How much amount of insulin are your kids taking in one day?

Parents
1

I am so frustrated right now.  My daughter's sugar is very high for the past couple of days.  I don't know what to do.  My doctor is telling me to increase her insulin.  I feel that each time her sugar is high for over 3 days, her doctor tells me to increase her insulin.

I want to know how much insulin is taken each day.  When ever my daughters sugar level rises more than 3 days in a row, her doctor tells me to increase her insulin.  She is not on the pump. 

For breakfast she takes NPH 21 and humalog 9  total amount taken is 30 units

For dinner she take humalog 7 units

For bedtime she take NPH 14.

I feel that the insulin amount for a 10 year old who weighs just a little over 70 pounds is to high.  Please can I know the amount of insulin your children are taking.  When I question her doctoer, He does not provide me witha  a straight answer.  What I have heard is per kilo one unit of insulin is the ideal amount.   So she is a little over 31 kilos and her insulin intake per day is over 51 units.  I am very concerend that she is on too much insulin. 

I don't know if her diet is poor and that is resulting in too much insulin being taken, or jsut simply she needs that much amount.  Can someone please help me out.  Thanks.

2

I'm so sorry you're feeling frustrated. But there's no standard "right amount" of insulin to give each day.

How much insulin you use really depends on the child. It can't be dictated strictly by her weight. Or her diet. Or by her age. Everyone is unique and a complex combination of factors including insulin sensitivity, metabolism and emotional state affect how much she needs each day. Many times when our daughter Cassie gets sick she needs almost twice as much insulin just to stay below 200. At breakfast she needs LOTS of insulin to counteract her "dawn effect" (I wrote about breakfast recently on my blog here )

So I think your doctor is probably giving you pretty good advice. Don't worry about how much insulin you're giving if it leads to decent blood sugar results.

3

At one point our son was taking 27 of Lantus (long lasting) and a 1:10 ratio ( 1 until for every 10 carbs) of Humalog (rapid).  Now a year plus later; he takes 12 of Lantus and a 1:15 ratio of Humalog.  We've had times where we've gone up and down anywhere in-between.   

There is no rhyme to reason when it comes to each person.  Some foods run him higher than others; and some foods take a day or two to kick in and then he will start running higher.  He can eat pizza on Sat night; and Monday he is high mid day. (Never fails)

Obviously fatty fried and sugary foods will require higher amounts of insulin due to the higher amount of carbs in them.

I know that we had about a 6 week run; didn't matter what he ate, how much or how little he ate; he ran high. And they had us giving extra "random" shots to keep him from getting too high. Didn't seem to be sick, he's 13 so of course there are all other factors in there that can cause his numbers to be crazy.

Numbers can run high from emotions, stress, hormones, growth spurts, illness, etc... Any number of things.

As long as you can keep on top of them; and they are not out of control. I wouldn't worry about the amount of insulin.  Talk to a nutritionist or Diabetes educator if you are looking for another opinion than the physician.

Good luck!  It's tough!

 

 

4

HI

My son is on the pump so not sure if it comparable to injections.  He is only on Humalog.  His ratio is 1:20 -1:22 depending on the time of day.  His basal rates are all different and to be homest, I don't know them off the top of my head.  His total daily daose is usually between 12-14 units. 

I agree with the others that there is no limit or magic number.  Everybody is different and just when you get a ratio or amount that works, your daughter will grow or change and she will need a different amount.  This disease is great at making really good parents doubt and second guess themselves.

Good Luck and Best Wishes!

5

Those numbers sound right. But remember you can't compare your daughter to others . She is her own individual body with her own individual needs. I realize that you may feel scared about giving your daughter more insulin as it can potentially make her sugars go low, but if her blood sugar dictates it, she needs more. As much as we all may want to, we can't control what our bodies dictate as needs. You would never tell her not to breath so much when she runs or for her heart not to beat so fast when she is happy. =) Or for her not to grow so tall. But that is in essence what we are trying to do. Match what our bodies would naturally do. And us diabetics, and super moms, and super dads have the awesome responcibility to be detectives to figure out what our body dictates, silently without our knowing or in numbers on a screen.

This post is very popular but it is interesting to follow the story of Mad Evans and his insulin needs requirements. This form will tell you more about the very different daily insulin needs of the different people on the site. you don't have to read all of it but it tells the story of insulin needs and the way they change.

http://juvenation.org/forums/t/455.aspx?PageIndex=1

"I know the lower the body weight, the lower the insulin requirement... but I feel like my daily insulin requirement is still uncharacteristically low.

