Informational only — Not medical advice. Always consult a licensed healthcare provider.

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Community data Updated 23 hours ago

Insulin Degludec

Long Acting Insulin Prescription
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Indications

Diabetes Mellitus

Insulin Degludec is a long-acting human insulin analog. It is used to improve glycemic control in patients with diabetes mellitus who are 1 year of age and older. It is not recommended for treating diabetic ketoacidosis.

⚠️ Always consult a registered physician before taking any medicine.

Pharmacology

Insulin Degludec, like all insulins, works mainly by regulating glucose metabolism. Insulin and its analogues lower blood glucose in two ways. They stimulate peripheral glucose uptake, especially by skeletal muscle and fat, and they inhibit hepatic glucose production. Insulin also inhibits lipolysis and proteolysis, and it enhances protein synthesis.

When Insulin Degludec is injected into the subcutaneous tissue, it forms multihexamers. These make a subcutaneous insulin degludec depot under the skin. The protracted time action profile of Insulin Degludec is mostly due to delayed absorption of insulin degludec from the subcutaneous tissue into the systemic circulation. To a lesser extent, it is due to the binding of insulin degludec to circulating albumin.

Pregnancy & Breastfeeding

Pregnant women: There is no clinical experience from well-controlled studies of Insulin degludec in pregnant women. Animal reproduction studies have not shown any difference between insulin degludec and human insulin in embryotoxicity or teratogenicity. But animal studies don't always predict how humans will respond, so Insulin degludec should not be used during pregnancy unless the possible benefit to the mother justifies the possible risk to the fetus.

Nursing women: There is no clinical experience from well-controlled studies of insulin degludec during breastfeeding. It is not known whether insulin degludec passes into human milk. In rats, insulin degludec was secreted in milk, and the concentration in milk was lower than the concentration in plasma.

⚠️ Talk to your doctor before taking any medicine during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.

Dosage Reference

⚠️ Reference ranges from official sources only. Consult your doctor for personalized dosing.

Adults: Insulin Degludec is an ultra long-acting basal insulin, given once a day at any time of the day, though it's best to use the same time every day. For patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, the recommended starting dose is 10 units a day, and the dose is then adjusted for each person. For patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus, it is used once a day together with mealtime insulin, and it also needs individual dose adjustments after that. In type 2 diabetes mellitus, it can be given alone or in any combination with oral anti-diabetic medicines, GLP-1 receptor agonists and bolus insulin. In type 1 diabetes mellitus, it must be combined with short-acting or rapid-acting insulin to cover mealtime insulin needs. If giving the injection at the same time each day isn't possible, Insulin Degludec allows some flexibility in timing, but there should always be at least 8 hours between injections. A patient who forgets a dose is advised to take it as soon as they find out, and then go back to the usual once-daily schedule.

Side Effects & Interactions

Side Effects

No side-effect data recorded yet.