Ok so my son was dx on 12/27.....and no sign of a honeymoon, is all hope lost...He had a few days early last week when we was in range 3 days straight, and we thought he was on his way. Now the past couple days he has spent most of his days at the higher end or out of range...Any thoughts??
Not everyone has a honeymoon. Personally, I never had one. There's nothing wrong with that, it just means he'll need to up his insulin. You can talk to his diabetes doctor for some advice if you are nervous about tweaking it yourself..
I'm not sure the honeymoon has a whole lot to do with being in range. In fact, I've heard a lot of parents sighing with relief when the honeymoon is over because they can finally figure out a reasonably consistent plan. My daughter was diagnosed last March, and according to her doctor she's honeymooning - they base this on the fact that she needs about 1/2 the insulin of a non-honeymooning kid her age/weight. It's not supposed to last more than a year anyway, so I'm not sure there's much of a benefit. I'm starting to wonder if Sarah just doesn't need as much insulin as other kids, because her needs have been relatively consistent for such a long time now.
I'm not sure the honeymoon has a whole lot to do with being in range. In fact, I've heard a lot of parents sighing with relief when the honeymoon is over because they can finally figure out a reasonably consistent plan. My daughter was diagnosed last March, and according to her doctor she's honeymooning - they base this on the fact that she needs about 1/2 the insulin of a non-honeymooning kid her age/weight. It's not supposed to last more than a year anyway, so I'm not sure there's much of a benefit. I'm starting to wonder if Sarah just doesn't need as much insulin as other kids, because her needs have been relatively consistent for such a long time now.
I agree. If your child's insulin requirements begin to fall remarkably then that would mark the honeymoon phase. You might even be able to skip injections
sometimes and go without any insulin too for a while. They are all different.
There is a LOT of changes in the first month(s) after diagnosis. Depending on how long your son was sick before hand, his body is doing a lot of adjustment to getting the insulin it needs to function correctly. My son was all over the place at first, low, high, in range. It doesn't make a lot of sense. We adjusted insulin doses - both basals and carb ratios a LOT over the first month or so.
The honeymoon is just a period where his body is still making SOME insulin. Not enough to keep his BGs normal, and it isn't always consistent or matched to his bodies demand (can cause lows for no apparent reason). Our endo feels our son is still in his honeymoon because he is using about 1/3 the amount of insulin "he should" for his age and weight. That is 19 mos after diagnosis. However, we have had times where he has run high - and had to adjust his insulin up - the honeymoon can be pictured as a gentle slope down, it probably won't be that you can point to a single day or week and say that is when the honeymoon ended. But that didn't mean the honeymoon was over. I think the only official way to see if the honeymoon is over is a blood test that looks for a component of insulin that is only made by the body.
EVERYTHING affects BGs. He could be coming down with a cold - that will make him run high. Or maybe he just needs something tweaked slightly up. I follow the 3 day rule - if you see similar numbers for 3 days in a row (either all day long or at just a certain time - like after school) then you should call your endo's office and get some help adjusting the insulin doses.
I'm sorry your son had to join this club. But I so glad you found Juvenation! Please come back and ask whatever you need help with or vent about what is frustrating. The first month was terrible. The second month was a little better. Now it is just our normal. Most days are good - some day still suck. (But I kind of think that is true with all of life.)
First of all, I am so sorry for the diagnosis of your son. These first few months are the hardest, you are reaching out and finding support, this is great, I am sure you will take good care of him.
Regarding the honeymoon, unlike when you get married, the honeymoon with type 1 is not necessarily something fantastic. Lucas went through a honeymoon period that was more like the first year of marriage than the vacation! It was a lot of up and down - sometimes his body would produce insulin and he did not need any insulin and sometimes he seemed to produce none at all. So, if he never honeymoons, you will just be able to get his true insulin requirements nailed down sooner. If he is running high consistently, he will need more insulin, keep emailing or calling the dr. with his numbers until you and your dr think you are ready to adjust the insulin requirements yourself. Your dr may be having him run a little high for the first month or so just in case he starts to produce a little insulin on his own.
Take Care,
Christine
thanks to all...we appreciate your feedback!! Now he is back in range....for now....
I never had a honeymoon! Tthough I wish I did it's luck of the draw i guess or technically science of the draw! lo!
