Manufacturer: Novo Nordisk India Pvt Ltd
Salt Composition : Insulin Isophane(100IU/ml)
Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen is often prescribed along with short-acting insulin or other oral diabetes medicines. Your doctor or nurse will teach you the correct way of injecting it under the skin. Don’t stop taking it unless your doctor tells you to. It is only part of a treatment program that should also include a healthy diet, regular exercise, and weight reduction as advised by your doctor.
Check your blood sugar levels regularly, keep track of your results and share them with your doctor. This is very important to work out the correct dose of the medicine for you.
The most common side effect of this medicine is low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). To prevent this, it's important to always inject the correct dose of medicine only, have regular meals, and monitor your blood sugar levels regularly. Drinking excessive alcohol can also lead to a fall in your blood sugar levels. Other side effects include reactions at the injection site like redness or swelling. Repeated puncturing of the same site of the skin may lead to lipodystrophy (skin thickening or pits at the injection site). Some people may gain weight or develop edema (swelling over the whole body due to fluid retention) while taking insulin.
Do not use this medicine when you have low blood glucose levels (hypoglycemia). Tell your doctor if you have ever had kidney, liver or heart problems before starting treatment. Pregnant or breastfeeding women should also consult their doctor as the dose may need to be changed.
Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen is an intermediate-acting insulin, that starts working in 1-2 hours after injection. It works similar to the insulin that is produced by the body. Insulin facilitates reuptake of sugar in muscle and fat cells and also suppresses the production of sugar in the liver. This helps to lower the blood sugar levels in diabetes mellitus.
Absorption was slower at higher doses, so that trebling the insulin dose only doubled the amount absorbed over the first 24 hours. The plasma elimination half time (t12) of insulin was about five minutes.
Most side effects do not require any medical attention and disappear as your body adjusts to the medicine. Consult your doctor if they persist or if you’re worried about them
Common side effects of Insulatard
Hypoglycemia (low blood glucose level)
You should not use insulin isophane if you are allergic to it, or if you are having an episode of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar). Do not give insulin isophane to a child without a doctor's advice. Tell your doctor if you have ever had: liver or kidney disease; or.
Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen is generally considered safe to use during pregnancy. Animal studies have shown low or no adverse effects to the developing baby; however, there are limited human studies.
It is unsafe to consume alcohol with Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen.
Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen is safe to use during breastfeeding. Human studies suggest that the drug does not pass into the breastmilk in a significant amount and is not harmful to the baby.
Isophane Insulin (NPH) Injection. NPH insulin (isophane) is a medication that treats diabetes. It increases levels of insulin in your body to decrease your blood sugar. This is an immediate-acting insulin.
Drug-Drug Interaction: This medicine may have an interaction with anti-depressants (phenelzine, iproniazid, isocarboxazid, nialamide, imipramine, desipramine, tranylcypromine, moclobemide), anti Parkinson’s drug (selegiline), antibiotic (linezolid), (lithium, tryptophan), migraines drug (sumatriptan), pain killer (tramadol), anti-ulcer (cimetidine, lansoprazole, omeprazole), anti-fungal (fluconazole), anti-stroke pills (ticlopidine), blood-thinners (warfarin, dipyridamole, and phenprocoumon), antimalarial (mefloquine), heart-related drug (flecainide, propafenone), and medicines that decrease blood levels of potassium or magnesium, as these increase the risk of life-threatening heart rhythm disorder. Besides this, the use of oral antidiabetic pills like pramlintide and antibiotics (pentamidine) may cause hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar level).
Drug-Food Interaction: Try to avoid intake of alcoholic beverages with INSULIN ISOPHANE as it may increase or decrease your blood sugar level.
Drug-Disease Interaction: INSULIN ISOPHANE should not be given to patients with kidney disease, liver disease, low potassium level (hypokalaemia) and low blood sugar/glucose level (hypoglycaemia).
Drug-Drug Interactions Checker List:
PHENELZINE
IPRONIAZID
ISOCARBOXAZID
NIALAMIDE
IMIPRAMINE
DESIPRAMINE
TRANYLCYPROMINE
MOCLOBEMIDE
SELEGILINE
LINEZOLID
LITHIUM
TRYPTOPHAN
SUMATRIPTAN
TRAMADOL
CIMETIDINE
LANSOPRAZOLE
OMEPRAZOLE
FLUCONAZOLE
TICLOPIDINE
WARFARIN
DIPYRIDAMOLE
PHENPROCOUMON
MEFLOQUINE
FLECAINIDE
PROPAFENONE
PENTAMIDINE
PRAMLINTIDE
Kindly do not self administer.
Store in a refrigerator (2 - 8°C). Do not freeze.
Consult a doctor before taking any medicines.
Consult a doctor before taking any medicines.
Hypoglycemia (low blood sugar level) is a common side effect. Hence, regular monitoring of blood sugar levels is required while taking this medicine.
Injection below the skin of the abdomen results in faster absorption than other injection sites.
Injection sites must be rotated to prevent hard lumps from developing at one site.
Opened vials/cartridge are good at room temperature for up to 4 weeks, while unopened vials must be placed in the refrigerator (2°C–8°C).
Your doctor or nurse will give you this medicine. Kindly do not self administer.
Q. How does biphasic isophane insulin work?
Insulin isophane is a recombinant human insulin analogue (genetically modified insulin that is grown in a laboratory and similar to human insulin). It is an intermediate acting insulin preparation. Insulin isophane acts by replacing the normal production of insulin and by helping transfer sugar from the blood into other body tissues where it is utilized to generate energy. It also stops the liver from producing more sugar. Intermediate acting insulin preparations start acting within an hour or 2 of injection, and reach a period of peak activity that lasts up to 7 hours, following which the action trails off; overall duration of action ranges from 18 to 24 hours.
Q. What is Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen? How is it made?
Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen is a man-made version of human insulin, produced by the process of biotechnology called recombinant DNA technology. It is sold as a sterile, aqueous, clear, and colorless solution that contains insulin aspart along with other constituents like glycerin, phenol, metacresol, zinc, sodium chloride etc.
Q. Can Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen cause hypoglycemia? How do I prevent it?
Yes. The most common side effect of Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen is hypoglycemia. It happens more often if you miss or delay your food, drink alcohol, over-exercise or take other antidiabetic medicine along with it. So, don’t skip meals and be consistent in the timing and amount of your meals. Take some snacks as per your requirement if you over exercise. Regular monitoring of the blood sugar level is important. Always carry some glucose tablets, honey or fruit juice with you. Take all your medicines prescribed by the doctor on time and consult your doctor if you notice any fluctuations in your blood sugar levels.
Q. What are the other side effects of Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen? How to prevent them?
The other side effects of Insulatard 100IU/ml Flexpen are injection site reactions such as redness, itching, pain and swelling. However, these are temporary and usually resolve on their own. Rarely, it can also cause lipodystrophy, which means abnormal changes in the fat tissues due to repeated insulin injections in the same area of the skin. It includes lipohypertrophy (thickening of adipose tissue) and lipoatrophy (thinning of adipose tissue), and may affect insulin absorption. Rotate insulin injection or infusion sites within the same region to reduce the risk of lipodystrophy.
