How Much Insulin A Day You Give?

[Angel]

Hiya eveyone

Just being reading about the honeymoon period. Kieran was diagnosed 10 weeks ago, so I assume we are still honeymooning.

I just wondered how much Insulin do you give your children each day?

Kieran was getting up to 25 units of Rapid insulin aday in the early days plus an extra 10 units of Lantus.

These days he get approx 5 - 8 units aday of Rapid plus an extra 6 units of Lantus.

I was wondering, will these amounts go up as time goes on, he is 7.5 years old at the moment.

Love Angel x

[Abby-Dabby-Doo]

My daughter is 6 and on the pump. So we only use the fast acting insulin.

On the weekdays she uses about 13 units of insulin a day.
On the weekends when she's not as active, she uses about 15 units of insulin a day.

Yes, as they grow up and become heavier (that's not the right word) they need more insulin.

PS DON'T FORGET YDMV (your diabetes may vary). All kids are different.

[missnme]

Jessica is almost 8 and her daily basal is 10.95 and her average bolus (correction/carb) is 13.5. So she's getting 24.45 on average each day. All of hers is Humalog since she's on the pump, and I think I have heard that Lantus usually requires 25% more for basal.

[sam1nat2]

Although it is something we all think about at first and compare to others, I've learned that each person is so unique and the circumstances are all so different!!
After diagnosis, my ds went off of insulin completely and then when he started back he had a half unit of Lantus. He was 7 at diagnosis.
To this day, his insulin requirements are very low, active day he'll have maybe 5 units total, sick time, maybe 14??

Just yesterday I met a lady whose nephews were on the pump and she was saying how one needed so much more inslin than the other, her words were one has D so much worse. I don't think it is a severity of the disease as much as it shows how different everyone metabolizes the drug/food/exercise.

Just my thoughts, maybe someone else has more insight?

[Emma'sDad]

Sorry Sam1nat2, no insight here, but I do agree about the metabolization comment you said. Also, some kids have resistance to insulin so they need more.

Emma starts off with 3.5 units of Levemir plus whatever she has for breakfast, usually around 3 to 5 units.

At lunch, she takes about 3 to 5 units. and supper around 5 to 7 units.

Bedtime snack is 6.5 units of Levemir.

Add this up and there's a range from 21 to 27 units.

[nebby3]

My dd is 5 (a big 5 though) and gets about 16-18 units a day. There have been times during illness or growth spurts when she's gotten up to 23u a day. There is some number that is supposed to tell you when the honeymoon is over--something like when they are getting 1u per kg of weight?? A child's diet may also affect how much they need. We don't limit carbs at all though we don't typically have a lot of sweets around the house.

[Amy C.]

You can't really gain anything by comparing insulin doses to another child other than generalities. As I remember my son at that age, he was on more insulin than Kieran is now. (7.5 units of Lantus and 15:1 carb to humalog ratio for about 12-15 units a day or 19-22 units total) But when Philip was 7.5, he had 4 years of living with diabetes under his belt.

When your child's blood sugars start to go up, you will need to increase the insulin. And yes, they will go up. Older children generally use more insulin than younger children. Body mass accounts for that.

If your child's sugar start going down, you will need to decrease.

Do not ever think that once you have a dose that works, that you are set. Managing diabetes involves testing, keeping track of carbohydrates eaten, noting exercise and then noticing when a change is needed. This is a constant exercise and one of the biggest hassles about living succesfully with the disease. You have to pay attention to the factors that affect blood sugar and take action where appropriate.

[D-Dad]

It goes up. The first year, we noticed it seem to jump after an illness. Then I understand that it just goes up as you grow.

[staciebco]

. There is some number that is supposed to tell you when the honeymoon is over--something like when they are getting 1u per kg of weight??.


I just learned this at our last endo visit. The "rule of thumb" is the honeymoon has ended when you are receiving .75-1u per kg of weight is correct. Anything under .5u per kg is still honeymooning.

[Hollyb]

Yes, the dosage will definitely increase, but by how much will be very individual. Three things (at least) will increase your child's need for insulin:

- growth
- end of honeymoon
- and then (I know, it's a long way to look ahead but maybe not as long as you thinkg) puberty.

Aaron hit all three at once and has gone over the course of a year and a half from under 20 units a day to around 70... and we're not done yet.

[3js]

Hiya eveyone

Just being reading about the honeymoon period. Kieran was diagnosed 10 weeks ago, so I assume we are still honeymooning.

I just wondered how much Insulin do you give your children each day?

Kieran was getting up to 25 units of Rapid insulin aday in the early days plus an extra 10 units of Lantus.

