Humalog Tempo Pen is used to treat diabetes. Humalog works more quickly than normal human insulin because the insulin molecule has been changed slightly in comparison to human insulin. Insulin lispro is closely related to human insulin which is a natural hormone made by the pancreas.

You get diabetes if your pancreas does not make enough insulin to control the level of glucose in your blood. Humalog is a substitute for your own insulin and is used to control glucose in the long term. It works very quickly and lasts a shorter time than soluble insulin (2 to 5 hours). You should normally use Humalog within 15 minutes of a meal.

Your doctor may tell you to use Humalog Tempo Pen as well as a longer-acting insulin. Each kind of insulin comes with another patient information leaflet to tell you about it. Do not change your insulin unless your doctor tells you to.

Humalog is suitable for use in adults and children.

The Tempo Pen is a disposable pre-filled pen containing 3 ml (300 units, 100 units/ml) of insulin lispro.  One Tempo Pen contains multiple doses of insulin.  The Tempo Pen dials 1 unit at a time.  The number of units are displayed in the dose window, always check this before your injection. You can give from 1 to 60 units in a single injection.  If your dose is more than 60 units, you will need to give yourself more than one injection.

Do NOT use Humalog Tempo Pen

• if you think hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) is starting. Further in this leaflet it tells you how to deal with mild hypoglycaemia (see Section 3: If you use more Humalog than you should).
• if you are allergic to insulin lispro or any of the other ingredients of this medicine (listed in section 6).

Warnings and precautions

• Always check the pack and the label of the pre-filled pen for the name and type of the insulin when you get it from your pharmacy. Make sure you get the Humalog 100 units/ml Tempo Pen that your doctor has told you to use.
• If your blood sugar levels are well controlled by your current insulin therapy, you may not feel the warning symptoms when your blood sugar is falling too low. Warning signs are listed in section 4 of this leaflet. You must think carefully about when to have your meals, how often to exercise and how much to do. You must also keep a close watch on your blood sugar levels by testing your blood glucose often.
• A few people who have had hypoglycaemia after switching from animal insulin to human insulin have reported that the early warning symptoms were less obvious or different. If you often have hypoglycaemia or have difficulty recognising it, please discuss this with your doctor.
• If you answer YES to any of the following questions, tell your doctor, pharmacist or diabetes nurse
  • Have you recently become ill?
  • Do you have trouble with your kidneys or liver?
  • Are you exercising more than usual?
• The amount of insulin you need may also change if you drink alcohol.
• You should also tell your doctor, pharmacist or diabetes nurse if you are planning to go abroad. The time difference between countries may mean that you have to have your injections and meals at different times from when you are at home.
• Some patients with long-standing type 2 diabetes mellitus and heart disease or previous stroke who were treated with pioglitazone and insulin experienced the development of heart failure. Inform your doctor as soon as possible, if you experience signs of heart failure such as unusual shortness of breath or rapid increase in weight or localised swelling (oedema).
• This Pen is not recommended for use by the blind or visually impaired without the help of someone trained to use the Pen.
• The Tempo Pen contains a magnet. If you have a medical device fitted, such as a heart pacemaker, this may not work correctly if the Tempo Pen is held too close. The magnetic field extends to approximately 1.5 cm.

Other medicines and Humalog Tempo Pen

Your insulin needs may change if you are taking

• the contraceptive pill,
• steroids,
• thyroid hormone replacement therapy,
• oral hypoglycaemics,
• acetyl salicylic acid,
• sulpha antibiotics,
• octreotide,
• “beta₂ stimulants” (for example ritodrine, salbutamol or terbutaline),
• beta-blockers, or
• some antidepressants (monoamine oxidase inhibitors or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors),
• danazol,
• some angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (for example captopril, enalapril), and
• angiotensin II receptor blockers.

Please tell your doctor, if you are taking, have recently taken or might take any other medicines, including medicines obtained without a prescription  (see section “Warnings and precautions”).

Humalog with alcohol

Your blood sugar levels may either rise or fall if you drink alcohol. Therefore the amount of insulin needed may change.

Pregnancy and breast-feeding

Are you pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant, or are you breast-feeding? The amount of insulin you need usually falls during the first three months of pregnancy and increases for the remaining six months. If you are breast-feeding, you may need to alter your insulin intake or diet.

Ask your doctor for advice.

