Honeymoon period

[L3wisr]

How long were you in it for?
Not sure I'm mine is coming to an end or not but my levels have shot up a little bit the last 5 days or so.
I used to wake up no higher than 6 but now it's sround 10/11 and ive not idea why

 

[amar1921]

I had it for almost 7 months, and I am sure that I still produce some insulin, but had to start with pens. My morning readings started to rise over time, and when they were over 10 constantly I started first with basal (Lantus) and few days after with fast-acting (Apidra). Be careful when starting again, because you could have hypos more often until you set right dose again.

 

[noblehead]

I've no idea how long mine lasted tbh, remember starting off on higher insulin doses then reducing them quite a lot then having to increase them again, but the 'Honeymoon Period' was never ever mentioned to me (not sure if it was called this back then as it might be a new term) but my DSN did say that this was quite normal in newly diagnosed type 1's, but just forget what she actually said.

Needless to say you should do some basal testing L3wisr, our background insulin might need increasing.

 

[L3wisr]

It has been 7 months and 2 days since I was diagnosed. (Still feels about 2 weeks ago).
It's icnredibly annoying, I had cut hypos down a lot and was managing to get 90% of readings below 7, now it's lucky to get 50% under that number without changing anything.

I had only just lowered my basal a few weeks back but I will keep an eye on it and test it out.

 

[noblehead]

The first rule is to check your basal insulin, might need to be upped but your basal checks will determine that.

 

[Markpick]

I was diagnosed in January, started on 4 novorapid before meals and 8 lantus on a night, now am hardly taking any novorapid and only on 6 lantus, nurse says this will change dramatically, but she literally said who knows when?

 

[Spiker]

No idea unfortunately, it took years before I could wangle a C peptide test, and by then the score was "nil points pour Angleterre".
I have a feeling that by the time of (late, late, late) diagnosis I had already nuked all my poor little beta cells back to the Stone Age

 

[tim2000s]

Think I'm similar to you spiker, except I was thirteen at the time. I'd been undiagnosed for about a year so I didn't really get a honeymoon.

 

[L3wisr]

There's two days I didn't have the book to record and both mornings were 10+

 

[Spiker]

Well it might be the end of the honeymoon or you might have some kind of infection or illness.

 

[Spiker]

Are you doing correction doses for the high readings? It's hard to tell from this chart. Are your meals always pretty much the same in terms of carbs etc?

You might want to look at bumping the Lantus up by 1-2u. Start with 1u maybe.

 

[L3wisr]

Yeah I try to make sure all of my meals are the same so I don't have to mess around with changes doses too much as I always end up going low.
When it's high I have increased by a unit or two (I get in he habit of writing the same numbers so a few on the chart may be wrong).

I'll start with 5 units of lantus tonight I think

 

[Spockraptor]

I think I am currently in the same boat L3wiser. I was diagnosed in October last year and after 4 weeks my reliance on novorapid dropped to the point I didn't need it breakfast and sometimes even lunch. Currently taking 5 lantus and 3 rapid but the last few days after tea I have hit 12 or 13 even though my carbs have been the same or less. I woke up to 7.5 this morning which is normally around 6 so think I may be nearing the end of my honeymoon too. Think I am gonna basal +1 tonight and increase bolus by +1 and take it from there. My DN said you will notoce the honeymoon period end when you have to increase doses gradually over a week or so and then you know it's ended buy I suppose everyone is different. I will let you know how mine progresses. ..

 

[Diamattic]

I just finished my honeymoon period (pretty sure) It lasted me 8-9 months.

The first thing i did notice was my basal need went up, i went from 10 Lantus, to 12 Lantus every day. But the biggest thing i noticed was my bolus need pretty much doubled.

There was times in my honeymoon when i was adjusting my basal, at one point i was taking 13 lantus, but my carb ratio stayed the same. So i would say that the true indicator that your honeymoon is really over is that you need more bolus.

Waking up with high sugars could be due to many things. You could be eating low GI foods in the evenings so when you check before bed they havent fully digested and you get a normal reading and then in the middle of the night they raise your sugars, making you wake up higher then normal (I am bad with this and peanut butter... If i eat PB within 3 hours of bed its not fully digested when i do my last check )

Also, it could be stress raising your sugars, could be dawn phenomena, could be changes in the weather, or your fitness routine, an increase in basal need could be because you gains some weight (fat or muscle) and now just plain require more basal insulin. If you have a cold, or infection or something that would increase your insulin requirements as well.

You should try and check your basal ratio by waking up, check your sugars, and then fast for 4 hours (nothing but water, nothing physical) and check your sugars at the 2 hour mark and again at the 4 hour mark and see if they have gone up or down. This should tell you if it was something you ate, or DP or whats going on... Or at least help.

 

[asyarlk]

I saw my consultant a week ago and he said that it could last 2 years and it could be more if control is tight. Not sure if others have experienced this but I'm hoping mine lasts!!

 

[Spiker]

I saw my consultant a week ago and he said that it could last 2 years and it could be more if control is tight. Not sure if others have experienced this but I'm hoping mine lasts!!

That's interesting that the consultant made a link between good control and extending the honeymoon period. That's (sort of) Dr Bernstein's view but it's not usually a mainstream view of diabetes consultants.