My current daily basal total is now 14.2 units. A year ago my basal total was about 30 units per day. My lower carb way of eating, starting last May 1, cut my insulin requirements in half and allowed me to lose about 20 pounds. Looking back I can see that even though I am a T1, I had become insulin resistant. It took me about five years to finally come to this conclusion. I’m glad I finally did but wish that my endocrinologists (I went every three months!) would have given me some help.
Type 1, 5 years, 19.4 units of basal a day. My TDD is usually around 35-36.
You were the victim of eyeballism. (I just made up that word). That is, the doc LOOKED at you and decided you were T2 because of your weight, and the fact that you were an adult (I don't know how old you were). Maybe you had a gradual onset, which feeds into the misconception as well. I wish that that kind of medical professional realized that not all T2s are fat, and not all T1s are skinny. But they were probably taught that in medical school. I'm also pretty well depleted in insulin production, but still, I have an apple shape, and it took going into a coma to convince the medical folks that I'm T1. It's the pits!
I am an LADA diabetic as well I take 1.35 units per hour, which equals 32.4 units per day. I usually take another 15-18 units per day for bolus insulin. My endo claims that is about average for someone of my age and size.
Hi
I'm also Lada. When I was started on Insulin I was in the ER/ICU in DKA- it was given slowly by iv with fluids. One of my nurses said I wasn't using much insulin once I was out of DKA, starting to eat and stabilizing- I was still on IV insulin and fluids then. When they switched me to pens I was on 30 units per day for the basal. That dropped dramatically in the next few weeks as my needs decreased. I'm now taking 10 units Lantus per day in 2 doses and my bolus and correction are usually 10 - 20 units novolog.
That is great your new endo does that!
I have a basal rate the fluctuates between 0.025u/hr and 0.3 u/hr. I use a pump because that’s the only way I wouldn’t go low in the early afternoons. Also, I can put as little as 30u in my pump and use it. It just depends on the brand I suppose and how quickly you go through insulin.
old thread but I too started out with using only about 2 units levemir during honeymoon, eventually just kept having to add more. I started my Omnipod on Tuesday, we used 25% less my levemir and I'm also using 12 units basal on pump. I weigh about 105 lbs. seems like so much insulin but my doc said no, not at all.
Also, i too was low carbing and it really does effect how your body reacts to carbs...I eventually had to start bolusing for protein and everything, seemed like carbs just spiked me. My Endo told me I've made myself so sensitive to carbs. Analog insulins work best with carbs, not made really for proteins. Add back carbs slowly and you'll be able to eat them. Nothing wrong with them and your insulin will work better. That's what I'm doing now. Seems to be working. Nice to eat something other then meat and veggies..ha!
Just remember that everyone's different, both in body height, weight, and insulin sensitivity. If I asked you how much water you need to put out a fire, the answer is obvious: enough. So you'll see a wide variety of answers here, and and there's no such thing as "a lot" or "a little". There's only "enough". The goal for ALL of us is to control BGs, not to worry about how much insulin we're taking. So I hope you're getting good control, and enjoying life!
I found this question because I have a 10 year old just about 100 lb daughter. Been on a pump for a year T1d 6/11/12. Her basal has gone up 3 units in under 3 weeks. We are at almost 19 units a day and see no slowing down. I adjust every 2-3 days. We are running high tonight. Where are you at now?
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Hi Cheri3,
Dunno whether you will get this but I am in a similar situation with my daughter and her basal dose has gone up from about7 to 15-16 units in 3weeks…we are still trying to get it under control:(…I would be really thankful if you could share the steps you took to sort it out and also what we should expect in future…please help!!
The teenage years are full of hormones that demand an increase in basals. My son, now 12, is using 32-36u per day. Before puberty began he needed only 12u basal per day.
Thanks Yifat for that input…it’s reassuring to hear from other parents…I’m extremely stressed that her basal dose has increased so much and her sugar levels are like a roller coaster…she’s 10 and I guess it’s the start of puberty as well…
My almost 14 year-old daughter just recently broke through the 50 units of basal insulin per day glass ceiling despite the fact that we began eating very healthy low-carb dinners 3 weeks ago. (Our neighborhood Booger Fling, Taco Hell, DickMonald’s, Fairy Queen, and Pizza Slut franchises are now considering bankruptcy.) When I reviewed her pump records and discovered she was topping out at slightly over 100 units TDD, I endulged in a brief freak-out after which time I told myself "She needs what she needs, and I need to get a grip." My daughter’s endo was right: eight days after she told us that my daughter was nearing menarche, my darling daughter started her period. And her TDD has been trending downward since. She is currently requiring about 37.25 units of basal insulin (via pump) per day. The closer my basal rate adjustments bring her to an “ideal” 50/50 basal/bolus split, the lower her TDD trends. Oh, the bliss of temporary nirvana…
Hi rgcainmd,
I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to hear similar stories…thanks for sharing them…my daughter is only 10…I guess I’d better be prepared for many more highs and lows…regarding your daughter TDD, my girls doc said the same thing …" She needs what she needs!" …I suppose we need to hear it from someone who’s been there and done that , for us to believe in it 
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My basal insulin ranges from just over 30 units to just under 50 units based on monthly hormonal fluctuations (and my ratios change a similar amount).
Someone really needs to write a book just for women with diabetes on all the craziness we have to deal with!!
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My basal dose is currently 8 units daily. And that is with a relatively low level of physical activity. Two years ago it was just six units during the winter and I had to reduce it to only five units for the summer, when my activity increased due to yard work and weather which permitted walks. My endo frequently expresses amazement at how little I take.
I’ve read, however, that the elderly often do have reduced basal needs. I’m 74. If I recall correctly one of the insulin books by Walsh or Scheiner said basal needs are often decreased by something like 30 percent after age 65.
I do, however, need a higher than usual amount (for a type 1) of bolus insulin, typically using about 21 units of Humalog or 19 units of Apidra daily for my moderate carb (120-150 g/day) diet.
That does seem really low. Were you diagnosed as an adult? It seems a lot of people diagnosed as an adult have low basal rates (<15 units). I was started on 8.5 units of basal insulin when I was diagnosed as a nine year old, and during my honeymoon that dropped to 7 units for about a month, but then it went up to 11.5 units shortly after, and it’s gone steadily up since then…
Misdiagnosed as a type 2 at age 70. It was a year and a half before I was correctly diagnosed. Should really have been on insulin the whole time as I had antibodies to both GAD65 and IA2. Nonetheless, I did only need 6 units basal to start and it is up to 8 now, so I’ve apparently lost more beta cells in the past three years as activity isn’t much different.
these 2 gals wrote one
we had them for a live interview last year
there’s also Amy Mercer’s book