Treatment of Type 1 Diabetes

If you have type 1 diabetes, your body is no longer producing enough insulin. We try to mimic normal insulin levels with insulin injections or infusion through an insulin pump.

Bolus insulin refers both to a dose of insulin to control blood sugar for food and a dose to lower a high blood sugar. Insulin for sleep is usually referred to as basal Insulin.

Basal insulin is stable background insulin to cover requirements overnight while sleeping and between meals. A long-acting insulin, such as glargine, detemir or NPH, may be used or the continuous insulin infusion from an insulin pump may be used to replace basal insulin needs. Insulin for food is known as bolus insulin.

There are many different types of insulin, and they all work a little differently from one another. Some work a little faster and some work a little slower.

A greater number of injections does not necessarily mean your blood sugars or diabetes is worse. Insulin therapy for diabetes has changed tremendously through the years. The current treatment regimens try to mimic the physiologic (normal, non-diabetic) pattern of insulin release. These regimens require more frequent injections or use of an insulin pump or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion device.

All of the answers are correct. However, the best answer is "All of the above". Insulin-to-carbohydrate ratio refers to the amount of bolus insulin needed to cover an amount of carbohydrates, fast acting insulins are usually used to match the blood sugar rise from the carbohydrates, and some people may have different insulin-to-carbohydrate ratios at different times of the day.

High blood sugar correction or Insulin sensitivity factor refers to the amount of bolus insulin needed to drop a certain blood sugar, and is a bolus of insulin. Different people will have different sensitivities to insulin. As an example, for some, 1 unit of insulin may drop their blood sugars 50 points. For others, 1 unit of insulin may drop their blood sugars 30 points.