Fiasp vs Novorapid

V

Vicki Tamblin

Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
One day ago my physician withdrawn Novorapid and Actrapid insulin injections due to uncontrolled blood sugar levels and Prescribed with Fiasp insulin Injection. Is Fiasp Insulin Injection is better than Novorapid and Actrapid in controlling the blood sugar levels? Does anyone experienced any adverse events with Fiasp Insulin Injection?
 
Why were you taking both Novorapid and Actrapid? Or do you mean you tried both separately @Vicki Tamblin ? They are both fast-acting insulins.

Fiasp acts a little faster than Novorapid and doesn’t last as long.

From your previous posts, it seems you had problems with high sugars. What basal insulin do you take? And do you count carbs and adjust your mealtime insulin according to what you’re about to eat?
 
Agreed @Inka that is an odd combination (Novorapid & Actrapid together?) - I was changed from Novorapid to Fiasp whilst on my DAFNE Course in March this year and personally have found it much better - It starts working after about 10 minutes and lasts around three hours (for me - remember, everyone is different) - this makes it easier to adjust ratios when eating etc. (I don't worry so much about having a hypo 4 hrs after taking a bolus dose if I've gone a bit strong) - and yes indeed, your Basal dose(s) do definitely come into consideration
 
Okay, sorry for any confusion.

My doctor had me on Actrapid, then changed it to Novorapid, and now I'm using Fiasp. What do you think about that? Is my situation really that complicated?
 
I switched to Fiasp from NovoRapid a couple of years ago and really like it.
Fiasp works faster than NovoRapid so I do not need to pre-bolus as early in order to strict the spikes after eating.

Fiasp dos have some quirks which took some time for me to get used to but I was one of the first to use it so there was less information available at the time.
The main quirks are
- the speed at which Fiasp works is very dependent upon my BG. If my BG is between about 5.5 and 8.0, I can bolus as I start to eat. If my BG is lower, Fiasp will work faster than my body can digest the carbs and can result in a hypo unless I bolus AFTER eating. If my BG is higher, Fiasp takes longer to work to the extent that it feels as if I am injecting water when my BG gets to double figures and it can take nearly an hour to have any noticeable affect when my BG is over 15 (which, thankfully, is rare).
- I find Fiasp does not last as long out of the fridge as NovoRapid. It can start losing its potency after a couple of weeks.
- Some people (not me) find its speed wanes after a few weeks and it is no faster than NovoRapid. If this is the case for you, there is an alternative - Lyumjev.

I do not know your history to know if you are complicated. It may just be that your doctor wants you to try the latest or a few and find what works best for you. I would take it as positive that they are willing to give you the chance to try rather than leave you with the same insulins for decades (yes, it happens) when there are newer better options.
 
Are you also taking a slow acting (basal) insulin and if so which one?

No insulin is better than any other one, only what works well for your body.

I haven't tried Actrapid, but I moved from Novo(not so)Rapid to Fiasp and it took me 2 x 3 months of frustration to get Fiasp to work well for me and I went back to NR inbetween for 6 months. I had to adjust my strategies quite significantly to make Fiasp work for me. That was 4 years ago and I like Fiasp now but I didn't find it easy and I had to ignore a lot of the advice I was given by the nurses to make it work. Some people seem to get on well with Fiasp from the start and others like me find it has some quirks that you need to manage. For instance, it seems to work really quickly if your levels are low (4-5mmols) when you inject but really sluggish if your levels are above 10mmols, so I found I needed to be much more proactive about keeping my levels below 10.
 
Good Luck! But do come and ask questions here if you have difficulties with it as those of us who use it may be able to suggest things you can try to improve it's performance for you.
 
Vicki Tamblin said:
My doctor had me on Actrapid, then changed it to Novorapid, and now I'm using Fiasp. What do you think about that?
Click to expand...
I don't think that's unusual.

Actrapid is old, so moving to Novorapid is a natural change even if you were OK with Actrapid. FIASP is a natural thing to try if Novorapid isn't quite working for you: at least on paper it's slightly faster acting and doesn't last quite as long.
 
Really hope the change works for you @Vicki Tamblin - it's been good for me, but you will be able to see if it was a good change relatively quickly - and don't be afraid to ask as many questions as your like and don't worry if they seem trivial - we're all here to help and support - wishing you all the very best with it
 
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