Question:
From Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada:
My daughter is Type 1, age 15, diabetic for the past three years. It seems like her body is no longer absorbing the insulin. We have continued to up her insulin and monitor her blood sugars as well as her diet. She is not pregnant, or on birth control or an medication. We can't understand this as she has been very good since her diagnosis. This sudden increase started about two months ago and we are at a loss as to what to do. Can you help?
Answer:
This question is a real can of worms. Your daughter is presumably well into
puberty and so I don't think that we can blame this for her apparent
increase in insulin. Are her injection sites lumpy? This can cause insulin
to "stop working properly." A simple explanation could be that she has
ended her honeymoon period and that she therefore needs a higher dose of
injected insulin -- you don't give her current doses or weight so it's hard
to judge where things have got to. However, you say that you are still
monitoring her sugars and diet. Is it possible that you are monitoring too
closely and she wants a little more responsibility and independence? Three
years into diabetes -- especially in teenagers -- can be a difficult time and
"rebellion" in all its many guises is common. You will appreciate that this
answer is necessarily vague and general but you should consider all the
issues with your diabetes team. It's very unlikely that they won't have
some ideas of what to do in your specific circumstances.
KJR
Original posting 27 Apr 97
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