“Are there side effects of insulin therapy in children?”
My daughter was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and she is going to be on insulin therapy to maintain her blood sugar. Are there any side effects of insulin therapy that we should know?
3 Answers
Combination of short-acting insulin injection 2-3 times a day, and long-acting insulin once daily. To avoid complications, MD should find the best dose and combinations. Then it does not have any side effect. Diet and exercise need to be routine. Blood control level now easier to do without finger sticks. Important to avoid low blood sugar.
You should be aware of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) episodes. Insulin is a live-saving medication and I understand that you can be concerned about its use. Please consult with your diabetes team. There are multiple education programs and podcast on-line that may help you understand everything about diabetes. As long as she takes her insulin, she will be fine. Check this podcast: https://www.facebook.com/diabetesconnections/ (English)
Or this one: https://anchor.fm/jose-david-gamez-godoy (Spanish)
Or this one: https://anchor.fm/jose-david-gamez-godoy (Spanish)
Insulin side effects:
Type diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes is the most common encountered chronic metabolic disorder in children. There are about 210,000 out of 80 million children with type 1 diabetes in America (USA). The incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children is about 17,000-20,000 per year. It is also worse noticing that the incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children is increasing at about 3% per year. It is more common in the Caucasian population, who carry higher proportions of susceptibility genes.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune destruction of the insulin producing cells of the pancreatic islet cells known as beta cells. The autoimmune destruction takes place in a genetically susceptible individual with the help of powerful environmental influencers (causing epigenetic changes). Environmental factor include viruses, toxins, food products and other pathogens.
Once the chronic autoimmune process destroys about 85% of beta cells, type 1 diabetes and the symptoms of diabetes emerge. Un-treated type 1 diabetes will have a grave mortality and morbidy.
Currently the only treatment for type 1 diabetes is insulin. Diabetic patients can be treated with insulin easily and safely. Insulin is not a dangerous or addictive drug.
Insulin is the principal hormone that controls carbohydrate, proteins and fat metabolism of the body. Type 1 diabetic need insulin not only to control the blood sugars but also for survival.
Before the discovery of insulin diabetes was treated with carbohydrate restriction or starvation therapy. In type 1 diabetics, starvation therapy was only effective for few weeks to few months as patients succumb to the illness quikly.
Pre-insulin diabetes was a death sentence. When insulin was discovered in 1921 and tried in early 1922 on a dying young boy named Leonard Thompson in Canada, what was supposed to be a deadly disease, was transformed in to a disease with grave acute and chronic complications. After the discovery of insulin, tremendous advances took place, that transformed how diabetes is treated. Though there are still significant risk involved in the treatment of diabetes they are much lower than in the first 30 years after insulin discovery. Life expectancy is much longer than in the first 50 years after insulin was introduced. With good diabetes management life expectancy can be close to the normal population.
Insulin is produced in the pancreas. It mediates the transport of sugars in to the cells to be consumed for energy. Insulin is also anabolic hormone where it is involved in protein and fat synthesis in the body. Insulin production is strictly controlled by the body so that blood sugars are maintained a narrow specific normal range without much fluctuations. The liver and the kidneys are the primary regulators of insulin.
Insulin is produced in small continuous amount (background insulin) and bigger boluses during meal times. After insulin is released from the pancreas, it passes through the liver and 85% of it is destroyed before it does any work. The remaining 15% goes to the systemic circulation and is degraded by the kidneys. The half life of insulin is about 5 minutes and disappears completely in 3 half lives (15 minutes). Insulin released from the pancreas lasts less than an hour from its release to its complete degradation.
Insulin is a peptide hormone (protein) it can not be given by mouth. It is mostly given by subcutaneous injections. Though fast acting insulin can be given by inhalation, and, in acute cases it can be given by intravenous access.
Since insulin is primarily given by injection it does not act similar to insulin released from the pancreas. It can last more than 4 hours under the skin. Its absorption is also affected by various variables including, hydration status, the bodies condition, the site of injection, the amount and type of insulin, the stress level. Human factors also affect injected insulin such as skipped or small meals, giving smaller or large doses and other human mistakes or negligence.
