I have never received a straight answer from doctors or other forums so I'm asking here
What are the signs of coming out of honeymoon? Is it a gradual process? Or is it just something that stops?
My numbers are progressively getting higher and I have needed to change my long acting insulin dose twice, but I know it's not nearly the amount a "normal teen my age" would be on. (according to my doctor).
So I'm just curious what other people experienced when they came out of honeymoon and how they knew for sure they were no longer in that phase
I remember it dragging out for a bit. The research may be better now, however, I remember my doc telling me that it was different for everyone so we'd just have to treat my blood sugar changes as they happened. I don't remember being particularly impressed with this analysis - I wanted more definite information. I remember a lot of yo-yo trouble - too high - raise levels - body would adjust and I'd have a day of lows... At some point, things stabelized and my dosage was constant and was about what was expected for my weight... But I remember it being (at least) months... I wish I had a better memory - but for me, it was a while back and I didn't keep a journal... :(
I'll be very curiuos to see what others have to say and if anyone has better data about the time/progression...
That's hard for me to answer since mine was so long ago, but here is what I remember. I remember being told I was honymooning a bit when I was first diagnosed. As time went on I remember my doses going up but it's hard to say whether that was because I was growing up (obviously the bigger you are the more insulin you need) or if it was because I was coming out of my honeymoon. I have a feeling it was probably a bit of both.
I think I asked my doctor a few years into my diagnosis if I was still honeymooning and he said probably not but there's always a chance I could still be making a little insulin. I'm sure you are still in the phase were you and your doctor are perfecting your dosage and your routines so that could be the reason you are still adjusting your insulin. For me it was a gradual process. I definitely don't remember a point that I could identify, that's when I stopped making insulin.
My sons doc thought he was "knocked out of the Honeymoon" by another autoimmune illness he got in August of this year.. Although he still doesn't take as much insulin as most D's. Basal is only 20U/Day
Unfortuantely I don't think you are going to get a difinitive answer because everyone IS different and each persons insulin needs are different. Keep in mind also that if you are a teen you also have to deal with hormones!! That'll mess up your numbers in a flash..
Mine seemed to be very quick. I was barely on any insulin at all and constantly getting low. I was on .5 unit of 75/25 twice a day and getting low if I would do any type of walking or anything. It was pretty terrible!
Then one day I seriously feel like I just woke up and had a high blood sugar! I cried! I thought that it was my fault. I did not know anything about the honeymoon period.
They ended up changing my dose a lot, and eventually switching to Humalog and carb counting. It was almost exactly a year after diagnosis that I ended my honeymoon period!
My sons doc thought he was "knocked out of the Honeymoon" by another autoimmune illness he got in August of this year.. Although he still doesn't take as much insulin as most D's. Basal is only 20U/Day
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=) careful about "most D's" my total basal is less than 17 units per day. remember... everyone is a lil different
What are the signs of coming out of honeymoon? Is it a gradual process? Or is it just something that stops?
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hi Melissa, "honeymoon" or that period when you are still making a little insulin on your own, can be up to a year or more in some people. There's even research (sorry no reference ...I am so tired from work) that suggests that your body's insulin production rate may vary during your life, long after a T1 diagnosis.
Mine was over 6 months and it's one of the reasons I never fell into a coma at diagnosis or why my a1c's were 5-point-something for more than a year after diagnosis.
Yea you figure it out by watching your sugars. No worries, you are checking your sugars anyway =)
When you have your blood work done at your next appt. they can have the lab test to see if your pancreas is putting out any of it's own insulin. I know my son's blood work showed that his pancreas was still doing a little work. But it has been one year since diagnosis and just this week he has hit solid 300's and I'm having a hard time bringing him into range, I think his honeymoon may be coming to a close. We are watching him very close over these next few days.
=) careful about "most D's" my total basal is less than 17 units per day. remember... everyone is a lil different
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Joe, I apologize for my statement--Let me rephrase. He doesn't take as much insulin as the "D"'s we know thru another forum I belong to for parents of kids with T1 D. I wasn't giving a blanket statement regarding ALL. I was referencing those we know.
I have had diabetes for +- 1 year and a month and I'm still in the honeymoon period right now. My doctor said that it can take up to two years for me to get out of honeymoon and said that basically I would need a fair amount of more insulin per day when it happens and that my sugar levels would be more wild. He also said that only after the honeymoon period will he allow me to go on the insulin pump because it will be more useful when I am out of my honeymoon period.
It is different for everyone, and even then the doctors don't always know when it will end, as I was told. It took my years to come out of it myself, which is a bit diasppointing when you're trying to get an insulin pump :)
Joe, I apologize for my statement--Let me rephrase. He doesn't take as much insulin as the "D"'s we know thru another forum I belong to for parents of kids with T1 D. I wasn't giving a blanket statement regarding ALL. I was referencing those we know.
Tammee
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awwww that's okay - I wasn't being sensitive =) I didn't know if you had access to a lot of data or opinions in other online communitites - total basal and total daily insulin doesn't have anything to do with anything because it varies so widely among diferent people. for example my niece who is half my body mass uses almost teice as much insulin - plus she's in color gurad and works out like a fiend. hope your lil' one is okay =)
My 9 year old daughter was diagnosed in May of this year and she is still in her honeymoon phase. She only takes .5 units per carb serving of Novolog and 1.5 units of Humilin and Lantus in the am and pm, respectively. We actually had to increase the Humilin just in the last few weeks as she was having highs in the afternoon. Her endo says the phase can be up to 3 years!
She is only on 2 injections a day, so right now it's not bad. I'm sure when it's over (and once she gets to be a teenager) it will all change. If there's one thing I've learned about all of this, it's that every day is different! One day she'll have great sugars and the next they are way off. It all depends on how she eats, what she does, and other things I'm probably not aware of!
He also mentioned going to a pen once her honeymoon is over, which will be nice if she needs a mid-day injection. He hasn't suggested the pump until she is well-established. She is very good with her injections (does them herself!) so I don't see a reason to change the delivery method if the current one works!