If you're honeymooning you still can have high sugars (I know I did). Honeymoons are in the beginning, so naturally that's when you're figuring everything out so maybe that's another reason they're known for being rocky! You don't need to be perfect right away (just SAFE right away). Every day you'll understand it a little better and be able to work a little bit smarter.
I honeymooned for about 4 years. (It was definitely a gradual upping of basal and carb ratios, rather than waking up in ketosis). My doctor says mine lasted so long because I was taking insulin and eating better so as to not "shock" my body. We found my D really early (routine yearly physical with fasting blood sugar of 140, did more tests and saw that I was hardly making any insulin but that I still WAS making insulin). I liked honeymooning. I found control to be a ton easier than it is now. I don't think I could have had a bad A1C if I had wanted it. It's a good thing if you can get it. But, it's not a permanent state. My parents asked if my diabetes was getting worse (I was diagnosed as an adult) and I had to explain that it wasn't getting worse... it was stabilizing:) Sounds much better, right?
But. Honeymoons "sugar coat" diabetes. I had an easier transition which helped me develop some sloppy habits! I'm not sloppy anymore, just saying that it gave me a dishonest impression of what D was really like.
Goodluck to him, we're all okay, he will be too:)
I never had a honeymoon either! (Always a bridesmaid, never a bride...)
That's not technically true, I guess... It's funny how, ten years later, I still remember my blood sugar reading the very first time the nurse educator showed me how to test: it was 360-something. And that was either before or right after they did my first insulin injection. Obviously, if I were to go without taking any insulin at all now until I had lost 30-40 lbs, I would be way higher than that (to put it mildly). So, knowing what I know now, I guess it's safe to assume that my body was still producing some insulin at that point.
I do remember the terminology, and mostly thinking it was overrated so not giving much thought to what it meant, but that's fascinating that some people actually have an easier time with management at first because of the honeymooning. I don't recall such a thing, and maybe it's not much consolation, but as scary as it may seem now, it's not like management is going to keep getting progressively harder... Sooner or later, we all reach the same point (I think...unless my understanding of this is really outdated???) and you'll all learn how much insulin his body needs (roughly, aside from the dozens of exceptions to the rule, haha) and his control will improve. It sounds like this is all really new, but I can promise you'll get there.
Our daughter (4 1/2) had strong honeymoon period after Christmas and was taken off insulin for a short time. She is now on very little (2.5 Hum N) mornings and only .5 or 1 of (Humalog H) Just wondering...Sophia has had bad nightmares this week. Anyone's children go through this? Do you (all)routinely check sugars through the nite? Stephanie
[quote user="Stephanie"]
Our daughter (4 1/2) had strong honeymoon period after Christmas and was taken off insulin for a short time. She is now on very little (2.5 Hum N) mornings and only .5 or 1 of (Humalog H) Just wondering...Sophia has had bad nightmares this week. Anyone's children go through this? Do you (all)routinely check sugars through the nite? Stephanie
[/quote]If Sarah's bg's are being really weird, I will set an alarm and check her in the middle of the night. But that only happens maybe once a month. Usually we test right before bed and as long as she's in a good range, like 115-150, I won't take any action. Unless she recently ate and still has some insulin in her system, in which case I'll usually check an hour after she goes to bed just to make sure she isn't going low. If she is lower, then I'll either wake her to eat (if she's really low) or check again a bit later to see if she's still going down. As she's on a pump I can usually reduce her basal for a couple of hours to bring her up a bit.
Sorry to say I check every night between 2 - 4am. Lucas has had diabetes for almost 5 years (he turns 8 tomorrow!) and he gives me only 1 or 2 lows a month during the night - mostly he runs slightly high. This fall we had our first seizure due to a low while he was sleeping and if I ever thought I would stop checking him now I know I won't! He has had nightmares as a result of a low. We also keep a baby monitor in his room so I can hear if he is unsettled. He is also on the pump but although his A1c's are consistently good , his numbers go up and down a lot for no apparent reason. If he was more steady, I might opt to sleep more.
Christine
I exhibited symptoms for a couple months before going to the doctor so I had my honeymoon phase pre-diagnosis. This hasn't affected my life/ adjustment with diabetes and holds no bearing on a person's diabetes in the future. No worries it isn't a big deal if he doesn't have one at all!
hope this helped!