View Full Version : Diabetes and No Insulin?
Sarah Maddie's Mom
10-22-2007, 12:43 PM
A recent post mentions that child has been dx'd with Type One but is not yet needing insulin.
I had not heard of this before. Is this as unusual as I think it is? Or did any of you have this experience?
czardoust
10-22-2007, 12:46 PM
There is a child at my daughters school who was recently dx'ed as Type 1 and she has not been put on insulin yet. Which kind of floors me, but hey....I havent met the mom yet. i just hope they aren't holistic healers or something that believes in "no medication or hospitalization.":confused:
AlisonKS
10-22-2007, 12:53 PM
They are having a great honeymoon.
czardoust
10-22-2007, 12:54 PM
They are having a great honeymoon
LOL! I agree!
In a few cases, if the Type 1 diabetes diagnosis is made very early on (when the pancreas is still producing sufficient insulin) then there is still enough pancreatic function to deal with all but the biggest inputs of carbs. In fact, in these cases the Type 1 for a short while is experienced more like Type 2 in that with exercise, avoiding huge meals, and high glycemic index foods the child can keep BG in an acceptable range. Note that this does not last.
But for the short term, the doctor/endo in charge may actually give their blessing to no insulin being administered.
I have read posts where the child only needs one type of insulin right now. Or is on 1/2unit dose. So I think if the diabetes were caught in the VERY EARLY stages of honeymooning, it could be possible for a very short while. ???
When my son was first dx he needed only 1unit of nph, and no rapid at dinner. Now he has 7nph at bed, and at least 5 rapid at dinner. His AM insulins have all tripled in the 6mos since dx.
liasmommy2000
10-22-2007, 12:56 PM
I have heard it. Apparently it happens when they are diagnosed very early or are having a great honeymoon.
Lia's honeymoon wasn't nearly that good, just enough to be a pita. Now it seems to be over and I really find this more "honeymoonish" lol.
OneTwinWithJD
10-22-2007, 12:57 PM
but I know that Devin gets so little right now it almost seems like a LOT of work for LITTLE "action".
He is currently getting:
BREAKFAST: 2 units NPH (trying to get this changed)
DINER: 1 unit Novolog
BEDTIME: 1 unit NPH
And he is still running a little low so he he may very well not even need that much! So it REALLY gets aggrevating. It may sound sad/wrong but I had rather be giving 20 units than 2if I am going to have to poke on the little dude ya know!!.
AlisonKS
10-22-2007, 12:57 PM
Now it seems to be over and I really find this more "honeymoonish" lol.
I agree, he doesn't have as many lows now-I swear I never slept those 6 weeks cause they'd just come out of the blue. I know lows do that anyways but it was way more frequent back then!
Nancy in VA
10-22-2007, 12:59 PM
but I know that Devin gets so little right now it almost seems like a LOT of work for LITTLE "action".
He is currently getting:
BREAKFAST: 2 units NPH (trying to get this changed)
DINER: 1 unit Novolog
BEDTIME: 1 unit NPH
And he is still running a little low so he he may very well not even need that much! So it REALLY gets aggrevating. It may sound sad/wrong but I had rather be giving 20 units than 2if I am going to have to poke on the little dude ya know!!.
My 2 year old started on Basal/Bolus and our Lantus was only about 3 units and our average meal about 1 unit of Humalog, for a total of about 6 a day. I think at this age, the insulin requirements aren't going to be that great. We're thrilled for the pump because now we can be more exact with the teeny doses.
Mama Belle
10-22-2007, 01:15 PM
sam1nat2's son went through a rather long period after dx where he needed no insulin ... zero. I don't think it is overly common, but it does happen.
Kaylee's Mommy
10-22-2007, 01:28 PM
we caught Kaylee early, and they tried to get away with no insulin other than lantus.. they started her on 1 unit of lantus, quickly backed it down to a 1/2u and in the beginning we were waiting for 2 hours after her meal to see what her BG was.. her ratios were crazy, 1/2u for every 60carbs.. so we'd have to make sure she ate at least 60.. hard to get anything less than a 1/2u.. she's quickly worked her way to smaller ratios though.
selketine
10-22-2007, 01:31 PM
William got by on one shot of NPH for a short time (morning shot) - he did go at least 2 months I think with no insulin at all needed for overnight (no basal insulin like NPH or lantus, etc). He was 26 months old though.
I did read of an older kid on a different board who was just dx'd (this was awhile ago not recent) and seems like he also didn't need any overnight insulin and very little total.
Sarah Maddie's Mom
10-22-2007, 01:40 PM
WOW
And I thought we caught Maddie's early!
