Question from Connecticut, USA:

Friends of ours have an 11 year old son who has type 1 diabetes. He has had the disease for about 4 years. My son, also 11, has had diabetes for just over 2 years. Through this time we have been able to support each other which is the only good thing connected with this blasted disease.

Their son has a very difficult time maintaining good blood sugar readings. He is extremely sensitive to Regular insulin and can only tolerate 0.5 to 2 units. His levels swing sometimes wildly. He’ll be at 400 at one reading and crash a short time later at another reading. What seems to work for a few days or weeks will suddenly change without reason. The biggest problem recently has been that this young man has had significant weight loss with no ketones. He is about average in height and weight. His weight has not been a concern until recently. Over the past 6 months he has dropped close to 15 lbs. Yesterday, his mother weighed him again and he lost another two. It is as though he is wasting away. The last blood sugar test indicated a reading of 500! Although he swings wildly he has never been this high, and no ketones to boot. His regular pediatrician is not too concerned and his endocrine doctor is not either. But something, other than puberty, must be going on. He eats normally, and there are no ketones present. They are considering going on the pump but our specialists do not advocate it for someone his age. They have also suggested possibly going to 3 shots per day which the parents do not want. Their son is having a difficult enough time doing what he does already. The shots are not missed, he is eating what he should and is testing his blood 4 times daily. Any suggestions?