April 21, 2000
Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Costa Mesa, California, USA:
My daughter is now 7 1/2 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age two. I am interested in moving her dinner time to a later time to aid in dinner preparation. I find it hard to cook a decent meal with the time constraints of her diabetes. Usually we each end up eating separately.
She currently eats dinner around 6:30 P.M. and has a bedtime snack at 8:45 P.M. I would like to give her dinner at approximately 7:30-8:00 and stop or reduce the bedtime snack. She has been waking up with high blood glucoses in the morning also. The stats: Insulin: 2R/9NPH at breakfast, 2R/5NPH at dinner. Carbs: 36 at all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and 21 at snacks (A.M., afternoon, before bed)
Answer:
Being creative with insulin dosing is a hallmark of a great diabetes team. You can rearrange mealtimes to best fit the family’s schedule and assure that the family can eat together. Frequently, it may require trying different types of insulin and trying different insulin scheduling options.
I would suggest meeting with the dietitian on your diabetes team as well as the nurse or physician on the team to come up with the best solution to fit your needs.
MSB
