I was also diagnosed in late 2011, at the age of 24. As you said, i also had lots of people telling me how **** i looked and id lost over a stone in weight. I always felt tired and was always thirsty, so i was loading up on sugary drinks to try n perk myself up but i know now it was having the opposite effect.
Being diagnosed dragged out over a couple of weeks, i eventually visited my GP and after explaining all my symptoms and suspected diabetes he took a bloodtest and said he would contact me when the results were back. A week passed and id heard nothing. I was due to fly to Turkey on holiday the next morning, so i rang the Docs to be told by the receptionist that my bloods were back and normal. So as you can imagine, i was happy and went on holiday... 3/4 days had passed and i had a call on my mobile from my GP explaining that i must come in urgently because i had diabetes.. i was in Turkey! so he booked an appointment for the morning i was back and said if i felt unwell i must seek urgent medical attention.. great just what i wanted to hear on holiday!
Looking at the holiday photos the other week and i couldnt believe how ill i looked!
I love my food so i still eat pretty much what i want when i want, pizzas, pastas, rice etc, its just took ALOT of trial n error to get the adjustments right.
As for the honeymoon peroid, ive been told it normally lasts about a year, but can last years in some people.
Ive been diagnosed about 15 months now and i think im still in the 'honeymoon period' so anytime for me i guess? in fact, my sugars have been running slightly high recently.. lets hope its because of this cold snap we're having..