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Resistance to insulin

T

tjjpem1

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
My 14 year old daughter was diagnosed as type 1 in May this year.This week sugars were so well behaved until the latter end of the week.We have had a short stay in hospital as sugars registered on sensor and glucose moniter machime as HI this was for over 5hours,ketones raising too.Hospital Diabetes team had no plan as we were increasing insulin correction plus the extra for ketones,amount 0.2 per kg she weighs.They have absolutely no idea.so were discharged after a night on iv fluids sugars still out of normal range and ketones rising and fall still.Its like her body is resisting the Turapi altogether.
Consultant appt in three weeks,diabetic nurse on friday.
Has this happened to anyone else?
Should i be waiting until these future appointments? I have been type 1 for 33years and have never has any complications like this we are at a loss.
If anyone can help please any advice
 
Hi @tjjpem1 and welcome to the forums. As a T1 yourself I'm guessing you've already considered all my suggestions below but I'll make them anyway. (Disclaimer, we're not allowed to give medical advice on the forums).

I assume you've ruled out the obvious cause such as coming down with an illness? I know some people get drastic changes of insulin requirements caused by puberty and/or hormonal monthly changes? Also, could she simply be leaving the honeymoon period?

Is she on a pump or on injections? Some people find overusing injection sites can cause issues with absorption?

I find that if my bg goes up high then I become much more resistant to insulin, so I sometimes have to "rage bolus" till my levels go down. (Scary to do as you don't want to overload on insulin and go too low). Much easier to cope with on a pump as it shows me my insulin on board and allows me to keep track of how much insulin is in my system.

Tagging some of our younger T1s such as @Nicola M and @Zhnyaka who may have suggestions about T1 issues during puberty.... (My teenage years were pre glucometer so I have no help to give as to reasons for my poor control then).

Good luck with it all
 
my insulin dose changed a lot during puberty, but not in 3 months. The only thing that comes to mind is that since you also have diabetes, you noticed your daughter's diabetes very early, when she still had a lot of insulin-producing cells, and since they died quickly, the dose increased. Usually, diabetes is diagnosed when almost all the beta cells are dead and we are in a pre-coma state. It may not be a complication, but rather the progression of diabetes, which is often overlooked.
 
If you’re ever concerned my first port of call would be to ring the diabetes team at the hospital. With the hot weather last week there’s a possibility the insulin pens went bad, I’d always try changing them and giving a correction with a new pen, Being diagnosed as a teenager you already have a lot to contend with with hormones etc, but also she could still be producing her own insulin at times which can make dosing very confusing as one day she may need more basal /bolus than another day. I was also of an age where CGM’s were not a thing, I didn’t get a CGM or pump until I was 18 and I wasn’t the best controlled when I was a teenager. Being diagnosed at 14 is difficult and there’s definitely a chance secret snacking/drinking sugary drinks could be a factor. Personally I’d wait to discuss things with the nurse or doctor and go from there.
 
As a 14 year old myself, it becomes obvious overtime that hormones affect glucose levels, but for a newly diagnosed teen it becomes more worse, I’d say stay in touch with the doctors because you may think you have it together finally but it will probably be worse if you immediately cut regular contact with the hospital. A few questions to consider are:
Whether they get worse on her period
If they might have wrongly adjusted her insulin dose calculations
How does it affect her overall health?
As a diabetic of twelve years (not nearly as long as you so you’re the expert) I would personally say that newly diagnosed teens are probably the ones who need closer attention as everything is still new and their bodies are changing rapidly.
Also one thing is that even though teen rebellion is a huge thing (I’ll admit that I am a really rebellious teen too) it is probably a bad approach to just straight up ask her if she’s been secretly snacking, I know parents are concerned and she probably doesn’t understand the gravity of how bad it can get so without jumping to allegations, if you are suspicious of secret snacking, try to explain the bigger picture before and see if she admits whether she is also mention it to the team if it’s something you may think is happening because they may be able to explain it to her.
 
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