<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

It is not accurate to say that if you are taking as many units of insulin as your weight in kilograms, that you don't make any of your own.  The average amount of insulin that most people with type 1 diabetes take is BETWEEN 0.5 and 1 unit per kg of weight.  I weigh 62kg, and take a little less than 30 units of insulin.  I have type 1 diabetes and make none of my own insulin.  When I was not on the pump, I took about 50u per day, now I take about 28.  I have not started to make my own insulin again.

The way to check if your body makes any insulin is to have a C-peptide test.  The C-peptide molecule is attached to the insulin molecule before it is released from in pancreas.  Therefore you should have as many C-peptide molecules circulating in your blood as insulin molecules.  If you don't have C-peptide molecules, your pancreas does not produce insulin.

Andrea in Paris

On Fri, 13 Sep 2002 19:22:22 -0600
Helen Franklin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       Celiac-Diabetes Support List
>               <[log in to unmask]>
> Poster:       Helen Franklin <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject:      Re: Questions
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> <<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
>
> HI.  I once had a dietitian tell me that to tell if you are type I, figure
> out what your weight in kilograms is (2.2 lb per kg).  That is about the
> same amount of insulin, in units, that would indicate you're not making
> insulin.  Less than that means you are making some of your own, however,
> more than that still might mean your body is not responding to the insulin
> so is needing more to get it's attention.  Not sure that helps you figure
> anything out, but maybe.  Helen in Idaho
>
> On 9/12/02 9:25 PM, "Pete Osborn" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> > ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> > -----------------------
> > Sender:       Celiac-Diabetes Support List
> >             <[log in to unmask]>
> > Poster:       Pete Osborn <[log in to unmask]>
> > Subject:      Re: Questions
> >
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------>
> -

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