New Insulin Program

Kidlet Three has had Type I diabetes for five years. The type of insulin and the schedule in which he gets his shots was set up five years ago, when he was first diagnosed.

There are many types of insulin and different schedules when to get the insulin. There are syringes, pens and pumps to get the insulin into the body. There are insulins that can be mixed together and other insulins that shouldn’t be given at the same time.

Sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to learn what would be the best for our child and keeping up to date with everything!

With all of his sports and the lifestyle we choose to lead, it was getting harder and harder for us to manage Kidlet Three's blood sugar levels. Almost a year ago we asked the doctor to switch to a different insulin-taking program and the answer was yes. Then we asked for a newer type of insulin and the answer was no. We had a major decision to make. The doctor has had a lot of experience with diabetes (it is his specialty) but the new literature and the recommendations on the American Diabetes Association (ADA) website didn't match the information he was giving us.

So after praying and studying the literature, we switched doctors. It was the right decision! This doctor’s recommendation for an insulin program matched exactly what I had read on the ADA website!

We had to go back to school to learn the new insulin program. We visited the diabetes education nurse and the dietitian several times over a two-week program to “un-learn” the program we had been using and to “learn” the new program.  

Here Kidlet is learning to calculate how much insulin he will give himself based on what his blood sugar level is.

 The two insulins are Lantus and Novolog.  Lantus is one shot a day and the Novolog is three shots per day with meals.  Our training included scenarios written on this poster.  This is a replica of a "log book" that we keep with each blood poke and insulin amount recorded.

Can you see the mohawk!  He really caught onto this training more quickly than The Husband and I.  He was asking really good questions here.

The Husband asking his questions

 This is an insulin pen.  It is like a pen with a refillable ink cartridge.  At the end of the pen is a dial to "dial up" how much insulin should be given during a shot.  It is a really neat gadget and Kidlet Three loves this now better than the syringes he has been using.

It is a lot of information here, isn't it!  Sometime I feel like we are computer programmers because IF blood sugar is "xyz", THEN do "this" ELSE do "this". 

Diabetes shows us what amazing bodies God created.  Oh my heart cries out for a cure and I believe there will be one in the near future.  I am praying for the person that God will use to bring forth a cure. 

If you have any questions about diabetes or what you've read here, let me know.