
September 18, 2000
Daily Care
Question from Rosemount, Minnesota, USA:
My five year old has had type 1 diabetes for three years. He had a bout with croup three weeks ago, and since then, we’ve had tremendous difficulty keeping his blood sugars regulated. He swings between highs and lows daily, with no discernible patterns to help determine insulin requirements. His control is usually good, so this situation is quite frustrating. Is it unusual for children to experience these kinds of swings following illnesses? We do have an appointment with his diabetes team.
Answer:
I haven’t seen problems after an infection, mostly during.
Is the insulin good, recent change of bottles? It may be time to change bottles. It might possibly be an infection: sinuses maybe. Is he coughing at night a lot? Otherwise I really don’t have a good answer.
LD
Additional comments from Lois Schmidt Finney, diabetes dietitian:
I wonder if something else is going on, such as anticipation of the start of school. Just an idea.
LSF