Question:
From Ohio, USA:
Our son will be 13 in about a month, and was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 3 years
ago. He is 62 1/2" in height and weighs 108 pounds. His HA1c's have
consistently been good, staying in the 7 range. It is obvious that over
the last six months he has entered puberty. Currently he is on 60 to 65
units of insulin a day, a combination of R and NPH. His doctor seems to
think this is too much insulin. Do you agree?
Answer:
No, not necessarily. During puberty the insulin requirement can rise as
high as 1.5-2U/Kg. However, doses have to been seen in the context of blood
sugar control, injection sites (are they lumpy?), and body weight (excessive
weight gain is a feature of over insulinization). In addition, too many
hypos would indicate too high an insulin dose. Taking account of all of
this, the correct insulin dose is the dose he needs to maintain control.
KJR
Original posting 24 Jul 97
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