Honeymoon phase ending.........scared

I typed this up once, but don’t see it, so if this is a repeat, please forgive me. I was diagnosed with LADA two years ago. Also have Hashimoto’s. I’ve tested intermittently. For a year my BG was in the 80s, then 90s. Then I got slack and didn’t test for a while and it was in the 120s. This week it has been in the 140s, always test 2 hours post prandial. I’m leaving tomorrow for Houston, where my daughter in law in in ICU (brain tumor). I’m scared to death I will have a medical crisis and nobody has time for me…I need to help them!!! Help me…when the honeymoon period ends, what exactly happens. When do I get really worried? I see my endo next month, I currently take no insulin, no diabetes meds. My A1c in January was 4.9. No sign of Type 2. Could this be stress?

I eat Keto, so no sugar, grains, fruit. What can I do to lower my BG until I see the end of next month?

I, personally, wouldn’t even worry about your BG. Sounds like your doing everything right. Just keep on as normal. Keep checking BG and if you see something abnormal, then keep record of it. Stress can sometimes have an impact. If you notice numbers consistently around 200, then I would call the Doc. Nothing super bad should happen from that, but the Doc should know about it. You sound really proactive. I think your putting too much pressure on yourself. image

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Why were you diagnosed with LADA? Was it because you tested positive for the antibodies? An A1c of 4.9% is firmly in the non-diabetic range, so I’m guessing there must have been some other test that identified your immune system attacking your pancreas?

When you say you tested at 120, do you mean your fasting blood sugar? I wouldn’t really be alarmed by 140 after a meal. It’s just in the upper range of normal for breakfast. I posted this chart the other day showing blood sugar levels of non-diabetics: Affects of diabetes - #4 by katers87.

It doesn’t sound like you should be worried about emergencies. It might be best to ask: what’s the worst that could happen? If you end up running a little high on your trip, then you can fix that when you get back. If you end up losing all beta cells on your trip (seems unlikely since you’ve had this for 2 years), then you can call your doctor or visit a clinic there. They should be able to write a script for some insulin. I’d just test regularly to make sure everything is working right.

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Yes, I was diagnosed by an autoantibody study. Beta cells are damaged. Referred to endo who confirmed and said he had never had anyone in as early stage as I was two years ago. Told me to test at least weekly, 2 hours after a meal. Today I tested st 141. I see him late April. He told me when I have to start taking insulin, I will start with mealtime insulin. Since my dx, I have lost over 75 pounds on the ketogenic diet and am very near goal weight. I never cheat, so I think I’m doing all I can. I feel better. Thanks y’all.

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@LHromika, I agree with @mohe0001 and @katers87. Stress will definitely raise your BG levels, and it sounds like you are very proactive in your care. As your stress levels increase during your family emergency, try taking some time for yourself and do some simple relaxation exercises. That combined with your current care regime should help you to get through your time of stress.

Please do check in and let us know how things are going. We are here to help.

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Thank you so much. My grandson is 5 and I need to be there for him. I’ll try to work on my stress and keep a close eye on my BG.

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https://www.caregiver.org/taking-care-you-self-care-family-caregivers

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Since you’re not on insulin now to treat high BGLs, the only thing you really can do to manage this is by controlling your diet (limit your carbs), and exercise. Have you noticed if exercise brings down your BGLs? Do you test before meals and at other times, like before exercise and then 3-4 hours after (to see how much this affects your levels?)

This is the first time I’ve heard of someone being diagnosed as T 1.5 LADA that isn’t on any medication whatsoever; is your doctor just expecting you to show signs of Diabetic Ketoacidosis before they start you on an insulin regimen? I think this would be your possible worst case scenario and a dangerous game to play, since you’ve already been confirmed as being LADA and your doc knows it’s only a matter of time before you need insulin.

I would say, keep an eye on your keytones (buy keytone strips and test regularly, as diabetics can be in ketoacidosis even when in normal BGL range, especially test for keytones when you’re having symptoms of DKA, like thirst, fatigue, shakiness, etc.)

I don,t have high BGs. Never have. I test daily, 2 hours postprandial and I am always within range, according to the meter. I have seen a slight increase in BG but still not consistently high. I will see the endo next week and will see what he says. I have eaten a ketogenic diet for over 2 years, so I can’t cut carbs any lower. I also check blood ketones and they are not high.