Environmental factors such as illness and physical activity, tempreature and humidity can also affect insulin injected subcutaneously.
These are some of the reasons why acute and chronic complication of diabetes need special attention in managing diabetes and specially type 1 diabetes. Todays Insulins are pretty safe if used properly and appropriately. After the advent of genetic engineering in the early 1980's pure human insulin became available. Currently most insulins in the market are human insulins. The porcine and bovine insulins are being abandoned all together.
In the early 50 years after the introduction of insulin, animal insulins were the only source of insulin. Animal insulins to have about 80,000 parts per million (8%) impurities. This impurities use to cause Lipoatrophy (local reactions) when injected under the skin. There were also systemic reactions the antigenesity of animal insulin.
Todays insulins sold in the industrialized countries contain very little impurities (less than 10 parts per million) and most of it is human insulin. Though, if repeatedly given in the same site, a local reaction called lipohypertrophy can happen as a result of fat accumulation. This can be circumvented by rotating injection site at least 1/2 inch apart every time injection is given under the skin.
Type 1 diabetics absolutely need insulin. They can change to different brands and can manage their diabetes with differ regimens from fixed insulin regimen to multiple daily injections with a long acting insulin or insulin infusion pump, but they can not do without insulin. In good trained hands, the side effects of insulin are manageable. Insulin is safe and effective treatment of type 1 diabetes. It is not painful. The needle is very tiny. It becomes only a problem with people that have severe needle phobia. Those people with needle phobia (1% of the population) need to have counseling to ameliorate their irrational fear of a tiny need that is not painful. Insulin may make people gain weight in the beginning but in the long run weight gain due to insulin is a myth. Again insulin is not dangerous or addictive. It is a life saving medication.
Since insulin is given under the skin, and its absorption is out of the control of the body hypoglycemia (low blood sugars) and high blood sugars are more common with patients on insulin therapy. Administering too much insulin, skipping or eating smaller portions of food that is not in agreement with the amount of insulin, or administering an injection at the wrong time may cause an excessive drop in blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Symptoms of hypoglycemia are as follows;
Dizziness.
Headache.
Shakiness.
Hunger.
Irritability
moodiness.
sweating.
Anxiety or nervousness.
trouble speaking
fatigue
confusion
pale skin
twitching muscles
seizure
The main advers effects of insulin isLow blood sugar. This can be circumvented with close monitoring of blood sugars. Hypoglycemia should be recognized early and treated properly.
With good diabetes and nutritional education most of the adverse events of insulin injections should be managed to a minimum. Blood glucose sensors will provide greater advantage in close monitoring of blood sugars.
Going back to your Daughter.
Your daughter have type 1 diabetes. Insulin is the only available treatment for your daughter at this time. Currently there is no cure for type 1 diabetes, but there is hope that this will not be for a long time. The best and the brightest are working hard to find a cure very soon. Until that time dawns, insulin is the way to go.
In good hands insulin is very safe and is not addictive. The side effects are mainly low blood sugars and lumpy area at the injection site. The lumpy area at the inection site is called liipohypertrophy. It is an accumulation of local fat due to the lipogenic effect of insulin. It Can change the effectiveness and the timing of insulin action. These can be avoided by paying attention to the amount of food and insulin dosses and timing of insulin. Rotating injection sites will circumvent the occurrence of lumpy area known as lipohypertrophy on the skin. Allergic and other antigenic reactions from insulin is very rare since there are very little impurities with todays human insulins. If she ever develops those reactions insulin type and brand can be changed easily. Insulin can not be given orally with good education and understanding of the action of insulin, it is safe and effective medication with very little impurities.
Hypoglycemia or low blood sugars can be prevented by by close monitoring of blood sugars (performing frequent blood sugar testing) and paynig attention to insulin doses, amount of carbydrate consumed and physical activity. Use of blood glucose sensors will also be help in close monitoring of blood sugars.
