November 16, 1999
Daily Care
Question from Spring Valley, New York, USA:
A friend of mine who is 13 years old was diagnosed with diabetes 4 months ago. After a lot of changing with his insulin dose, (with my help – I’ve been on insulin for 20 years), he is now taking 7 units of lente A.M. and 9 units of lente P.M. plus 2 units of Regular in the morning that he should not get high at 10:00 11:00. Also he covers every serving of carbohydrate with 1 unit of Humalog, when he is high he takes 1 unit Humalog for 80 mg/dl. His numbers are perfect now. His doctor told him he never saw such a ridiculous regimen. Can you please explain me what’s wrong?
Answer:
There is no one way to provide insulin best. I would recommend working with a diabetes care provider that you trust and is flexible. If the blood sugars are fine, the child is growing well and coping well, eating appropriately, then the plan does not sound unreasonable. One warning is that if your friend has had diabetes for a few months then he is likely still making some of his own insulin. His insulin regimen may need to change significantly over the next year or so. That is why it would be important to work closely with a good diabetes doctor.
LM
