How many shots a day will I need with insulin therapy for type 1 diabetes?

Insulin therapy usually consists of taking your insulin in two or more shots a day, using a combination of longer- and shorter-acting insulins. Type 1 diabetes usually cannot be successfully managed with only one or two shots a day. There are too many hours at different times of the day that the blood glucose level is high. An insulin plan that includes three to four, or even more, injections of insulin per day leads to fewer times when blood glucose levels are high. People who take shots this many times each day usually use a long-acting insulin as the background basal insulin and rapid- or fast-acting insulin to cover meals. They inject rapid- or fast-acting insulin as a bolus before meals to lower the blood glucose rise that occurs as food is digested.