Puberty | After puberty | Remission | What impairs insulin sensitivity | What improves insulin sensitivity
The dose of insulin required by children is usually in the range of 0.7–1.0 units / kg per day.
Puberty
During puberty, children need a large dose of insulin.
Growth in girls occurs at the age of about 12 years, in boys – about 14 years.
This period of time ends by 16-17 years.
The dose of insulin increases:
- boys: up to 1.4–1.6 units / kg per day;
- girls: above 1 U / kg per day.
After puberty
After the growth spurt, the need for insulin decreases (within a few years after puberty: up to 0.7–1.0 U / kg per day).
Remission phase or “honeymoon”
It can occur after the start of treatment for the first detected type 1 diabetes mellitus. The dose of insulin after normalizing the level of blood glucose is reduced to. In the “honeymoon period”, the ability of beta cells to produce insulin is partially restored. The remission phase usually lasts from 3-6 months to a year. Sometimes it happens that there is no phase of remission at all, and sometimes it lasts more than a year. If you get sick (for example, catch a cold), then the need for insulin increases dramatically. If you are experiencing the so-called honeymoon phase, you cannot stop insulin administration, even if your dose is only a few units. Unfortunately, there is no complete remission of type 1 diabetes.
What impairs insulin sensitivity
For a short time:
- fever or infection;
- stress;
- high blood glucose during the previous day;
- previous hypoglycemia;
- low physical activity;
- ketoacidosis.
For a long time:
- pregnancy;
- puberty;
- overweight;
- smoking;
- taking certain medications (prednisone);
- the presence of other chronic diseases in the acute phase.
What improves insulin sensitivity
- Maintaining normal blood glucose.
- Weight loss.