Driving and using machines

Your ability to concentrate and react may be reduced if you have hypoglycaemia. Please keep this possible problem in mind in all situations where you might put yourself and others at risk (e.g. driving a car or operating machinery). You should contact your doctor about the advisability of driving if you have:

• frequent episodes of hypoglycaemia
• reduced or absent warning signs of hypoglycaemia

Humalog Tempo Pen contains sodium

This medicine contains less than 1 mmol sodium (23 mg) per dose, that is to say essentially ‘sodium-free’.

Always use this medicine exactly as your doctor has told you. You should check with your doctor if you are not sure. To prevent the possible transmission of disease, each pen must be used by you only, even if the needle is changed.

Dose

• Always check the number in the dose window to make sure you have dialled the correct dose.
• You should normally inject Humalog within 15 minutes of a meal. If you need to, you can inject soon after a meal. But your doctor will have told you exactly how much to use, when to use it, and how often. These instructions are only for you. Follow them exactly and visit your diabetes clinic regularly.
• If you change the type of insulin you use (for example from a human or animal insulin to a Humalog product), you may have to take more or less than before. This might just be for the first injection or it may be a gradual change over several weeks or months.
• Humalog Tempo Pen is only suitable for injecting just under the skin. Speak to your doctor if you need to inject your insulin by another method. 

Preparing Humalog Tempo Pen

• Humalog is already dissolved in water, so you do not need to mix it. But you must use it only if it looks like water. It must be clear, have no colour and no solid pieces in it. Check each time you inject yourself.

Getting the Tempo Pen ready to use (Please see user manual)

• First wash your hands.
• Read the instructions on how to use your pre-filled insulin pen. Please follow the instructions carefully. Here are some reminders.
• Use a clean needle. (Needles are not included).
• Prime your Tempo Pen before each use. This checks that insulin comes out and clears the air bubbles from your Tempo Pen. There may still be some small air bubbles left in the pen - these are harmless. But if the air bubbles are too large it may affect the insulin dose.

Injecting Humalog

• Before you make an injection, clean your skin as you have been instructed. Inject under the skin, as you were taught. Do not inject directly into a vein. After your injection, leave the needle in the skin for five seconds to make sure you have taken the whole dose. Do not rub the area you have just injected. Make sure you inject at least half an inch (1 cm) from the last injection and that you ‘rotate’ the places you inject, as you have been taught. It doesn’t matter which injection site you use, either upper arm, thigh, buttock or abdomen, your Humalog injection will still work quicker than soluble human insulin.
• You must not administer Humalog by the intravenous route. Inject Humalog as your physician or nurse has taught you. Only your physician can administer Humalog by the intravenous route. He will only do this under special circumstances such as surgery or if you are ill and your glucose levels are too high.

After injecting

• As soon as you have done the injection, unscrew the needle from the Tempo Pen using the outer needle cap. This will keep the insulin sterile and stop it leaking. It also stops air entering the pen and your needle clogging. Do not share your needles. Do not share your pen. Replace the cap on your pen.

If you are unsure how much you have injected then check your blood sugar levels before deciding if you need another injection.

Further injections

• Every time you use a Tempo Pen you must use a new needle. Before every injection, clear any air bubbles. You can see how much insulin is left by holding the Tempo Pen with the needle pointing up. The scale on the cartridge shows about how many units you have left.
• Do NOT mix the Humalog 100 units/ml solution for injection in your pre-filled pen with any other insulins or any other medicine.
• Once the Tempo Pen is empty, do not use it again. Please get rid of it carefully - your pharmacist or diabetes nurse will tell you how to do this.

Tempo Smart Button

The Tempo Pen is designed to work with the Tempo Smart Button. The optional additional feature Tempo Smart Button is a product available for the Tempo Pen, which may be used for transmitting dose information to a mobile application. The Tempo Pen can be used with or without the Tempo Smart Button attached. See instructions provided with the Tempo Smart Button and the mobile application for further information.

Using Humalog in an infusion pump

• Tempo Pen is only suitable for injecting just under the skin. Do not use the pen to administer Humalog by a different way. Other forms of Humalog 100 units/ml are available if this is necessary. Speak to your doctor if this applies to you.

If you use more Humalog than you should

If you use more Humalog than you need or are unsure how much you have injected, a low blood sugar may occur.  Check your blood sugar.

If your blood sugar is low (mild hypoglycaemia), eat glucose tablets, sugar or drink a sugary drink. Then eat fruit, biscuits, or a sandwich, as your doctor has advised you and have some rest. This will often get you over mild hypoglycaemia or a minor insulin overdose. If you get worse and your breathing is shallow and your skin gets pale, tell your doctor at once. A glucagon injection can treat quite severe hypoglycaemia. Eat glucose or sugar after the glucagon injection. If you do not respond to glucagon, you will have to go to hospital. Ask your doctor to tell you about glucagon.

