Need help with the insulin to carb ration for type 1 diabetic

[Kaysmom8]

I have a project on teaching a newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic on insulin administration and part of my topic is to teach a newly diagnosed type 1 diabetic units of insulin to administer. I have been researching how I can teach the class this topic but i'm confused does the ratio depend on the insulin manufacturers guidelines? From what I gathered the standard is 1 unit of insulin for every 15 grams of carbs am I in the right direction? This is a topic my group thought I should touch on but I'm so confused because I also saw online a insulin/carb ratio that incorporated the persons height and weight to figure it out? Does anyone know of a chart for this/ resources or any info that can break this down for me? Much appreciated Thanks in advance :)

[KatePasa]

Here is an excellent resource for information on diabetes:

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse Home

You can order lots of free pamphlets from them by clicking on the link that says "order publications". They arrive within two weeks usually and handouts are a great supplement to any teaching project.

I taught a group of Latinos about prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and these resources were incredibly valuable.

[Pat2012]

I am a type 1 so I will mention a few things. Type 1's who are on an insulin pump can set their carb ratio to whatever their doctor thinks is best. It can be 1:15, but many times it can change throughout the day. For example, my carb ratio's at 0000 are 1:3.75, 0630 are 1:3.5, 1200 at 1:3.65, etc. The doctor determines based off of blood sugar trends and basal insulin (continuous), what ratio is appropriate. I may need a smaller ratio at night because I have a snack. I may need a bigger ratio if I usually eat a small lunch. It all depends on your blood sugars and what you work with your endocrinologist. Type 1's who are not on the pump, could use the carb ratio the same way, although it is tricky because you don't get automatic math calculations for the ratios (or additional/sliding scale) insulin you may need, but it pretty much works the same way. In either group, they need a lot of practice counting the right amount of carbs for it to work (something you'll probably want to cover in your presentation)..... hope that helps.

[Kaysmom8]

I have done more research and I found a site that says there is a couple of ways diabetic pt's can calculate how much insulin to give by using these methods fixed dose, sliding scale, Carb Counting with Fixed Dose and Sliding Scale, matching insulin to carbohydrate should I teach all of them? or is one of these more commonly used now days? Thanks for the input so far i'm just so confused with this information I don't want to get in front of the class to present this and look stupid...