It’s also a treatment for gestational diabetes, a temporary form of diabetes that can develop during pregnancy.

For healthcare providers, this means there are lots of options for tailoring treatment to patients' specific needs.

The Importance of Insulin

Insulin is produced by specific cells in the pancreas called beta cells.

Vials of insulin

Anthony-Masterson / Getty Images

Its job is to help the body use or store the glucose that comes from carbohydrates in the diet.

This can result in a number of serious, and even life-threatening, consequences.

NPH looks different from other types of insulin.

Computer artwork of molecules of insulin circulating in the bloodstream

Within each key in of insulin, there may be more than one brand.

Besides these standard types of insulin, there are a couple of other options.

Premixed Insulins

Premixed insulins combine varying amounts of intermediate-acting insulin with rapid-action or short-acting insulin.

Vials of insulin

They can be a convenient way to obtain the benefits of both types of insulin in oneinjection.

They have an onset of between 15 minutes and one hour, depending on the mix.

The peak time varies and each can last up to 24 hours.

Woman giving herself insulin injection

A Word From Verywell

You might feel intimidated by the idea of taking insulin.

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2016;39(Suppl 1):S94-8.

closeup of insulin injection

doi:10.2337/dc16-S015

American Diabetes Association.Insulin basics.

Roder PV, Wu B, Liu Y, et al.Pancreatic regulation of glucose homeostasis.Exp Mol Med.

2016;48(3):e219.

doi:10.1038/emm.2016.6

Evert AB, Hess-Fischl A.Pediatric diabetes: health care reference.

Cleveland, Ohio: American Diabetic Association.

Petersen MC, Shulman GI.Mechanisms of insulin action and insulin resistance.Physiol Rev.

2018;9(3):927-949. doi:10.1007/s13300-018-0422-4

American Diabetes Association.Common terms.

2015;29(2):295-301. doi:10.1016/j.jdiacomp.2014.11.018