Insulin (medication) cover meals (bolus also known as mealtime or prandial insulin). Maintaining the basal rate and the bolus rate is a continuous balancing act that people with insulin-dependent diabetes must manage each day. This is normally achieved through regular blood tests, although continuous blood sugar testing equipment (Continuous Glucose Monitors or CGMs) are now becoming available which could help to refine this balancing act once widespread usage becomes common. A long-acting insulin is used to approximate the basal secretion of insulin by the pancreas, which varies in the course of the day. NPH/isophane, lente, ultralente, glargine, and detemir may be used
Insulin detemir B.A., Sanjoy Paul, Ph.D., Jonathan C. Levy, M.D., F.R.C.P., for the 4-T Study Group 2. http://www.springerlink.com/content/6lktug1r2exurq0j/?p=af5e2f613a0f4c6690f8fdc920f48bd6&pi=5, (2007) Insulin analogues (insulin detemir and insulin aspart) versus traditional human insulins (NPH insulin and regular human insulin) in basal-bolus therapy for patients with Type 1 diabetes, "Journal Diabetologia", volume 47, number 4 / April, 2004. Insulin detemir Insulin detemir is a long-acting human insulin analogue for maintaining the basal level of insulin. Novo Nordisk markets it under the trade name Levemir. It is an insulin analogue in which a fatty acid (myristic acid) is bound to the lysine amino acid at position B29.