I (I'm a male) weigh about 145 lbs and take about 25 units per day - I'm on a pump and only use fast acting.  I know a girl my size (diabetic for 15 yrs) who takes about 25 units per meal - she's also on a pump!  What in the world is wrong with me here?  I was diagnosed about 3 years ago... could I still be honeymooning?  Does your insulin requirement continue to increase as the years go on or am I just special?

EDIT (more info):  I am 6 feet tall.  Yes, I am incredibly skinny... I always have been."

he later post this.

"It seems like I was in some type of long-lasting honeymoon phase because my insulin needs have increased significantly.  I never got sick again or anything, but I'm pretty sure that my beta cells are just slowly decreasing in number.

I now require about 40 units of bolus insulin per day and about 6 units of basal insulin.  I'm about 1:7 for breakfast, 1:15 for lunch, then 1:10 for dinner.   I used to only have to take about 4-6 units for my typical breakfast, but now I'm taking about 10-15 units regularly.

It's crazy how our insulin needs can change even 3 YEARS after diagnosis.  This just reinforces the idea that we have to continually be making sure we are aware of how much insulin we need for certain amounts of carbs.  Because, for a while there, I was dosing myself like I regularly was previously and my glucose levels were WAY too high.

Luckily I was able to recognize it pretty quickly, change my basal rates, and alter how much I need to bolus too.  That was a pretty nice honeymoon though, I guess.  :)"

He makes a very good point. Needs change. So please don't be frustrated. good luck

6

What others have posted is great, I would also suggest not thinking of insulin as a drug like Tylenol or an antibiotic. With these there is a real risk that giving too much will have negative effects on the body (overdoses and you have to match the body size to the dose). However, insulin is a hormone that your daughters body would produce naturally. There is no way to know how much insulin your daughter's pancreas would be making if she didn't have diabetes - we only know that it would be making the perfect amount for her needs. (that is what your and my pancreas is doing right now!) The only way to know what her body needs with diabetes is by looking at her blood sugars and if they are high, she needs more insulin.

The only other thing to consider is that regular exercise will help her body use the insulin available more efficiently and is good for her in many other ways too.

If you are unable to get an answer you understand from your daughter's doctor, you may need to consider another doctor. It is so important to be able to trust your doctor. If you are uneasy, that is a good reason to talk with other care providers to see if there is one you would like better. The treatment they prescribe may end up being exactly the same, but if a new doctor or CDE can explain it to you in a way that satisfies your questions - you will feel better about it and more confident.

7

My son is 2 and 5 months and takes NPH 71/2...lantus 2 1/2 and novolog varies depending on his numbers.  Generally I also look for three days of running high before I change his scale.  He weighs about 35-36 lbs.  Believe me I know it is frustrating!  The growth spurts throw everything off!

8

My daughter is on a pump but I noticed this year when she started kindergarten that her need suddenly went up like a few units. she is on novolog and the pump so I can't compare her units to yours but she went from a basal rate of about 6 units a day and a carb ratio of 1:18 to 8 units a day basal and a carb ratio of 1:15. i felt these were big changes but the doctor told me not to worry about it. the changes in their bodies at these young ages change things and needs very quickly. Just wait til the teen years, you will probably see large changes very quickly. I do what your doctor does, i give it 3-5 days of running high and then i adjust the rates. It can be scary at times but if that is what is needed to keep her numbers within a normal range then that is what hs to be done.

9

Our son (age 8, dx May 2009) takes 9.5 units Lantus in the evening, and averages about 10-15 units of Humalog throughout the day, depending on what he's eating.  His carb/insulin ratios are 1:15 for breakfast, 1:30 for bedtime, and 1:12 the rest of the day.  We haven't had to tweek his ratios or doses for about a month now, but realize his numbers will just have to be adjusted from time to time, depending on what's going on with his body.  It's not an exactly science, more like an art, and we just have to kind of go with it.

I got a real shock about a month or so ago when my MIL, who has type 2, told me she takes 100 units of Lantus and 100 units of Humalog every day, in addition to meds to help with insulin resistance.  It really gave me perspective about how little insulin it takes to keep our son's BS on target.

Blessing,

Mo

10

it changes daily right now but this morning it was 20 nph and .5 novolog tonight before dinner it was 13nph 7 log. Her bs this morning was really low but by dinner it was in the mid 200's

11

[quote user="Jessica "]

it changes daily right now but this morning it was 20 nph and .5 novolog tonight before dinner it was 13nph 7 log. Her bs this morning was really low but by dinner it was in the mid 200's

[/quote]

oh and my daughter id 9 and around 65-70 lbs now too. She lost 22 lbs and was down to 52lbs gained 12 back by last monday and has gained more this week but I am not sure how much. Tomorrow we are most likely going up on the nph to 21 and depending on her morning numbers either stop the novolog tomorrow or go up on it. Her day time numbers were great until dinner time.