Teenage Boy having growth spurts

Traci - posted on 06/05/2011

My daughter is 9 and is insulin resistant. She is overweight and I am wondering how young your son started on meds, and how they affected him. Her levels are good as of right now, we go back in July to check again, but have been slacking on the diet. So far she hasnt needed insulin, but eventually if her levels of insulin get high again, I dont know what to do. Just wondering if your son had a problem w weight. Also, my 8 year old daughter is growing fast and showing signs of early puberty, which I believe is related to an insulin issue also, but she is the opposite of my other daughter, because she cant gain weight!!! So any info on these matters would be appreciated! I really dont know much about meds, and insulin doses. Thank you :) and best of luck.. I know how frustrating this can be!

Kristi - posted on 05/08/2009

if his a1c is in the normal range then insulin acts as a growth hormone. That is its other function in the body, besides helping to regulate blood sugar. Hope this helps all of you.

Angelia - posted on 04/14/2009

My son just turned 14 was diagnosed when he was 8. He has been on Novalog and Lantus since he was diagnosed. He has always stayed high until recently his numbers are wonderful. One thing I changed was what he ate for breakfast---toaster scramblers. They provide the protein and not greatly high in carbs. A friend of ours just made the same change and her son is getting better numbers as well. He too is very small for his age he is 5'3 and only weighs around 80 lbs. His younger brother by 3 yrs out weighs him by 35 lbs. That has been another challenge in itself.

Joyce - posted on 04/10/2009

my son recently had braces put on. Unable to sneek snack. Sugar levels have been great. Usually have a hard time keeping on track. Wont use pen or pump. It has been very difficult. It sounds like this is very common. We all have the same complaints.

Lyota - posted on 04/08/2009

Hey my son is on Lantis and Humalog, he's also 14. He is doing well on Lantis. Maybe they should talk to each other. Maybe he can identify with some in his same shoes?

Lyota - posted on 04/08/2009

Quoting Rebecca:

Teenage Boy having growth spurts

My son is 15 years old. He has had diabetes since he was 7. He has also never had great control. The last few years have been a total nightmare. At almost 16 he is 6'3". Is in insulin resistance and most of it has to do with his growing. Has anyone else seen this in their child? What have you done, other then just increasing his insulin doses?

Hi Rebecca my name is Lyota. My son is 14 and has had his diabetes since 11. He also is tall for his age 6'0, and was not controlling his diabetes well either. His doctor thought he was becoming insulin resistant because of his growth spurt and was going to try another type of insulin to b able to keep his doses low. But my son so happened to break his leg and could not move to get to the kitchen, so his sugar levels became normal because he was not sneeking food anymore.

Joyce - posted on 03/25/2009

This all really sucks. My son is also a secret eater. Its the after school time when no one is home. I try to keep decent snacks for him. I have two other sons as well. Today he had a class trip and was to test before lunch. He didnt do it. How do you deal with this type of situation

Susan - posted on 03/24/2009

Like others, I dont have any real advice but can share our experience. My son is 13 (diagnosed at 4) and has grown nearly 8 inches in the past year! He is just under 5'10" now and has also never had great control. He was on the pump for about 2.5 years - then this past summer decided he was sick of it. He stopped doing the things he needed to, was eating in secrecy without bolusing for it, and wound up in the hospital after a one day binge of eating and not bolusing. He went back on shots (lantus and novolog) after that (about 7-8 months ago.) He seems to be doing better now (mostly I think because we told him if he wasnt diligent about it he would go back on the pump) - but we will see at his next A1C. We have continually been up-ing his insulin all along.

Joyce - posted on 03/23/2009

my son just turned 14 and is starting to go through puberty. He is 5'11 and weighs 116.He was diagnosed at 121/2. As fast as he gains a pound he seems to grow an inch. We are having a hard time getting his numbers right. He is an humalog and humalin. Does not want to use a pen or pump. Dr.wants him to go on lantis feels he would have better control. Im trying to convince him, but dont want to force him We just keep increasing his insulin. Dont have any real answers.

Taryn - posted on 03/23/2009

My son is 12. We have short periods of good control then all goes to hell in handbasket! We are looking to put him on the pump shortly due to the recommendation that it will help control his sugars better than through injections. Every doctor we have spoken to has told us to expect this during puberty....it is normal for diabetics....especially boys. Another thing is to make sure you are rotating injection sites. We had a problem with my son always injecting in his stomach and it got to where the insulin wasn't as effective when injected there so we made him switch to his legs and arms for awhile to let his stomach heal. He says it's more painful in the legs but he had built up some scar tissue on his stomach we had to let heal. We do carb counting but started adding more insulin for the fats and proteins which has helped also. I guess I must be the lucky one...my son will be 13 in August and is still under 5 foot and weighs around 60 pounds. We are having a hard time getting him to gain weight. When he was diagnosed at 6 he only weighed 32 pounds and they told us he would start gaining weight once he is on insulin. He did gain a little but he is still skinny as a rail!

Kelly - posted on 03/20/2009

My son is 13 years old. He was diagnosed at 9 years of age. He has not had great control either. He is almost 6' and seems to be growing almost an inch every 4 months. I feel alot of it has to do with hormones. They are at that age when everything is starting to change. So far, all we have done is increase his insulin. He is very active and I try to get him to do something active everyday. We have decided that he would go on a more strict diet. Don't get me wrong, he is a pretty healthy eater. We are going to eliminate fast food and try to eat as much organic fruits and veggies as possible. Not sure if this will change anything, but it is worth a try.