulin

Meal Patterns: Regular meal times help you plan insulin doses more effectively.

Exercise Routines: Physical activity can lower blood sugar, so timing around workouts is important.

Sleep Schedule: Avoiding overnight hypoglycaemia is key; some people need adjustments based on their sleeping patterns.

Shift Work or Irregular Schedules: May require a tailored approach with help from your diabetes care team.

Consult Your Healthcare Provider

Everyone’s diabetes journey is different. What works for one person may not suit another. Always consult your GP, diabetes nurse, or endocrinologist before making changes to your insulin routine. They may recommend adjustments based on your HbA1c results, glucose monitoring data, lifestyle, and other medications.

Final Thoughts

The best time to take your insulin depends on the type of insulin you use and your daily schedule. The key is consistency and coordination with meals and activity. Managing type 2 diabetes with insulin may seem daunting at first, but with the right support and routines, it becomes part of everyday life.

Here's why you might have diabetes and not even know it

As someone who was diagnosed with diabetes rather late in life (countless Doctors had apparently ignored the warning signs over the years. One Doctor is convinced I am not a Type 2 Diabetic, but rather an undiagnosed Type 1!) I am very pleased to be able to share this information with my readers. And, as a favour to other people who might be in the same situation I was in, please do share this article with other people you know. After all, you could help save their life if they have untreated diabetes.

Potentially thousands of people are mistaking the warning signs of diabetes for harmless skin conditions. Itchy or tingling skin, or cuts that take a while to heal, could well be down to common, everyday skin problems. 

But! They are also little-known symptoms of type 2 diabetes and need much greater awareness, warns a blood testing expert.

Everyday skin problems could have a more sinister cause. Itchy skin, tingling hands or a cut that takes a while to heal are usually given a quick scratch or covered with a sticking plaster. However, they are also little-known symptoms of type 2 diabetes.

London Medical Laboratory’s latest analysis reveals one million people in the UK are likely to have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes. 

As a result, it's launched a campaign to fight this invisible killer, which can shorten lives by up to ten years. ‘Give the finger to diabetes’ aims to identify undiagnosed cases with a simple fingerprick blood test. In 2019, there were almost 14,000 diabetes-related deaths in the UK. The earlier people are diagnosed, the better the outcome for them and their families.

Leading blood testing expert, Dr Avinash Hari Narayanan (MBChB), Clinical Lead at London Medical Laboratory, says: "The chances are your itchy skin is down to dryness, the tingling feeling is because you sat in an odd position and that cut that refuses to heal is because it has been covered by a plaster for too long. However, that may not always be the case.

‘We know Britain currently has 4.3 million registered diabetics, but it’s likely a million more Brits may have the disease without even knowing it. And what seems like a stubborn skin irritation may be your body warning you. Medical professionals are increasingly aware seemingly harmless skin conditions could be a symptom of type 2 diabetes.

Dry, itchy skin: 

‘Poor circulation can cause skin dryness and itchy skin and diabetes could well be the cause. Chronic high blood sugar (glucose) levels affect blood circulation by damaging the lining of your small blood vessels, which impedes circulation.

‘Similarly, this can also be seen in the development of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in diabetic patients. It’s believed 1 in 3 people over age 50 with diabetes may have PAD. Fatty deposits adhere to unhealthy blood vessels in the lower limbs, leading to blood vessel narrowing and circulation issues. This is often a cause of poor-healing wounds, nerve damage and even “limb ischaemia” (a severe blockage of the arteries), leading to a risk of amputation.

"Also, abnormal sensations that can be perceived as itches, or an itch that's hard to locate and doesn’t go away, may be related to nerve damage from chronic diabetes.

Tingling or numbness in hands, legs or feet:

"Nerve damage can cause pain, tingling or numbness. America’s Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that half of all people with diabetes have nerve damage, known as neuropathy.

"Over time, abnormal blood circulation and changes to how cells get their oxygen and nutrient supply, due to poor blood flow, will lead to nerve fibres becoming damaged, and they may eventually die or stop working altogether. 

"As a result, this blocks the brain from sending and receiving signals to and from different parts of the body, causing numbness or a tingling sensation. Such nerve damage may also lead to burning, discomfort or shooting pains. Vascular disease starts in the hands and feet before progressing centrally to the body, so nerve damage and symptoms are most notable in these areas first.

‘Diabetic neuropathy can't be reversed. Once the nerves are damaged, they cannot repair themselves. Treating neuropathy is difficult and management only addresses symptoms, so early diagnosis is vital.

Cuts that won’t heal:

‘Damaged blood vessels also result in slow wound healing and greater risk of infection. If coupled with nerve damage, wound complications may often go unnoticed until they've progressed. According to Diabetes.org, diabetics may experience more bacterial and fungal infections than people without diabetes as a result of their immune system not working as well.

"Most concerning are foot ulcers. Unhealed ulcers are the leading cause of diabetes-related amputations. Diabetes is the most common cause of lower limb amputations in the UK; someone living with the disease is 20 times more likely to have an amputation.

"Diabetic foot ulcers precede more than 80% of amputations. Again, they develop because high glucose levels damage blood vessels, affecting how blood flows to the feet and legs.

"We’ve only looked at three, lesser-known, symptoms of diabetes. There are many more hidden signs. However, one simple, diagnostic blood test, either with your GP or as a fingerprick test taken in your own home, will tell you if you have the condition before any symptoms develop. Moreover, a fingerprick blood test can also identify if you are pre-diabetic, which is an entirely reversible condition.

