
April 29, 2000
Daily Care
Question from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic:
My daughter is 12 years old and has insulin dependent diabetes. She is currently on 3 injections a day of NPH and Regular insulins. If she has an occasional treat like at birthdays, holidays, etc., should I give her extra insulin to cover this? If so, how much, assuming her blood sugar is within normal range at the moment?
Answer:
For most people using insulin, learning to adjust for real-life issues is a better match than a set dose of insulin. Before you make any changes, I would recommend you discuss this with your daughter’s diabetes team but, first, you might like to check your child’s blood sugar before and 1-2 hours after meals to see if additional insulin is needed. This will help your team guide you through insulin adjustments. You might also discuss the possible use of Humalog, a rapid acting insulin which peaks earlier than Regular to cover foods.
KS