How many units do you need?

[thomasb]

Of both long and short term insulin that is.

At 25, I got diagnosed with type 1 about 3 months ago, while studying in the states(now living back in sweden). Went from eating junk food to eating only low carb frozen food and things i knew would not affect my sugars. I had a hard time keeping my sugars below 130. And that was when i knew exactley how many cars i was eating. I started out with 12 units of lantus, and 3 or 4 units of novorapid. That worked ok.

Came back home to sweden, and my insulin need changed over a week. I have now lowered my lantus to 6 units, and i take 1 unit before meals. Got my first ever hba1c and it was 5.8. I eat well and exercise some. My average daily level is around 5.5(99)Have friends who take 13 units of novorapid.

why does it differ so much from person to person, does bodyweight have to do with it too, more than exercise?

Thomas.

[parrotletzoo]

Yes bodyweight, exercise, stress, degree of insulin resistance and even altitude effects the amount of insulin a person needs.

On average I took 30-40 units of insulin a day. If I was moren active somedays I only needed 25. on days I ate a lot (like holidays) I'd use 45 units. That is total insulin for the day including basal and bolus insulin.

Everyone varies. My mom used around 12 units of insulin a day and my Sister uses around 90 units. go figure. ;)

[SueM]

I use 15 long acting and 17 short acting a day.
But what everyone takes doesn't matter it's what YOUR body needs that counts.
As you have only been diagnosed for a few mths you will be going through the honeymoon period. (Your pancreas is having it's last gasp/splutter before it pops it's clogs).

[Cyborg]

I'm curious as to why you are not taking your fast acting insulin based on your carb intake...

[rocky]

Right now I am taking 15u Lantus twice a day and as a baseline of NovoRapid I take 8-7-8 before meals... depending on what my BG is before the meal, and what I am going to be eating.

I work out or do something active for about 2 hours everyday.

Everybody is different. :)

[Funnygrl]

I use 25-40 units a day total.

[BlueSky]

Of both long and short term insulin that is ...... I started out with 12 units of lantus, and 3 or 4 units of novorapid. That worked ok.

Came back home to sweden, and my insulin need changed over a week. I have now lowered my lantus to 6 units, and i take 1 unit before meals. ..... Have friends who take 13 units of novorapid. .....
Thomas,

As your were diagnosed only 3 months ago, you are still in the honeymoon stage. It means that your beta cells are still producing some insulin. So the amount you are injecting is somewhat less than your body requires to function.

It is not unusual for injected insulin requirements to decline after treatment starts, as has happened with you. Bringing blood glucose down reduces stress on the beta cells and they are able to cope somewhat better. But they will deteriorate over time, and you will end up having to inject all your insulin.

Insulin requirements vary, depending on things like weight, diet, activity level and insulin resistance. But for most T1 diabetics not in their honeymoon stage, it is 0.5 - 1.0 units per kilogram of body weight, per day. (I can't remember where I saw that guideline, but it sounds about right.)

[thomasb]

I'm curious as to why you are not taking your fast acting insulin based on your carb intake...

That is because i cook food that is more or less carb free. A lot of stews with mostly veggies and other things. Naturally i count carbs when i eat something new or when i need to. Overall i find that the food i eat here in sweden has less carbs then the food i ate in the states. interesting.

Ah thank you people interesting info i got here. thank you

[Bladerunner]

Hi , I also thought a person needs 1/2 - 1 eh per kilo bodyweight a day, altleast thats what I read that on a paper that came with novorapid (not anymore) . I use 23 Insulatard, and about 25 eh novorapid per day for years now, but that varys per day. I also read storys from people that had unbalanced db that took over 100 eh and coundnt get there sugers down, go figure !!. I was now told I am a type I, but there not that sure, so I dont change my profile yet that says type II :)

[jen_slc]

I am on 15 units basal/long-acting (Lantus) - 8 in the morning, 7 at night. And I average about 16 units bolus/short-acting (Apidra) for my meals.

After 15 years of diabetes, this is the least amount of insulin I have ever been on. I used to take 24 units basal and up to 30 units for boluses. So you never know what may happen, we're all different. I attribute my lower levels to significant physical activity. As soon as I stop that, my insulin requirements go up! I eat healthy, but it's not a restrictive diet by any means; I am mostly vegetarian so my diet is pretty carb heavy and I still have low insulin needs.

[poodlebone]

I average (according to my pump) about 25 units a day. I only use Humalog since I'm pumping. 13.9 units is basal and the rest bolus, so my basal insulin is a little more than 50%. That's with eating a LOT of carbs, up to 300g/day. If I had the willpower to do moderate carb I'd be under 20 units a day.

Weight definitely has a lot to do with it, even for a Type 1. When I was heavier and was more careful with carbs, I was still using 40-50 units a day. As I lost weight, I needed less insulin because all of the resistance went away.