These days he get approx 5 - 8 units aday of Rapid plus an extra 6 units of Lantus.

I was wondering, will these amounts go up as time goes on, he is 7.5 years old at the moment.

Love Angel x

i am wondering too, about the honeymooning period.

my son gets 20 nph, 7 nr a day. for us the amount of insulin is a consideration in that the pens we use won`t be practical from a $$ standpoint. we would at some point switch to syringes, if not pumping.

[MelissaC]

Hey Angel!

mY DD Is almost 6 months into diagnoses and her amounts of insulin have gone up and down since February!

Right now she is about 50 pounds (almost 6 - in 1 week and counting...) and she get s 7 units of Lantus at 9:00pm before bed and depending on her carb intake we do 1 unit of Humalog for every 30 grams of carbs that she eats - somedays she only ends up getting a total of 5 units of Humalog it just depends..

I have already learned that it changes and whenever I think I have her even keeled and can realx a bit guess what? Time to change :0

Hey at least it will keep all of our brains functioning at a high level with all of the calculations we have to do right ;)

[Caynuns mom]

When first sent home from Dx he was on 7 units once a day with 1:100 of sliding scale within a few months he slowly increased to 18 units in the am, 2 units R in the pm, with 1:100 of sliding scale. He's been at this for about 10 months.

[3jennifer]

The insulin needs will go up with age. Most of the replies I have seen are from parents with younger kids, my son is 16. As they go into puberty, hormones really affect the insulin needs, when there is a growth spurth more insulin is needed. We have learned that we usually have to go up on insulin in the summer or holiday breaks, decrease during school months. He currently does 29 units of Lantus at night, then uses a humalog pen for other times. His doses vary according to what he is eating, his numbers and his activity (he plays football for the high school and they are doing a summer workout program). His total humalog units may range from 30-70 a day.

[s0ccerfreak]

My daughter is 16, she uses 30-60 units of novolog plus 9 units of lantus. Her doses for foods are different for every meal. And it also depends on if she has to teach swimming lessons in the morning (4hours w/o insulin) or in the evening (2hours w/o insulin)

[madde]

You can't really gain anything by comparing insulin doses to another child other than generalities. As I remember my son at that age, he was on more insulin than Kieran is now. (7.5 units of Lantus and 15:1 carb to humalog ratio for about 12-15 units a day or 19-22 units total) But when Philip was 7.5, he had 4 years of living with diabetes under his belt.

When your child's blood sugars start to go up, you will need to increase the insulin. And yes, they will go up. Older children generally use more insulin than younger children. Body mass accounts for that.

If your child's sugar start going down, you will need to decrease.

Do not ever think that once you have a dose that works, that you are set. Managing diabetes involves testing, keeping track of carbohydrates eaten, noting exercise and then noticing when a change is needed. This is a constant exercise and one of the biggest hassles about living succesfully with the disease. You have to pay attention to the factors that affect blood sugar and take action where appropriate.

Very well said and so true.

[MamaC]

when there is a growth spurth more insulin is needed.

We see just the opposite. When he hits a growth spurt, we have to decrease insulin.

Diagnosed 14 months ago at age 13, Tom's insulin needs have decreased steadily. First month he was on 2 injections a day, NPH and Novolog combined in each shot. Less than a month in, Novolog was discontinued altogether. A week after that, the evening injection was discontinued.

We have gradually gone from approx 70 total units per day at diagnosis, down to 35 per day when the Novolog was discontinued, down to 7 of NPH once a day. And we may have to reduce again when soccer camp hits next month.

Tomorrow his swim relay goes for a pool record...if they drop 1/10 of a second each, they own it. Think good thoughts for them please!

At dx, he was 5' 4", 108#. He is now 5'10", 150#. Poster child for YDMV.

Becky

[Mama Belle]

Samantha's TDD is roughly 34 units. She is nine and never honeymooned. Although for a couple of years after DX we did notice that after every illness she would require more and more insulin. That doesn't happen anymore, now it is just a growth thing.

[bogusrogus]

We give Haley 4 units of Lantus every night, than novolog for breakfast she's at 1:20, lunch 1:27, supper 1:30, so an average of 10 units for the day, if you count the lantus.

[munsonklein]

Sarah averages about 45 units of Novolog a day (she's on the pump). Her basal is about 20 units out of the 45. Activity, illness, and growth spurts can increase or decrease her TDD by about 10-15 units. She's 11, in the thick of puberty, dx'd 11 months ago, and didn't honeymoon.
It's fascinating to see the differences, even in kids that are about the same age.
Cathy