i was just wondering how much insulin everyone uses in a day. i was reading the dusscusion on how many card everyone uses in a day and wow my sons is way higher. We are following what the nutritionist told use maybe it because he is a teenage boy in the middle of puberty.
My son only uses about 14 units a day, but he only weighs about 70 pounds and was only diagnosed a year ago. From what I’ve read, and heard from other parents of teens, they need more because they eat more, but they also just need more because of all the hormones going around their bodies. Some of the parents of teens I know say their kids use huge amounts. It’s supposed to settle down after puberty though I guess!
When I went through puberty the amount of insulin I needed varied substantially from what I have been using on average over the last few years. I am sure the info you received from your nutritionist is great.
My daily totals average between 40-60 units/day, depending on if I’m eating a big meal (I LOVE carbs 
or if I’m exercising a lot that day. For this reason, my basal/bolus distribution is not the coveted 50/50 split…
I use about 30-35 units per day on average. My basal rate is usually .85/hour except for some pod-change days (depending on pod location) when I bump it up 50-75% for a few hours.
By the way, my insulin usage dropped significantly when I switched from MDI to OmniPod. On MDI I would take 25-30 unites of Lantus or Levemir and anywhere from 25-40 units of Humalog/Novolog depending on meals.
I average about 75 units daily. This is down from an average of 95 after starting Symlin about 3 weeks ago.
My 8 year old, 100 lb daughter uses anywhere from 12-27 units per day depending on what she eats. I’m trying to get her to minimize carbs just to keep her numbers where they should be. She was diagnosed in February this year.
Insulin use is a very personal thing that varies for each person. I currently use 60-70 units a day on my Omnipod. Before I started the pod in February I was using 80 units a day on a regular basis. There are, of course, days when I’ll eat cake or ice cream or something else and that will kick up my insulin usage. My “perfect” day according to my doctor is a day when I eat nothing with any fat in it and then I generally use about 55 units. As for Carbs, if you’re doing what the nutritionist recommends then that’s your best bet. When I first started using these boards I flipped out at how few carbs people were eating, then I realized that we all have individual needs. I usually eat about 150 carbs / day. My doctor says the most important thing is to try to keep this consistent. Good luck with a teenage boy though, I’m a 26 y/o girl and can’t do it. If what you’re doing is working for you don’t stress about what people on here say. What matters is that you’ve got it under control and the sugars are where they need to be. Good luck!
We’ve had a couple threads on this topic. It comes up every few months. You should check out:
Poll Results: How many units of insulin do you get per day?
We had a community poll with a lot of responses.
Yes, your son will use a LOT during puberty and teen years. Remember that body weight, age, activity level, carb intake, insulin sensitivity, method of treatment (pump vs. injections), etc. can all have an effect on the final number.
I current use between 50 and 60 units per day of Apidra most days.
Bolus avg. of 22.65 Basal avg. of 22.25 for an avg. total of 44.90 units a day. The total insulin usage is down from an avg. of 65/day when I was using Levemir (32units/evening) with the rest being meals and corrections. My A1c went down from 8.3 to 5.9 since I started the OmniPod.
i average around 25 units of insulin a day.
Wow after reading some of the other usages I feel like a freak. I am going through 80 to 95 units per day (working days). As a result I am going through a pod every 2 days, if I am lucky I will get 21/2 days.
Same here Jeff. I change my pod every other day. I average about 100 units a day. I dont even get a FULL 2 days. This is better than giving myself shots 4-5 times a day though. I just started on the Omni pod 1 week ago.
I use about 25 units a day, wow I thought I was eating alot of carbs but maybe I’m really not!
oh that is bolus and basal
Tifany and Jeff,
What is your insulin/carb ratio? What is your correction factor? Basal rates?
My son is 16 and uses around 60 - 75 a day. He is 6’6" and eats a lot!!
well i guess it is that usual that he uses about 50 units a day than
It’s not just about how many carbs you’re eating. A lot of it is your body’s sensitivity to carbs. At dinner time I take 1 unit of insulin for every 3 grams of carbs. This leaves me taking much more insulin than someone whose ratio is 1:10 or 1:20 which I do have friends who are. There are a lot more factors than just how many carbs your eating. For that matter though I’ve talked with nutritionists and my doctor about carb intake and they agree that a lot of what I’ve seen on here is really low, I’m only slightly on the high side. Use what 1) works for you, and 2) is recommended by your doctor. Every body is different so you can’t rely just on what you hear on here.
my basal rate is 1.25
i/c ratio is 1unit per 9 carb
and correction is 1 unit per 25
IC is 1:3, correction is 15 and my basal rate is 1.8U/hr.
I am looking at the past couple of days and i average about 110 units.