herringv,
I need to do some research to answer your question, so pls check back, too. Some medications seem to make us more (or less) sensitive to insulin; other meds can affect our appetites and interest in food at all.
While I'm not a physician, what I know of most folks with Type 1 diabetes, it is not a disease that can go away without a transplant - and that's not an option for most (research will hopefully change that reality for us).
However, many Type 1s go thru an initial period, sometimes for up to a year, called a "honeymoon." During this honeymoon, our bodies are still producing some insulin altho' the clock is ticking 'til our immune system destroys that capability. During the honeymoon phase, folks may experience intervals when their insulin requirements diminish ... my endocrinologist described the phenomenon as the "sputtering & spurting" of a stressed endocrine gland. Your son may have been in the honeymoon phase while also taking a Rx that affected his sensitivity to his own insulin (thus, his need for injections was diminshed).
I would encourage you to urge your son to discuss his experiences frankly with his doctor(s). That he's abusing a narcotic is, as you know, even more dangerous because he has diabetes. Your son can benefit from some intervention sooner rather than later, altho' it's not uncommon for drug abusers to deny their addiction (I've been thru this with my beloved stepdaughter, who's now safely on the mend).
I'll do more research to find specific info on the impact of narcotics on diabetes and will post what I find here. Perhaps others will have thoughts to share also. I wish you well. This is likely very painful for you.
Hello again,
I was able to get some additional insight from someone with a medical background. Again, the info I share here should be checked out with your son's doctor(s) to see just how his specifics relate.
Despite what your son (and pumpgirl) reported, there seems to be scientific evidence that a metabolic impact of narcotics is HYPERglycemia due to damage to insulin receptors. I'm not sure that this one study is "definitive," but it's a bit of evidence contrary to what's been mentioned so far here.
A citation given is: MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR BIOLOGY, Sept. 2003, p. 6255