My friend, is going through chemo and on steroids, and now is on Lantus. He wasn't dx'd with any diabetic problems before all the other happened. My question is, is insulin based on weight for adults, like it is in children? He is constantly running in the 300's and his insulin dose is awfully small. Thanks!!
If he's diabetic due to steroids there's no telling what his dosage "should" be... and if he just started taking it recently it's possible they are cautiously titrating the dose. While it's not great to be in the 300's, it's not that bad for a short period of time. Unlike a type 1 he's not at risk of DKA.
People on steroids can get really major insulin resistance and need a lot of insulin. Because of insulin resistance, a type 2 diabetic may need way more insulin than would be expected in a type 1 diabetic of the same weight, and because they are making some insulin, they made need less insulin. And they CAN go into DKA, although they're not all that likely to. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19087951
You really can't compare steroid induced to type2,they are totally different. Steroids cause a (usually) temporary insulin resistance, so it's hard to find the right dosage. I imagine they are just being cautious right now and will slowly increase his doses.
