August 26, 1999
Insulin, Meal Planning, Food and Diet
Question from Hammond, Indiana, USA:
My six year old daughter has been diabetic since the age of two. We have achieved good control, but I would like it to be better. I seem to remember — somewhere during the blitz of information we got in the hospital — that there is a certain number of carbs that it covered by a unit of insulin. I have searched through my own information as well as that on the web and can’t seem to find the ratio anywhere. Any idea where I can find this out? She is currently using NPH and Humalog.
Answer:
Usually we start with 1 unit of insulin to cover 15 grams of carbohydrate, but this is very individual, and if the patient is on NPH and Regular, can be tricky. The folks I work with who use the insulin to carb ratios are on three shots a day using Regular or Humalog to cover meals and the Ultralente to give them a basal insulin. I would suggest you call your diabetes team to get the information they would like you to use for your particular regimen.
JM
