December 3, 1999
Insulin
Question from Livonia, Michigan, USA:
My son was diagnosed with type 1 just after his 6th birthday about 7 months ago. Do you have any information on publications giving exact recommendations on adjusting insulin dosages based on blood sugar fluctuation patterns? Doctors are vague and say to “experiment”. We’d like real guidelines.
Answer:
Insulin adjustment is an individual thing, depending on factors such as the types of insulin, age of child, exercise and food patterns. I would recommend reading and learning as much as you can about your child’s insulins, and working with your diabetes clinician to help best adjust your own child’s insulin. A book such as Understanding Insulin-Dependent Diabetes has a good chapter on insulins. One caution is that for the first year or so of diabetes, your child will probably continue to make some insulin, and the insulin adjustment guidelines may change over time as less and less insulin is made.
LM