At this time you need to pay attention to the diabetes and nutritional education. Learn how insulins work and understand the relationships between food and insulin, both in sedentary life and under physical activity, stress or illnesses. Learn how to prevent and manage low and high blood sugars. With time you will be confident in managing your daughters diabetes.
You need to discuss these issues with your diabetes educators and your daughter's diabetes doctor. Try to get more information on medical nutrition from a registered dietician as well. They will be happy to help you.
Good Luck.
Reference Readings:
1) https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323387.php
2) http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/history-of-type-1-diabetes-treatments/
Type diabetes or insulin dependent diabetes is the most common encountered chronic metabolic disorder in children. There are about 210,000 out of 80 million children with type 1 diabetes in America (USA). The incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children is about 17,000-20,000 per year. It is also worse noticing that the incidence rate of type 1 diabetes in children is increasing at about 3% per year. It is more common in the Caucasian population, who carry higher proportions of susceptibility genes.
Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune destruction of the insulin producing cells of the pancreatic islet cells known as beta cells. The autoimmune destruction takes place in a genetically susceptible individual with the help of powerful environmental influencers (causing epigenetic changes). Environmental factor include viruses, toxins, food products and other pathogens.
Once the chronic autoimmune process destroys about 85% of beta cells, type 1 diabetes and the symptoms of diabetes emerge. Un-treated type 1 diabetes will have a grave mortality and morbidy.
Currently the only treatment for type 1 diabetes is insulin. Diabetic patients can be treated with insulin easily and safely. Insulin is not a dangerous or addictive drug.
Insulin is the principal hormone that controls carbohydrate, proteins and fat metabolism of the body. Type 1 diabetic need insulin not only to control the blood sugars but also for survival.
Before the discovery of insulin diabetes was treated with carbohydrate restriction or starvation therapy. In type 1 diabetics, starvation therapy was only effective for few weeks to few months as patients succumb to the illness quikly.
Pre-insulin diabetes was a death sentence. When insulin was discovered in 1921 and tried in early 1922 on a dying young boy named Leonard Thompson in Canada, what was supposed to be a deadly disease, was transformed in to a disease with grave acute and chronic complications. After the discovery of insulin, tremendous advances took place, that transformed how diabetes is treated. Though there are still significant risk involved in the treatment of diabetes they are much lower than in the first 30 years after insulin discovery. Life expectancy is much longer than in the first 50 years after insulin was introduced. With good diabetes management life expectancy can be close to the normal population.
Insulin is produced in the pancreas. It mediates the transport of sugars in to the cells to be consumed for energy. Insulin is also anabolic hormone where it is involved in protein and fat synthesis in the body. Insulin production is strictly controlled by the body so that blood sugars are maintained a narrow specific normal range without much fluctuations. The liver and the kidneys are the primary regulators of insulin.
Insulin is produced in small continuous amount (background insulin) and bigger boluses during meal times. After insulin is released from the pancreas, it passes through the liver and 85% of it is destroyed before it does any work. The remaining 15% goes to the systemic circulation and is degraded by the kidneys. The half life of insulin is about 5 minutes and disappears completely in 3 half lives (15 minutes). Insulin released from the pancreas lasts less than an hour from its release to its complete degradation.
Insulin is a peptide hormone (protein) it can not be given by mouth. It is mostly given by subcutaneous injections. Though fast acting insulin can be given by inhalation, and, in acute cases it can be given by intravenous access.
Since insulin is primarily given by injection it does not act similar to insulin released from the pancreas. It can last more than 4 hours under the skin. Its absorption is also affected by various variables including, hydration status, the bodies condition, the site of injection, the amount and type of insulin, the stress level. Human factors also affect injected insulin such as skipped or small meals, giving smaller or large doses and other human mistakes or negligence.
Environmental factors such as illness and physical activity, tempreature and humidity can also affect insulin injected subcutaneously.
These are some of the reasons why acute and chronic complication of diabetes need special attention in managing diabetes and specially type 1 diabetes. Todays Insulins are pretty safe if used properly and appropriately. After the advent of genetic engineering in the early 1980's pure human insulin became available. Currently most insulins in the market are human insulins. The porcine and bovine insulins are being abandoned all together.
