October 7, 2004
Honeymoon
Question from Australia:
My four year old son was diagnosed with type 1 on August 24, 2004. He had been taking 8 units of NPH in the morning and 2 units at dinner. Over the last week, we have had to reduce this to 5 units in the morning as his blood glucose levels are continually low, around 3.7 to 5.0 mmol/L [66 to 90 mg/dl]. No matter what we give him to increase his blood sugars, they remain around the same. I am aware he could be in his honeymoon, but he is showing no signs of hypoglycemic symptoms. Could it be possible for him to be type 2 as he now is eating regular meals and correct foods, or is this just wishful thinking? I do believe that we will have to reduce his insulin even further if his blood glucose levels remain. Any thoughts would be appreciated as our team over here just doesn’t want to say anything but the word honeymoon.
Answer:
What you describe is classical of the honeymoon period. Furthermore, type 2 diabetes in a four year old is practically unknown. Unless your son has other health problems, e.g. extreme obesity, or a syndrome such as Prader Willi (you would know), then this is type 1 behaving in a predictable way.
KJR
