Honeymoon period

[NewToLADA]

Hello, please could someone describe what happens when you get to the end of the honeymoon period?

I’ve been on insulin for 9months now and I’m suddenly finding that my usual doses of novorapid are having little effect, could this be the honeymoon period coming to an end? Do I just increase my insulin dose to compensate? Should I increase long acting insulin as well?

Thank you

 

[In Response]

There are many things that affect our blood sugars.
If you have recently found your insulin is having little affect, I would recommend starting by changing your insulin/ pen to see if that has any impact.
If you are unwell or stressed or on new medication that can also cause your levels to rise.

If you rule out these things then it could be that less of your cells are able to produce insulin. This may not be the end of your honeymoon period - the cells can gradually die over time - my insulin needs slowly increased over my first 8 years after diagnosis.

If you have access to your diabetes team, I would talk to them about whether to increase your insulin dose.
If you cannot talk to them, I would start with a basal test and, if necessary, adjust your basal dose such that your levels stay relatively stable overnight (when you have no food, exercise or other insulin). Once you have your "foundation" (basal) correct, you can "build" the rest of your diabetes management (bolus).

 

[EllieM]

I’ve been on insulin for 9months now and I’m suddenly finding that my usual doses of novorapid are having little effect, could this be the honeymoon period coming to an end? Do I just increase my insulin dose to compensate? Should I increase long acting insulin as well?

That is certainly a possibility, but there are other possibilities as well (eg you need to change the cartridge of your insulin because it has gone off, you have an infection or you are over using insulin sites.

And I see that @In Response has already given this reply so I will just add that it is really important that you talk to your team about how you adjust your insulin doses. We have to be very careful what we say here, as forum rules mean that we can't give specific dosing advice.

As a long term T1, I am used to the fact that all sorts of things can change my personal insulin needs, so I feel pretty comfortable about changing up my doses. As a new T1, you really should be getting help from your team so that you develop that confidence for yourself.