In the early 50 years after the introduction of insulin, animal insulins were the only source of insulin. Animal insulins to have about 80,000 parts per million (8%) impurities. This impurities use to cause Lipoatrophy (local reactions) when injected under the skin. There were also systemic reactions the antigenesity of animal insulin.
Todays insulins sold in the industrialized countries contain very little impurities (less than 10 parts per million) and most of it is human insulin. Though, if repeatedly given in the same site, a local reaction called lipohypertrophy can happen as a result of fat accumulation. This can be circumvented by rotating injection site at least 1/2 inch apart every time injection is given under the skin.
Type 1 diabetics absolutely need insulin. They can change to different brands and can manage their diabetes with differ regimens from fixed insulin regimen to multiple daily injections with a long acting insulin or insulin infusion pump, but they can not do without insulin. In good trained hands, the side effects of insulin are manageable. Insulin is safe and effective treatment of type 1 diabetes. It is not painful. The needle is very tiny. It becomes only a problem with people that have severe needle phobia. Those people with needle phobia (1% of the population) need to have counseling to ameliorate their irrational fear of a tiny need that is not painful. Insulin may make people gain weight in the beginning but in the long run weight gain due to insulin is a myth. Again insulin is not dangerous or addictive. It is a life saving medication.
Since insulin is given under the skin, and its absorption is out of the control of the body hypoglycemia (low blood sugars) and high blood sugars are more common with patients on insulin therapy. Administering too much insulin, skipping or eating smaller portions of food that is not in agreement with the amount of insulin, or administering an injection at the wrong time may cause an excessive drop in blood sugar (hypoglycemia).
Symptoms of hypoglycemia are as follows;
Dizziness.
Headache.
Shakiness.
Hunger.
Irritability
moodiness.
sweating.
Anxiety or nervousness.
trouble speaking
fatigue
confusion
pale skin
twitching muscles
seizure
The main advers effects of insulin isLow blood sugar. This can be circumvented with close monitoring of blood sugars. Hypoglycemia should be recognized early and treated properly.
With good diabetes and nutritional education most of the adverse events of insulin injections should be managed to a minimum. Blood glucose sensors will provide greater advantage in close monitoring of blood sugars.
Going back to your Daughter.
Your daughter have type 1 diabetes. Insulin is the only available treatment for your daughter at this time. Currently there is no cure for type 1 diabetes, but there is hope that this will not be for a long time. The best and the brightest are working hard to find a cure very soon. Until that time dawns, insulin is the way to go.
In good hands insulin is very safe and is not addictive. The side effects are mainly low blood sugars and lumpy area at the injection site. The lumpy area at the inection site is called liipohypertrophy. It is an accumulation of local fat due to the lipogenic effect of insulin. It Can change the effectiveness and the timing of insulin action. These can be avoided by paying attention to the amount of food and insulin dosses and timing of insulin. Rotating injection sites will circumvent the occurrence of lumpy area known as lipohypertrophy on the skin. Allergic and other antigenic reactions from insulin is very rare since there are very little impurities with todays human insulins. If she ever develops those reactions insulin type and brand can be changed easily. Insulin can not be given orally with good education and understanding of the action of insulin, it is safe and effective medication with very little impurities.
Hypoglycemia or low blood sugars can be prevented by by close monitoring of blood sugars (performing frequent blood sugar testing) and paynig attention to insulin doses, amount of carbydrate consumed and physical activity. Use of blood glucose sensors will also be help in close monitoring of blood sugars.
At this time you need to pay attention to the diabetes and nutritional education. Learn how insulins work and understand the relationships between food and insulin, both in sedentary life and under physical activity, stress or illnesses. Learn how to prevent and manage low and high blood sugars. With time you will be confident in managing your daughters diabetes.
You need to discuss these issues with your diabetes educators and your daughter's diabetes doctor. Try to get more information on medical nutrition from a registered dietician as well. They will be happy to help you.
Good Luck.
Reference Readings:
1) https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323387.php
2) http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/history-of-type-1-diabetes-treatments/
