When it comes to managing Tresiba or any insulin as part of your daily life, one question you might ask is, “When is the best time to take Tresiba?”
In this article, we’ll provide an explanation of the best time to take Tresiba, as well as the reasons behind it, taking into account your age and lifestyle.
Best Time to Take Tresiba? You can take Tresiba at any time of the day, but doses must be 8 hours apart. Adults are often able to delay their dose with Tresiba, as long as they take as soon as they remember. Children should take the dose at the same time every day. When to take Tresiba depends on your body, so it’s advisable to consult your doctor.
The following table clarifies these options further
| Age | Best time to take Tresiba |
|---|---|
| Adults | Once a day at any time (Never take a missed dose within 8 hours between doses) |
| Children 16 and under | Once a day at the same time |
Meanwhile, if you need assistance in accessing Tresiba for $60.00 per month, please visit us to learn more.
General recommendations on the best time to take Tresiba
To get started, Tresiba is a basal long-acting insulin. This means that it works steadily for an extended time.
Tresiba is unlike many other long-acting insulins, as it works for as long as 42 hours after administration.
Long-acting insulin is designed to work similarly to how your pancreas usually produces insulin.
Most insulins that fall under this category are taken once daily to control blood sugar levels. Tresiba is also recommended to be taken once daily, but it has more flexibility compared to other insulins.
The flexibility with Tresiba is due to its long duration of action.
Adults can take Tresiba at any time of day
You can also refer to the manufacturer instructions that come with the medication. These state that adults can take Tresiba at any time of the day.
For example, you can take Tresiba at 9 am on Sunday, 12 pm on Monday, and 7 am on Tuesday.
You don’t have to maintain any schedule or be concerned about missing any doses of Tresiba. However, you have to make sure the doses are taken 8 hours apart at the very least.
But because its effects last for 42 hours, it does not have to be spaced out exactly at 24 hours intervals.
Exceptions for Kids on When to Take Tresiba
Although Tresiba is popular for its flexibility in dosing, children are generally recommended to take Tresiba at the same time each day.
If a child misses one dose, it should immediately be reported to the doctor.
In such an occurrence, the blood sugar levels of children should be closely monitored as well.
Best time to take Tresiba if you miss a dose
Since Tresiba is a once-daily insulin, it’s quite easy to forget it.
It’s fine if an adult misses the dose because, again, it’s extremely flexible.
Simply take your missed dose as soon as you remember, as long as it’s 8 hours apart between doses. So, your next dose should be greater than 8 hours after the late dose.
Try to then revert back to your regular schedule for taking Tresiba if you follow one.
Again, taking the missed dose is applicable only for adults and not for children.
If you feel any uncomfortable symptoms or side effects as a result of the missed dose, consult with your doctor.
Refrain from doubling your Tresiba dose if/when you miss one. As the brand emphasizes, they should be taken at least 8 hours apart despite its dosing flexibility.
Let’s discuss what happens if you take too much Tresiba.
What happens if you take two doses of Tresiba?
If you end up mistakenly taking two doses of Tresiba in the same day, don’t panic. Tresiba can take several hours to start working.
And due to how Tresiba works, it may only have mild negative effects, depending on how close together you took your doses and how many units were administered.
The recommended advice is to call your doctor and describe your scenario. They will provide you with the most accurate advice depending on your situation.
Typically, if you take more than one dose of Tresiba in a 24-hour period, you should closely monitor your blood sugar levels.
Low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) can be very serious and life-threatening.
Therefore, keep fast-acting carbohydrates with you throughout the day in case you start to feel symptoms of a low. Symptoms may include:
- Dizziness
- Drowsiness
- Confusion
- Sweating
- Feeling shaky or anxious
- Tingling lips
- Increased appetite
Can I split the Tresiba dose into two times a day?
This is a common question that doesn’t have a solid answer. But we have answered the same question for Levemir.
While some user experiences say splitting a dose twice a day (for example, half in the morning and a half in the night) can help maintain consistent blood sugar levels, some find it pointless.
This is because Tresiba is marketed as once-daily insulin and is meant to work consistently for 42 hours.
Splitting may make sense as smaller doses allow better absorption, but again the answer to how effective this has not yet been answered.