If you forget to use Humalog

If you take less Humalog than you need or are unsure how much you have injected, a high blood sugar may occur.  Check your blood sugar.

If hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) or hyperglycaemia (high blood sugar) is not treated they can be very serious and cause headaches, feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting), loss of fluids (dehydration), unconsciousness, coma or even death (see section 4 “Possible Side Effects”).

Three simple steps to avoid hypoglycaemia or hyperglycaemia are:

• Always carry a spare pen in case you lose your Tempo Pen or it gets damaged.
• Always carry something to show you are diabetic.
• Always carry sugar with you.

If you stop using Humalog.

If you use less Humalog than you need, a high blood sugar may occur. Do not change your insulin unless your doctor tells you to.

If you have any further questions on the use of this product, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

Like all medicines, this medicine can cause side effects, although not everybody gets them.

 Severe allergy is rare (may affect up to 1 in 1,000 people). The symptoms are as follows:

•           rash over the whole body                       •           blood pressure dropping

•           difficulty in breathing                             •           heart beating fast

•           wheezing                                                    •           sweating

If you think you are having this sort of insulin allergy with Humalog, contact a doctor at once.

Local allergy is common (may affect up to 1 in 10 people).  Some people get redness, swelling or itching around the area of the insulin injection. This usually clears up in anything from a few days to a few weeks. If this happens to you, tell your doctor.

Lipodystrophy (thickening or pitting of the skin) is uncommon (may affect up to 1 in 100 people). If you notice your skin thickening or pitting at the injection site, tell your doctor.

Oedema (e.g. swelling in arms, ankles; fluid retention) has been reported, particularly at the start of insulin therapy or during a change in therapy to improve control of your blood glucose.

Reporting of side effects

If you get any side effects, talk to your doctor or pharmacist. This includes any possible side effects not listed in this leaflet. You can also report side effects directly via the national reporting system listed in section 6. By reporting side effects you can help provide more information on the safety of this medicine.

Common problems of diabetes

A.         Hypoglycaemia

Hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) means there is not enough sugar in the blood. This can be caused if:

• you take too much Humalog or other insulin;
• you miss or delay meals or change your diet;
• you exercise or work too hard just before or after a meal;
• you have an infection or illness (especially diarrhoea or vomiting);
• there is a change in your need for insulin; or
• you have trouble with your kidneys or liver which gets worse.

Alcohol and some medicines can affect your blood sugar levels (see section 2).

The first symptoms of low blood sugar usually come on quickly and include the following:

•           tiredness                                                    •           rapid heartbeat

•           nervousness or shakiness                       •           feeling sick

•           headache                                                   •           cold sweat

While you are not confident about recognising your warning symptoms, avoid situations, e.g. driving a car, in which you or others would be put at risk by hypoglycaemia.

B.         Hyperglycaemia and diabetic ketoacidosis

Hyperglycaemia (too much sugar in the blood) means that your body does not have enough insulin. Hyperglycaemia can be brought about by:

• not taking your Humalog or other insulin;
• taking less insulin than your doctor tells you to;
• eating a lot more than your diet allows; or
• fever, infection or emotional stress.

Hyperglycaemia can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis. The first symptoms come on slowly over many hours or days. The symptoms include the following:

•           feeling sleepy                           •           no appetite

•           flushed face                              •           fruity smell on the breath

•           thirst                                           •           feeling or being sick

Severe symptoms are heavy breathing and a rapid pulse.  Get medical help immediately.

C.         Illness

If you are ill, especially if you feel sick or are sick, the amount of insulin you need may change. Even when you are not eating normally, you still need insulin. Test your urine or blood, follow your ‘sick rules’, and tell your doctor.

Before the first use store your Humalog Tempo Pen in a refrigerator (2°C – 8°C). Do not freeze.

Keep your Humalog Tempo Pen in use at room temperature (below 30°C) and discard after 28 days even if some of the solution remains. Do not put it near heat or in the sun. Do not keep the Tempo Pen that you are using in the fridge. The Tempo Pen should not be stored with the needle attached.

Keep out of the sight and reach of children.

Do not use this medicine after the expiry date which is stated on the label and the carton. The expiry date refers to the last day of that month.

Do not use this medicine if you notice the solution is coloured or it has solid pieces in it. You must use it only if it looks like water. Check this each time you inject yourself.

Medicines should not be disposed of via wastewater or household waste. Ask your pharmacist how to dispose of medicines no longer required. These measures will help to protect the environment.