Honeymoon period - type 1

[Maggieshauna]

I have been told I am now in the honeymoon period. I was diagnosed in February with a HbA1c blood test result of 134 and ketoacidosis keytones of 8 and BG of 24.5.
My concern is when the honeymoon period comes to an end how quickly does your blood glucose levels go up as I don't want to become that ill again and that happened very quickly when I was first diagnosed.

 

[Kristin251]

As far I understand the honey moon it just means your pancreas randomly spits out insulin. No rhyme or reason.
Though I was Mia and undiagnosed until I almost died I think I never truly had the honeymoon period. With insulin I had no random highs or lows. The same dose produced the same results with the same meals. This was fortunate for me because you never know when your pancreas will chime in. Have you had a c peptide test? Mine was .6 and the reference range is 1.1-4.4 so I produce very little but not enough to cover any food. Just lettuce will raise me.

Now that you are on insulin you will be able to adjust your doses as things change. The honeymoon phase can last for days or years. Ever changing.

 

[himtoo]

hi @Maggieshauna

it is pretty early days and realistically you should try your best to concentrate on day to day.
Honeymoon will not just magically stop in 1 or 2 weeks. it will be a pain for a few months and require your diligence to keep the numbers in check.

as you progress -- keep checking in here with any changes and somebody will have some support to assist !!

 

[June_C]

I was diagnosed as T1 and put on insulin straight away and stayed that way for 10 months. Due to unexplained hypos, it was agreed to reduce the insulin to see how I'd cope. For the last 9 months I have been free of all medication, including insulin.

I'm unsure what has happened, but I think injecting insulin gave my worn out, clapped out pancreas a rest and it's now firing, not on all cylinders, but quite a few. I have adopted a low carb diet < 30g per day in order not to overwork it, but I do check my bg levels at least 4 times a day watching for the inevitable rise that I expect to happen at some time.

 

[Maggieshauna]

Thank you all for your replies!
June_C I have had to stop insulin altogether too as I had so many hypos! I will try reducing my carbs to 30 per day too!


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[June_C]

You may not have to go as low as 30g. We're all different. I've found at that level I can keep my bg levels within the normal range or just about. Most times I can get my post-prandial reading back to the pre-prandial level after 2 hours, but you may not have to be so drastic as me.

 

[himtoo]

it is always going to be a balancing act with loads of testing and finding what suits you.
I follow a moderately low carb diet 80 - 130 carbs per day and do achieve good results
HbA1c of approx 6.2% and standard deviation of 2.2 on BG values

 

[Maggieshauna]

Thank you for your advice...it is definitely a balancing act! But important to try to get it right!


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[June_C]

it is always going to be a balancing act with loads of testing and finding what suits you.
I follow a moderately low carb diet 80 - 130 carbs per day and do achieve good results
HbA1c of approx 6.2% and standard deviation of 2.2 on BG values

Arr, but himtoo, you are on insulin, Maggieshauna and I are not and 80-130 carbs per day would probably be too much.

 

[himtoo]

Arr, but himtoo, you are on insulin, Maggieshauna and I are not and 80-130 carbs per day would probably be too much.

forgive me for not quite getting it -- Normally type 1's cannot survive without injected insulin
as it is an autoimmune response disease .

even in a honeymoon period some small amounts of background and bolus are required to keep BG's from climbing out of range.

should the thread be moved perhaps ??

 

[June_C]

I don't think so. We've both been diagnosed as T1s, but appear to be breaking all the rules !! I'm sorry, but I can't remember the OP's name, but there's at least one other T1 not on any medication. We all seem to be enjoying a medication free honeymoon............

 

[himtoo]

I don't think so. We've both been diagnosed as T1s, but appear to be breaking all the rules !! I'm sorry, but I can't remember the OP's name, but there's at least one other T1 not on any medication. We all seem to be enjoying a medication free honeymoon............

there are many variants of Diabetes being uncovered in current research being done so I am not doubting it.
Insulin ( basal and bolus) allows a diabetic to eat a pretty much normal ( given that there differences in what is normal)
diet and I was suggesting that the diet i eat is approaching that -- high in green veg , lean protein , eggs , but low on complex carbs like rice , pasta , potato , bread

 

[Kristin251]

To me 80-130 carbs is way too high as well as 6.2 with the esatandard deviation. But that is just me. My goals are much lower and as a type 2 I could never eat that many carbs and have control. I can't even do it with insulin

Enjoy your honeymoon. Just keep a close eye as mine change literally over night.

 

[June_C]

there are many variants of Diabetes being uncovered in current research being done so I am not doubting it.
Insulin ( basal and bolus) allows a diabetic to eat a pretty much normal ( given that there differences in what is normal)
diet and I was suggesting that the diet i eat is approaching that -- high in green veg , lean protein , eggs , but low on complex carbs like rice , pasta , potato , bread

I don't disagree with anything you've said. I've chosen to go low carb and avoid the need for injections, not that I minded the injections, but I dreaded the hypos.

 

[Kristin251]

Same decision I would make

 

[himtoo]

@June_C
i need to take injections to eat carb free meals based on the 53% of carb value protein & fat.
we are all different.

the OP was only diagnosed 3 months ago and was asking about honeymoon advice.
your honeymoon period may end at any time and injections may become the norm for you as well.

edit -- mine ended about 41 years ago

 

[Kristin251]

@June_C
i need to take injections to eat carb free meals based on the 53% of carb value protein & fat.
we are all different.

the OP was only diagnosed 3 months ago and was asking about honeymoon advice.
your honeymoon period may end at any time and injections may become the norm for you as well.

edit -- mine ended about 41 years ago

I also bolus for 1/2 protein. I am always VLC but protein can be just as bad as carbs. How much fat do yiu eat and do you think it makes a difference ? If I just eat protein I will jump. I need fat to slow the protein.

 

[June_C]

the OP was only diagnosed 3 months ago and was asking about honeymoon advice.
your honeymoon period may end at any time and injections may become the norm for you as well.

I don't doubt it.

 

[Maggieshauna]

I was diagnosed as T1 and put on insulin straight away and stayed that way for 10 months. Due to unexplained hypos, it was agreed to reduce the insulin to see how I'd cope. For the last 9 months I have been free of all medication, including insulin.

I'm unsure what has happened, but I think injecting insulin gave my worn out, clapped out pancreas a rest and it's now firing, not on all cylinders, but quite a few. I have adopted a low carb diet < 30g per day in order not to overwork it, but I do check my bg levels at least 4 times a day watching for the inevitable rise that I expect to happen at some time.

Thank you June

Arr, but himtoo, you are on insulin, Maggieshauna and I are not and 80-130 carbs per day would probably be too much.

My DN

@June_C
i need to take injections to eat carb free meals based on the 53% of carb value protein & fat.
we are all different.

the OP was only diagnosed 3 months ago and was asking about honeymoon advice.
your honeymoon period may end at any time and injections may become the norm for you as well.

edit -- mine ended about 41 years ago

Hi All my Dnurse has told me that I will have to go back on injections when my beta cells are all used up but I just wanted to know if it happens all in one day or if there is a gradual build up to it as it was a frightening experience getting ketoacidosis so want to avoid it if possible.

 

[Maggieshauna]

Thank you June

My DN

Hi All my Dnurse has told me that I will have to go back on injections when my beta cells are all used up but I just wanted to know if it happens all in one day or if there is a gradual build up to it as it was a frightening experience getting ketoacidosis so want to avoid it if possible.

I was on 21 units of insulin but after 2 months I started having hypos and so the insulin was reduces and reduced until I was only on 3 units of Lantus and still having hypos and that's when I was advised to stop the insulin.