May 29, 1999
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from the state of Washington, USA:
My 4 year old son was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes 6 weeks ago. He was initially put on a combination of Humalog and NPH insulins. After about 10 days, we felt his pancreas was occasionally making insulin so we’ve eliminated the Humalog and decreased the amount of NPH to about 2 units at breakfast and dinner times. His blood sugar readings are often going from very low (40s and 50s) to in the upper 200s to lower 300s. It has been very hard for us to keep the levels steady.
At this point we are not counting the carbohydrates he’s eating but we are providing healthy meals and snacks at the same time each day. Any suggestions on what we can do to keep his levels more consistent? Right now we never have any idea what to expect when we test him. We also still test him at night and often have to give him some juice and crackers because he is too low.
Answer:
I do not know if you see a diabetes team, but I would strongly recommend that. A dietitian can help you with a meal plan that is tailored to your son’s usual eating pattern and promotes growth. The dietitian will probably incorporate carbohydrate counting as part of the meal plan.
Please do not feel you are doing things incorrectly — I think you just need more information. As children come out of their honeymoon phase, there are often adjustments that need to be made, so maybe an overall brush-up would be useful.
LSF
