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We are about 19 months into diabetes life, and we see that her insulin requirements are steadily increasing. Just how much insulin is she going to need when her pancreas completely stops making its own. She is currently on about 25 units for morning needle, and about 7 in the evening...this has doubled since last fall. We are just wondering what she may "top out" at...as it already seems like such a lot. I guess I don't understand enough about the progression of this condition....what "changes" can we expect in the next few years even.
Responses
Gary Scheiner says
Total daily insulin needs can vary considerably for people who make little or no insulin on their own. Pubertal hormones can increase overall insulin requirements, and physical activity will decrease it. For a moderately active school-age child, we typically see total insulin somewhere in the range of .5 to 1.0 units per kg body weight. For teenagers, it is around .75 to 1.5 units per kg body weight.I would not be overly concerned about these numbers. Whatever your daughter needs to properly control her blood sugar is the right amount.
Lisa Bolduc-Bissell says
Kudos to you for having such a positive attitude! As you know, there are always ups and downs with diabetes (on so many levels!) but staying positive makes such a difference for everyone, espcially Ariel.To answer your question...there really is no answer! There is no way to know how much insulin someone will need in the future. I am not surprised that her needs are increasing. This is typical the further away you get from date of diagnosis (ie, honeymoon is ending) as well as the more you grow, and in the case of a child, this is a lot! Hormones raise blood glucose levels, which is why growth causes the need for more insulin, as does menstruation (for some women) and pregnancy. Often (though not always) after an increase is made, it may eventually come back down. For example, during puberty insulin requirements can increase dramatically, then they may come down later once puberty has ended.
So again, the simple answer is that there is no way to predict how much insulin Ariel will need as she grows, other than to say it will likely be more than it is now! The bottom line, as always, is that we area looking for as good blood sugar control as possible
