Writing a paper and have questions about diabetes and insulin.?!
Question: This might sound kind of bad, so I'm going to start this with I am not trying to kill myself.... Its a paper for abnormal psychology and I have to write about someone with diabetes (Type 1) and major depression... , so first how many units is a normal dose of fast acting insulin?, how many units of fast acting insulin would cause an average sized person to go into insulin shock? and about how long would it take for them to go unconscious. I've tried to find info about insulin but it is pretty confusing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Answers: This might sound kind of bad, so I'm going to start this with I am not trying to kill myself.... Its a paper for abnormal psychology and I have to write about someone with diabetes (Type 1) and major depression... , so first how many units is a normal dose of fast acting insulin?, how many units of fast acting insulin would cause an average sized person to go into insulin shock? and about how long would it take for them to go unconscious. I've tried to find info about insulin but it is pretty confusing. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Insulin is dosed according to weight. Usually 0.5-1 unit per kilogram. So if the average individual is 70kg they would require about 35-40 units of insulin per day. This total amount is then divided into breakfast, lunch and dinner dosages (about 12 units per meal). This of course varies depending on weight, insulin type etc.
It sounds like the scenario you want to know about is a depressed diabetic who is trying to commit suicide using insulin. If they took the entire days worth of insulin in one shot (35 units) they would likely become hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) and go into a coma.
Hope this clarifies it a bit. Insulin dosing is a very complicated subject as it is very dependent on the individual.
My little brother has diabetes so im pretty good at this stuff. You go by the persons blood sugar levels. If there blood glucose level is to high ( like between 200-700 )they have a good chance of going into shock and sometimes passing out. But when there glucose levels are really low (20-60) they also can pass out and go into sometimes a diabetic coma. does that help at all?
The amount of regular insulin is based on blood sugar levels so its not possible to give an answer that goes across the board. The length it takes to pass out depends on the amount of regular insulin but it also varies by the amount and type of food eaten. In this case type 1 and type 2 are the same. I don't know where you fit in depression.
I have type 1 diabetes.
Your dosage of insulin is prescribed by your doctor and depends on if you are still in you honeymoon stage.
I take 1 unit/15 carbs.
Too much insulin period can make someone drop very low which means you may go into a diabetic coma.
It would take them a very short time to go unconcsious.
I have a neat fact for you (though you may want to verify it somehow before stating it in a paper).
Optimal blood sugar level is around 100 mg/dL. When a person's blood sugar reaches 300-400 mg/dL, their blood becomes the consistency of ketchup!
Easy to see then, why many diabetics with uncontrolled blood sugars suffer from nerve damage, blindness, cardiovascular disease, etc.