October 20, 2010
Daily Care, Insulin
Question from Istanbul, Turkey:
My four-year-old daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes two years ago. Since then, we have been using NovoRapid as bolus insulin and NPH Humulin N as basal insulin. Her A1c was 7.5, however, her blood sugars are really instable. She often has unexpected highs and lows. We inject NovoRapid after each meal and are carbohydrate counting. We inject NPH twice a day, at 1 p.m. (five units) and 11:30 p.m. (three units). If we switch her to Levemir, would her blood sugars be more stable? Is Levemir safe for children?
My daughter weighs 16 kg (35 pounds) and is 103 cm (3 feet, almost 4 inches). She also has celiac disease.
Answer:
I think that the best basal insulin for your daughter is glargine (Lantus) given once a day. This will make a real change towards her blood sugar stabilization leading to a significant lowering of A1c as well.
As far as celiac is concerned, it’s often associated with type 1 diabetes as both diseases are autoimmune mediated.
MS
