“Irregular” Insulin

Regular insulin, known as "R," is considered fast-acting or instant acting. It begins working in as little as ten to fifteen minutes. It stays in the body for mere hours. Once it is absorbed, it’s gone.
The other common base insulin is known these days as "N." This used to be known as NPH, for neutral protamine Hagedorn, but seeing that amounts to a steaming BS heap of gibberish and jargon, I’m not surprised they gave up and now just call it N..
Time release insulin has a delayed action in the body. "N" is considered a midrange time action and does not begin effecting the body for two to three hours. Nor does it release all at once. By what I feel (meaning scientific or official definitions may differ from my practical experience) N takes effect in several spurts throughout the day. In my subjective experience, it seems to have three spurts and is completely gone after about 12 hours.
When I say it is gone, I do mean gone. I must take two shots a day. In that twelve to fourteen hour range, I can feel symptoms of both low and high blood sugar at the same time if I haven’t adequately eaten throughout the day. Eating at that time will kick the discomforts of high sugar into speedy overdrive.
My GP has had me on two equal doses of insulin daily. The morning dose works well for me, but I have problems with the evening dose. This does not surprise me, as this dosage model does not mimic the way a "healthy" person’s body releases insulin in response to food. The body may continue to release small amounts of insulin to keep the body regulated throughout the night. My body can’t do that, but cannot go without insulin for so long.
Nighttime balance has been the great difficulty for me. If I don’t eat enough, I cannot sleep. Eat too much and the sugar is at an uncomfortable and possibly damaging peak by the time I wake up. I’ve tried experimenting with dosage reductions, never with results I have bee n comfortable with. The time release insulin releases whether I eat or not. Not eating will bring insomnia when the insulin kicks in, even if it does not dip to a more critical low. With reduced dosage, that same reasonable snack (usually cereal) is often too much; the sugar will be higher through the night and when I wake.
Once the time release has been injected, it’s there, needed or not. A busy or chaotic day that does not allow time to eat can be devastating. Things can be put off only so long before there’s a crash. This would be true for anyone, but is more amplified for a diabetic. The balance diabetics must maintain isn’t quite difficult to maintain, but is far too easy to get sidetracked.