‘London Medical Laboratory’s fingerprick diabetes test measures “glycated haemoglobin” – commonly known as HbA1c. The “Diabetes - Diagnosis and Monitoring test” can be taken at home through the post, or at one of the many drop-in clinics that offer these tests across London and nationwide in over 95 selected pharmacies and health stores. For full details, see: https://www.londonmedicallaboratory.com/product/diabetes-check

Imager used courtesy of Gary VandenBergh from Pixabay)

Diabetics face critical medicine shortages as their drugs are snapped up for weight loss treatment

Many of Britain’s 4.3 million registered diabetics face a critical medication shortage as their treatments are snapped up by dieters trying the latest trend, weight loss jabs. A leading testing expert says the UK’s diabetes epidemic means key drugs should be saved for patients who critically depend on them.

‘Wonder’ weight loss drugs, such as Wegovy, have hit the headlines in recent weeks. They can help people shed 10%-15% of their bodyweight, largely by supressing their appetite. But some of these weight loss jabs are based on semaglutide, first developed for treating type 2 diabetes. This means the boom in demand for ‘magic bullet’ weight loss jabs is contributing to a major shortage in key diabetes medication, says a leading expert in the field.

Leading blood testing expert, Dr Avinash Hari Narayanan (MBChB), Clinical Lead at London Medical Laboratory, says: "There's now a global shortage of semaglutide-based drugs for treating diabetes. Key among these is Wegovy’s sister drug, Ozempic, used by the NHS as a treatment for managing blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes, which accounts for 90% of all diabetes cases in the UK. This will result in both acute and chronic medical complications if left unmanaged."

He went on to say: "Both Wegovy and Ozempic are produced by the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk. The problem is that Ozempic has increasingly been prescribed off label (outside of its approved licence) for weight loss as an alternative to Wegovy. Now Novo Nordisk is warning of shortages of Ozempic stretching into 2025.

"Ozempic and Wegovy became a social media phenomenon earlier this year as a weight loss cure, with demand for semaglutide spiralling after celebrity endorsements. That’s not what Ozempic was intended for and has resulted in demand far outstripping supply. 

"Now Novo Nordisk’s official weight loss drug, Wegovy, is finally available in the UK on the NHS and as a private prescription. However, though this will relieve the demand on critical Ozempic stocks, supplies of all semaglutide-based treatments remain limited. Patients being treated for type 2 diabetes need to know that there are sufficient stocks of this treatment and, if not, patients need a plan to mitigate against supply disruptions.

"Novo Nordisk now has a market cap of $419.79bn, making it the world's 17th most valuable company.  Astonishingly, the market value of the Danish company has exceeded the size of Denmark’s domestic economy (£395.40bn). 

"We're keen for Novo Nordisk to continue concentrating on the production of vital diabetes treatments, over other semaglutide-based products. The company has stated that it will prioritise treatments for existing patients, rather than focusing on introducing new people to Wegovy weight loss treatments.

"We support Diabetes UK in urging clinicians to follow Department for Health and Social Care guidance, which states clinicians should not prescribe these drugs outside of their licensed use until the supply issues are rectified. 

"It’s not only in the UK restricted supplies are causing problems; there’s also a worldwide shortage. America’s FDA lists Wegovy and certain Ozempic dosages as being in short supply. So too does Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which says supplies of Ozempic will remain limited to diabetes treatments only until at least the end of December 2023, and that patients prescribed Ozempic for other conditions should contact their doctor to have their treatment reassessed.

"The shortage doesn’t only impact on semaglutide-based drugs. All “GLP-1 analogues”, as this family of drugs are known, are in short supply. These include the brands Ozempic, Rybelsus, Trulicity, Victoza, Saxenda, Byetta and Bydureon. This appears to be pan-market disruption, complicated by exceeding demands."

He went on to say: "‘All these drugs signal to your body to make more insulin (the hormone that controls the amount of sugar in your blood) reduce the amount of glucose (gluconeogenesis) that your liver makes, slow down the digestion of food, so that it takes longer for your body to absorb the sugar from meals, reduce your appetite by increasing satiety.

"It’s the final effect that's created this unexpected surge in demand. But, there's some welcome news of another GLP-1 analogue drug just about to reach the UK. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has approved the use of tirzepatide (brand name Mounjaro) for treating type 2 diabetes in England and Wales. Supplies of this new drug should come on stream within three months.

"Again, it’s vital this new medication is prioritised as a further treatment for type 2 diabetes, rather than for any other purposes. It, too, is likely to be in hot demand by people seeking to lose weight the easy way. In the US, clinical weight loss trials show Mounjaro is even more effective than Ozempic, with patients achieving 26.6% weight loss over a period of 84 weeks.

"By 2030, diabetes cases in the UK will have risen by 50% compared against 2007 levels, according to Diabetes UK. Unmanaged or undiagnosed diabetes is one of the leading causes of death. Diabetes is usually linked to factors like weight, lifestyle, age and family history. 

"One in ten people will have diabetes by the end of the next decade, and one in three will be at a much increased risk of developing it. The truly frightening fact is that it's quite common for people to have diabetes and not be aware of it.

"Fortunately, there's a simple blood test that will categorically confirm whether or not you have type 2 diabetes, even in its earliest stages, long before any symptoms have developed. This home test checks your levels of HbA1c. 

"This biomarker is used to confirm whether you have (or are at risk of developing) diabetes. For anyone who already knows they have diabetes, regular HbA1c checks are also essential to monitor progress. 

"The London Medical Laboratory’s “Diabetes - Diagnosis and Monitoring test” can be taken at home via the mail, or at one of the many drop-in clinics that offer these tests across London and nationwide in over 95 selected pharmacies and health stores."

For full details visit https://www.londonmedicallaboratory.com/product/diabetes-check