Honeymoon Period

[BethR]

Hiya,

Just wondering how long everyone's honeymoon period lasted, and what signs i should expect when its coming to an end?

Thanks,
Beth

 

[g0mrl]

Beth, I don't understand the question. Please be a bit more specific.

Best wishes - L.

 

[BethR]

The doctors told me when i was diagnosed that i was in the honeymoon period, where my body still produces its own insulin for a while. They said it could last anything between 3-18 months, so i was wondering if anyone else had any tips or suggestions as to how i would know when this honeymoon phase was ending? Or how long it might last?

 

[ewelina]

Im not sure if Im still in honeymoon period or Ive never had any :think: I was diagnosed 2 years ago and I cant see any changes. my ratio is 1:10 from the beggining. Hope it wont get worse...

 

[robert72]

I think mine was about 6 months.

I remember them saying that I had to go on to long acting (isophane) insulin because I made no more of my own.

 

[smidge]

Hey BethR!

I have LADA and I still produce some basal insulin even after 3 and a half years - I produce no first phase insulin at all. My insulin production has diminshed greatly from what I produced on diagnosis, but it is still there and stronger some days than others, which makes control a tad interesting! Mine has diminished gradually and I have just had to notice that my BGs were creeping up a bit and adjust treatment/doses accorgingly. Many people have said that their's came to a sudden end after an illness (the first cold they had after diagnosis etc) and they needed to adjust to a much higher dose of insulin immediately. I guess it's just different for different people and for different forms of diabetes.

Smidge

 

[AMBrennan]

It's hard to say when exactly the honeymoon phase ends but as long as you keep adjusting your insulin doses as usual you should be fine - mine lasted 6months ish; I started on 1u:8g, had to stop taking QA insulin entirely after about 4 months (1u:120g rounded down) and has since then come back to mostly normal 1u:20g - but I'm not quite sure since there are a few odd exceptions (like only needing 0.5u for a 50g Costa sandwich + coffee)

 

[BethR]

How do you know what your ratio is? Do you just have to do trial and error? At the moment im on 8 units of humulin in the morning and 4 units at night, so its not based on what i eat. I keep having hypos all of the time though, but im more worried about putting on weight. Id like to go on the daphne course but they wont let me do it until my honeymoon period is over.

Beth

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[AMBrennan]

If you are having hypos all the time, you need to reduce your insulin doses.

Humulin comes in different types (quick acting, mixed, etc) so it's not possible to comment on those doses without knowing the type.

Your work out your carb ratio by counting the carbs in your food, injecting insulin according to your ratio and adjusting the ratio if the resulting BG is too high/low. DAFNE is just very sophisticated trial and error.

If you cannot go on a DAFNE course then Bournemouth has a decent (if a bit basic) resource on carb counting.

In simpler terms, I started out on 8-10u of Humalog for a typical meal, had to stop taking it entirely at the peak of my honeymoon period (or have 1u with 4 wheat biscuits and 2 scones to avoid a hypo) and am now back to 3-4u.

 

[BethR]

Sorry im on mixed humulin, so my morning and evening doses cover me for all 3 meals.

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