Live and learn.
Thanks for the info.
mommyx4
10-22-2007, 02:08 PM
I've heard of it before too. We weren't so lucky, of course, but one of the kids that was in the hospital the same time Hayleigh was didn't need any yet.
I found it odd that my BIL (26) who was just diagnosed w/type 1 last month is only on, I think, 2 units of Humalog right now. No long acting insulin at all. HIs BG's are still in the 300's so I aimgine they will change that soon, though.
sam1nat2
10-22-2007, 02:21 PM
We were on NPH for maybe a week, never opened the humalog until a few months past diagnosis and we then started out on half unit of Lantus about 3-4 months post diagnosis.
I didn't watch his diet, just his bg. We didn't do anything holistic either, he was just fortunate.
Even now, there are times of heavy exercise where he received no insulin:eek: This past Friday he was playing football with friends at a school function for about 5 hours (yes, he never gets tired of that) I gave him probably about 200 carbs and no insulin and still had to feed him all night AND i had even backed off the Lantus by half.:eek: It was one of those times where he says it is cool to have diabetes---when you get woken up at night to eat candy:p
KeltonsMom
10-22-2007, 02:45 PM
What I am finding interesting is that since Kelton is now going low after meals and we have changed his insulin to carb ratio to 1-20 and he was still going low so now the new Endo has told me not to have him give a bolus for food..So far it is working great. All he is doing now is 42 units of Lantus at night..
Kelton's honeymoon period was short lived, it lasted a week and then we were off to the races
What I am finding interesting is that since Kelton is now going low after meals and we have changed his insulin to carb ratio to 1-20 and he was still going low so now the new Endo has told me not to have him give a bolus for food..So far it is working great. All he is doing now is 42 units of Lantus at night..
Kelton's honeymoon period was short lived, it lasted a week and then we were off to the races
Seems odd to be getting 42 units of Lantus and no bolus insulin at all. I would try some detailed BG monitoring after a big carb heavymeal (30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes after), because he may well be spiking upward in the absence of any bolus.
Kirsten
10-22-2007, 03:14 PM
Griffin got no insulin at all for about 6 weeks. His TDD went from 0-6 Units over the next 10 months and then from 6-12 Units over the next 3 months. It's relatively stable now.
Kirsten
The ped nurse at our hospital recently told me she had one 4 year old who went a full year w/o insulin following diagnosis. She said he was dxed in the 300/400s, started on insulin but then didn't need it for a year.
KeltonsMom
10-22-2007, 03:35 PM
Seems odd to be getting 42 units of Lantus and no bolus insulin at all. I would try some detailed BG monitoring after a big carb heavymeal (30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 minutes after), because he may well be spiking upward in the absence of any bolus.
One hour after meals he is running between 140-160 Two hours after he is running between 100-118
This may be a weird phase
I've heard of it before too. We weren't so lucky, of course, but one of the kids that was in the hospital the same time Hayleigh was didn't need any yet.
I found it odd that my BIL (26) who was just diagnosed w/type 1 last month is only on, I think, 2 units of Humalog right now. No long acting insulin at all. HIs BG's are still in the 300's so I aimgine they will change that soon, though.
I find this strange too. My MIL just started on insulin, and only takes 12units nph in the am- that`s it for the day. While my 10yr old takes 48 units of NPH /day, plus rapid. Weird.
JoesMom
10-22-2007, 04:57 PM
I did read of an older kid on a different board who was just dx'd (this was awhile ago not recent) and seems like he also didn't need any overnight insulin and very little total.
You could be very easily talking about my son (15yr). He was dx 10 months ago and is only on 11 units of Lantus.
In a few cases, if the Type 1 diabetes diagnosis is made very early on (when the pancreas is still producing sufficient insulin) then there is still enough pancreatic function to deal with all but the biggest inputs of carbs. In fact, in these cases the Type 1 for a short while is experienced more like Type 2 in that with exercise, avoiding huge meals, and high glycemic index foods the child can keep BG in an acceptable range. Note that this does not last.
But for the short term, the doctor/endo in charge may actually give their blessing to no insulin being administered.
This is exactly what we experienced with our daughter dx at age three. She is now age six years. We spent three days in the children’s hospital and were sent home with monitoring tools to watch her. It took six months before we started insulin. The endo specialist said to us he has never at that time done this before but based on all the blood test for three days he could not yet start insulin. She was caught very early in her diagnosis so early we had to wait on insulin.
haileysmom
10-22-2007, 07:54 PM
hailey gets one unit of lantus at night and one unit per every 40 carbs (20 carbs at breakfast) she is so small though.