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June 8, 2005

Daily Care, Honeymoon

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Question from Connecticut, USA:

My 13 year old daughter has been diagnosed with type 1. My daughter had high ketone levels and a blood sugar in the 500s mg/dl [27.8 mmol/L], but surprised the doctors because she appears remarkably healthy. My daughter has been vegan for 10 years and vegetarian since birth; this is why they feel she looks so healthy. We do not have the results on the antibody test of yet, but they claim certainty that she is type 1.

Since her diagnosis, my daughter and I have been logging her glucose levels four times a day, everything she eats and all her carbohydrates (though finding low carbohydrates has been difficult because with our vegan diet we have always eaten many whole grains with an abundance of fruits and vegetables.) In monitoring her foods, she is keeping precisely where she needs to be to meet her carbohydrate goals. She is also sticking to the time schedule very well, which is easier since we homeschool.

I have noticed that with the increase of insulin, though her carbohydrates are the same, including identical meals for breakfast and lunch, her glucose levels are going up. Why would that be?

Answer:

From: DTeam Staff

There are two probable reasons: her honeymoon period is coming to an end so she’s no longer making insulin for herself; or puberty is producing hormones that will tend to push the glucose levels up and require more insulin for control.

KJR