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Honeymoon period?

P

pinewood

Well-Known Member
Messages
792
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
I was diagnosed in mid December and have noticed that in the past couple of weeks my rapid insulin requirements have fallen massively. I'm on 7 units of lantus (taken at night).

For example, when first diagnosed I'd typically have 6-8 units of NovoRapid before a normal dinner, now I find 2-3 is plenty. I had a pizza the other night and 2 units before and 1 after more than covered it and I was stable at 5-6mmol even the following morning, whereas the first time I had a pizza after being diagnosed I seemed to need 4 units before and another 4 units 2 hours later. Similarly, I always had 4 units before breakfast and now 1 is enough! This covers a latte and porridge with soya light milk.

Is it possible that the injections of insulin have "sparked" my pancreas back into action, even if temporary? Is it normal for the honeymoon period to start a whole month after diagnosis?
 
pinewood said:
I was diagnosed in mid December and have noticed that in the past couple of weeks my rapid insulin requirements have fallen massively. I'm on 7 units of lantus (taken at night).

For example, when first diagnosed I'd typically have 6-8 units of NovoRapid before a normal dinner, now I find 2-3 is plenty. I had a pizza the other night and 2 units before and 1 after more than covered it and I was stable at 5-6mmol even the following morning, whereas the first time I had a pizza after being diagnosed I seemed to need 4 units before and another 4 units 2 hours later. Similarly, I always had 4 units before breakfast and now 1 is enough! This covers a latte and porridge with soya light milk.

Is it possible that the injections of insulin have "sparked" my pancreas back into action, even if temporary? Is it normal for the honeymoon period to start a whole month after diagnosis?
Click to expand...

I'm a T2, so only applying what qualifies for logic on Planet Breathe to the scenario, but I might speculate that your pancreas may be behaving a little better since you are taking insulin to help it out. It will no longer be trying to work at >100% capacity all the time, so it's efficiency (less stressed) might have improved, for a while.

On a general point, there's a fair bit written about pizza consumption, because of the make up of refined high carb and fat (try Dr Google with "pizza effect diabetes"), and how it can mess with the more usual "rules". As a T2, I found the rise I experienced was slow, relatively shallow, but sustained for several hours. I have read of T1s experiencing similar things, requiring a modified approach to their injecting.

I always think the honeymoon period must be such a frustrating time. At least as a T2, I felt I could get on and modify diet to bring my numbers down, whereas you have to deal with diet, medication and a body changing the rules, at will, without notice!

Good luck with it all.
 
What you describe matches my own experience - for the first year after diagnosis I felt I had a spluttering pancreas which meant my dosage needs shifted back and forth as I went through phases of no insulin production/ part production, rather than the gradual slow down that others have experienced. It swapped both ways a few times and even now I think it's still making something.

My only advice is to test regularly so that if it changes you can spot the pattern early and make the correct adjustments with the help of your DSN.
 
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