May 18, 2005
Hypoglycemia, Other
Question from Edmond, Oklahoma, USA:
My son was diagnosed with type 1 just after his second birthday. He is now three and a half years of age. Occasionally, once every few months, there will be a night during which we (his parents) cannot seem to keep his sugars up.
Our regimen is as follows: we split his average meal time NovoLog amount in half, injecting half before his meal then calculating the requirement and injecting the difference after he finishes. Four hours after his evening meal, we test him and, at that time, we also inject his Lantus. The four hour wait is to allow the NovoLog to be completely consumed to avoid an overlap in dosages. On those nights when he is low, we give him four to five ounces of 100% fruit juice and retest in two hours. This process is repeated every two hours throughout the night.
His doctor stated that this likely is caused by what he has either eaten or drunk not moving from the stomach into the intestine for absorption. Are there certain juices that make this transition more quickly that others? We are using apple and mixed berry at present.
Answer:
A couple of points. There should be no discernable “overlap” between the NovoLog and the Lantus. If your son has a low sugar, you should follow up the fruit juice with something more sustaining (starchy) like bread or a grain biscuit, otherwise, he is very likely to go low again. I would recommend that he have a starchy snack before bed anyway. Please discuss this with your son’s doctor.
KJR