If you have experimented with splitting a dose to specific times when taking Tresiba and found it effective, it’s recommended that you check with your doctor about this practice.
How to decide what is the best time to take Tresiba
Firstly, each person’s diabetes condition is different, and diabetes on its own is a sensitive and complex topic to manage.
So, it’s hard to take a one-size-fits-all approach to the best time to take Tresiba for each individual.
The real answer lies with you as an individual, so the best approach is to listen to your body and discuss options with your doctor.
Your doctor will be able to advise you on when exactly you should take Tresiba for it to work effectively for your diabetic condition.
Depending on how Tresiba responds to your body, your doctor can monitor the efficacy and adjust the timing to best suit your body.
Your doctor can also advise whether Tresiba is the best insulin for your diabetic condition after monitoring how Tresiba works for you and your dosage schedule. After all, there are different types of insulin to choose from.
General Insulin needs to help decide the best time to take Tresiba
Each person’s basal insulin requirement is unique.
But in general, basal insulin needs are at their peak during the early morning hours and lower in the middle of the day.
However, one’s basal insulin needs will depend upon which stage of life they are in. This is because of all the different hormones that are present at different life stages.
Therefore, a person’s growth over the years has a huge impact on the best time to take Tresiba, or when you should take any long-acting insulin.
Below is a short breakdown of basal insulin needs based on age:
Below 21 years of age:
In general, before the age of 21, the need for basal insulin tends to be higher at night. This is because, for people under 21, the blood sugar levels are likely to spike during the night. This spike then drops gradually through the morning and again gradually increases from noon to midnight.
Above 21 years of age:
Adults above the age of 21 years tend to represent a different insulin need. They are more likely to experience a spike in blood sugar levels during the early morning hours and find it drops towards noon. It will usually come to a low-flat reading in the afternoon and then again increases over the course of the evening.
This peak in basal insulin during the early morning hours is commonly referred to as the dawn phenomenon.
This is only a general or common breakdown of how blood sugar levels and insulin needs work for people below and above 21.
The pattern can certainly change depending on your diet, physical activity, exercise pattern, lifestyle, and other medical conditions.
While you are free to follow this advice, as always, we recommend that you consult with your doctor in this regard.
Because Tresiba lasts up to 42 hours and does not have a peak, adults can take it at any time. Though a person’s basal insulin needs may vary throughout the day, Tresiba should still be effective, as long as the patient is taking it once a day or as recommended by the doctor.
Factors for deciding the best time to take Tresiba
Tresiba has interactions with certain other medications. So, it’s important that you discuss with your doctor not just the best time to take Tresiba, but any other medications you’re on, or if you can use other medications while on Tresiba.
However, if you take any other medications or supplements in addition to Tresiba, it’s recommended that you allow a few hours apart before taking Tresiba.
If you’re consuming alcohol, your insulin needs might also change. Your blood sugar level may either rise or fall.
Therefore, you should monitor your blood sugar level accurately and more often than usual if you choose to consume alcohol and then decide on a time when you should take Tresiba.
Benefits of Tresiba
Once you’ve mastered the best time to take Tresiba, you should see some benefits over other long-acting insulins.
Tresiba is used to treat both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and is considered safe for use in children above 1 year of age.
Tresiba FlexTouch is actually the longest-acting insulin currently marketed and is manufactured by Novo Nordisk.
With Tresiba, there’s also a reduced risk of hypoglycemia when compared to insulin glargine.
Tresiba is flexible and can also be used in combination with short-acting insulin and other diabetes medications, such as metformin.
If you struggle to access Tresiba at an affordable price, then we want to help. We provide assistance in accessing insulin such as Tresiba for $60.00 per medication, per month. Please visit us to find out more about how we may be able to help.
Conclusion
We hope this helped you determine when the best time is to take Tresiba. For more advice, consult your healthcare provider.
For more questions regarding your specific condition, always consult your healthcare provider.
If you’re having trouble affording any of the medications you’ve been prescribed, visit our home page to learn more about Prescription Hope’s medication access service, compare the costs of your current prescriptions, and see how we can help obtain your medications at a cheaper price. Fill out an application today and start receiving Brand-Name prescription medications at your doorstep. Call us at 1-877-296-HOPE (4673) to speak to one of our representatives, we’re always happy to see how we can help.
