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Honeymoon question

SB.25

Well-Known Member
Messages
369
Location
London
Type of diabetes
Other
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi all,

Still awaiting for diagnosis of either MODY or Type 1 (potentially in the honeymoon).

I have noticed for the past 3 days my levels have been shocking and very erratic.

I have had minimal hypos (maybe 1 or 2 in 4 4 months?) since being on insulin yet on Saturday I had one. I though this was Just a one off. Sunday and Monday my levels were running higher than they have been (approx 10-12) and no amount of insulin would bring them down.

Today I ate my breakfast and dosed my insulin but started to feel weird so I checked and was 24 !!!! I took a 3 unit correction and then ended up going hypo again.

I’m seeing my consultant again in a couple of weeks, but I wondered if anyone else who had a honeymoon period experienced anything like this?

Thanks
 

Just checking when you had breakfast today and checked your levels at 24 - how long was it between taking your insulin and doing the correction ?

Also if you get an abnormally high reading would you wash your hands and check again ?

The honeymoon is erratic as your body is still producing insulin so you're best to err on the side of safety in regards to corrections, wait a good 4 hours for your insulin to deplete first before testing levels and administering a correction.
 

I had tested just before the 24 and was 22 so I knew it was rising. I was shocked at how high it was so that’s why I tested again shortly after (after washing hands). I had the 3 unit correction shortly after the 24 finger prick.

Thanks for the advice re timings of corrections. I will take that on board!

I just felt awful at 24 and walking up and down 10 flights of stairs in work had no impact on them!
 
Not surprised you felt awful, it's a horrible feeling, poor you.

I struggled with the honeymoon as I found most days I would simply yo-yo from hypo to high, it was pretty exhausting, it was the reason I dropped the amount of carbs I ate as I wanted to limit the room for error with doses and to improve my glucose stability. It helped as it improved my mood too being more stable, it's not something everyone would do of course but for me it worked, just take care as I said with your corrections.

Also exercise can take up to an hour to impact your levels depending on the intensity of the exercise, if you do high intensity it can also increase your BG levels as it releases adrenaline, so a walk is a good way to help improve sensitivity without causing resistance.
 
Exercise is very personal and depends on the type of exercise.

For example, if you do a lot of walking, it is unlikely to have any impact on BG. Whereas, running may reduce BG unless you are so running fit that you run a marathon most days.
Typically, stop-start exercise like HIIT (note: most team sports are stop start unless you are involved all the time) or resistance training like weights or "stressful" exercise like cycling uphill against the wind in the rain will increase BG.

The reason for this is there are two diabetes things which are affected by exercise:
- insulin sensitivity/effectiveness. This can take some time to take affect and depends on your fitness at that type of exercise. This is why walking may have little impact and why start-start exercise can have little impact but a 30 minute run may reduce BG.
- glucose release. Our liver will release glucose to give us the energy needed for the exercise. This may lead to a rise in BG during some exercise but a drop later as our liver rebuilds its stores.
 
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I have found exercise to actually increase my levels except for walking which usually gives me a gradual increase. However yesterday I went for. 3 hour walk around Richmond Park looking for the deer (I know I’m a loser!) and I got no decrease at all - which was surprising!

It’s all so confusing and frustrating !
 
The past few days have defiantly been a yo-yo that’s for sure!!

I’m glad my levels gone to a bit more of a normal level this afternoon as this morning my eye sight went a bit fuzzy and a pounding headache.

Lots more water to be drunk this afternoon!!
 
I've spent hours in Richmond Park looking for deer in the past. I remember one winter's day getting lost in freezing fog and seeing the occasional deer emerge from the fog and then disappear again.
So I don't count you as a loser spending hours in the fresh air tracking some magnificent beasts.

Your lack of BG fall, yesterday, may be due to multiple things - it could be because you were walking slower than usual as you scanned the horizon for wildlife or it may be because of worry of getting lost or being out without hypo treatment pushing your BG up.

Even if exercise does not bring your BG down, it is not a waste. Some people exercise to lose weight. Some exercise to reduce BG. But there are many physical and mental wellbeing reasons for exercise and being outdoors.
 
helensaramay said:
For example, if you do a lot of walking, it is unlikely to have any impact on BG.
Click to expand...

Dunno about that - I reckon exercise will generally lower BG quite effectively, including walking, and I do a reasonable amount of that. Eg I'll take half or less than half my bolus insulin with breakfast when going out walking later, and often still end up with low BG most of the walk.

2km (at a fairly brisk pace) just now knocked about 4 off my BG level.
 
I guess it's another example of us all being different.
I walked 10 miles on Saturday. Some of it fairly fast and some more dawdling. My BG was stable throughout.
This could be because I walk an average of 5 miles every day.

As someone newly diagnosed (and in the honeymoon period), this can be very confusing and, the only way of knowing what happens to your body is lots of testing.
 
I also find walking an excellent way of reducing my bg levels, I have to watch my levels carefully whilst walking as I can drop to hypo very quickly, it’s caught me out a number of times, just keep testing and keep glucose close to hand.
 

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks its amazing there are some deer's just wandering in a park in London!

I agree, I don't always walk to reduced BG levels. Before I got diagnosed, me and my fiancé enjoyed having long walks and we still do now.

I've since walked back from home from work today and I am near hypo territory again currently at 4.3... I feel completely exhausted from all the ups and downs today!
 
Juicyj said:
I also find walking an excellent way of reducing my bg levels, I have to watch my levels carefully whilst walking as I can drop to hypo very quickly, it’s caught me out a number of times, just keep testing and keep glucose close to hand.
Click to expand...
Yes I have realised I DO NOT like the glucotabs - they taste like chalk. I found apple juice effective at the weekend but think I need to buy some more jelly sweets for my handbag.
 
The vety idea of glucose tablets tasting like chaulk is to stop one gobbling up too many, which can be a worry with sweeter tasting hypo remedies.
In your initial post @SB.25 you mentioned ".... 1 or 2 hypos in what looked like " 44 months". Did you mean that or 4.4 months? Just that 44 months is longer than most diabetes honeymoon phases last.
 
sorry it seems to be a typo I meant 4 months
 
Oh, glad to have that cleared up! We all have typos happen !
It sounds like you need to be in close touch with your DSN to see whether there is a way to moderate the ups and downs ? Less carbs and more judicious use of long-acting insulin for example ? Just a thought. The thinking being if your pancreas is doing random responses of insulin to carbs, would less carbs trigger less reaction/ responses whilst less short-acting insulin contribute to less hyoos ? Of course theory and pratice are siometimes in cahoots, but other times worlds apart !
 
Thanks for the tips and advice.

Today has been a lot more settled with more even levels. I feel much better and less tired perhaps yesterday was just one of those days.

I need to remember I may not even be T1 anyway whilst I’m still waiting for diagnosis!
 
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