
March 6, 2005
Daily Care, Insulin
Question from Tamilnadu, India:
I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes six months ago. Earlier, I was taking eight units of Actrapid and 10 units of Monotard twice daily, but I was having frequent lows. Now, I am taking two units of Human Actrapid and three units of Human Monotard (premixed) before breakfast and at nighttime dinner. Even with reduced dosage of insulin, my blood sugar is normal. My random C-peptide test indicates a value of 0.7 pmol/ml. Can I take five units of Human Mixtard 40 instead of Actrapid and Monotard?
Answer:
Yes, you might want to, I think, provided that, beyond the actual numbers of blood sugar levels, your average values of the A1c (gold standard for diabetics is lower than 6.5%) will be good as well. In fact, its values are mostly what matter in terms of the best metabolic control and the risk future diabetic complications. Be sure you talk with your diabetes doctor about this.
MS