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I was going to comment when you first posted this, but then it fell off my radar. You fear the honeymoon is ending, but really it’s just changing. Even after you go on insulin, you could have years of honeymooning where your pancreas is still giving you some assistance. I’m a LADA who had to start bolus insulin immediately upon diagnosis, but it was another 18 months before I needed basal and quite a few more months of only 2 units of basal per day. Even now, seven years in, my basal is only 7 units/day via pump. But I’m highly carb sensitive, meaning I look at a carb and my BG shoots up. My average I:C is 1:9 and my bolus is usually 2/3 of my total daily insulin dose.

You might as well be speaking Greek. I know nothing about insulin but fortunately for me, your post is reassuring. I will get through this, somehow.

Shadow means that, while most of us require a bunch of insulin running in the background (basal insulin), just to be ok, Shadow doesn’t need much of that. Shadow requires (bolus insulin) insulin in order to digest food. Shadow is a LADA diabetic. Thats a little different than just being a regular type 1 or type 2. I am a standard type 1 and I take 30 units of basal (background) insulin per day. Shadow only needs 7 units because the pancreas still makes some insulin. But, we have similar I:C ratios - that means how much insulin you take for food - “Insulin to Carb” ratio = 1 unit or insulin for every 9 grams of carb.

LADA means “Latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA) is a disorder in which, despite the presence of islet antibodies at diagnosis of diabetes, the progression of autoimmune β-cell failure is slow. LADA patients are therefore not insulin requiring, at least during the first 6 months after diagnosis of diabetes.”

Shadow is very unique and special, like you LHromika. Kinda different and interesting, compared with the rest of us. :slight_smile:

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I am still in the honeymoon phase 2 1/2 years post diagnosis. I have lost 75 pounds, eat a rigid ketogenic diet, and just test sporadically. BS is creeping up, but still within range. Endocrinologist continues to be amazed at how slowly this disease is progressing. I won’t be a happy insulin dependent diabetic, so I keep praying God will spare me that. Still taking no insulin, but he says mealtime insulin will come first.

I post on another thread but want to share here too. I like to turn the food to be natural medicine.
One of my family members has diabetes. We know stress cause high BG level so we turn away from the stress of diabetes by turning to the joy of cooking. We researched what can help to control blood sugar levels and then just add that to our meals. Here’s what we did…

  1. When we eat carbs like potato or rice, I will also add in cooked white kidney beans together (avoid canned beans) which slows the breakdown of carbohydrates into sugars in your blood stream. It also assists your body’s insulin response to glucose. This will limit the spikes in glucose levels after the meal as well.

  2. I put more spices in my food which makes the meals healthier and tastier :slight_smile: Eg. Add rosemary to turkey breast, Cayenne pepper (my favorite!), Ginger, Oregano, Cinnamon. Sometimes when I don’t have much time to cook, I’ll just boil cinnamon and drink it as a tea. Cinnamon can improve insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control.

  3. And finally, eat more bitter melon! It may sound bitter… But this one helped a lot. I found it when I read about the people of Okinawa, an island southwest of Japan, who are well-known for longevity of life. They eat bitter melon regularly and that helps them lower their blood sugar levels. I often blend bitter melon in smoothie or add it directly to meals. You might start from adding dry bitter melon in hot water and drinking it as a tea. Believe me bitter taste actually makes your food tastier!

Its not only good for diabetes but also help on weight loss also.
Hop this help :slight_smile:

These idea may (or may not) help someone with Type 2 or insulin resistance, but are generally irrelevant to someone with Type 1 or LADA. Perhaps insulin response will improve, but not without insulin production to begin with!

I hope your pancreas continues to produce insulin @LHromika - mine only produces small, unpredictable amounts, so not enough for me to avoid injected insulin. I was extremely afraid of injecting insulin, but, well, don’t have a choice on that score - and manage fairly well with it.

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Just saw your post. Sure hope your family is doing OK.
So glad to hear it was “Just” stress.

I, like you, am just on low carb/Keto diet for my “very early LADA”, with directions to stay low carb, watch my glucose, and contact the endo if it starts to rise. Luckily, I have a Libra for more frequent monitoring because I am also Reactive Hypoglycemic with no hypo awareness. Stress will definitely spike my glucose. (I have cute graphs to show me :crazy_face:.). Hope I can follow your example and have a long honeymoon period, unlike with past marriages. LOL! However, I am reading up on insulin since it is a when, not an if, issue. :face_with_head_bandage:

Hi,

I feel as if my development has been very similar to yours. I was diagnosed only 4.5 months ago. I have been on a low carb / ketogenic diet pretty much from my diagnosis. I was on small amounts of Lantas for the first 10 days but was taken of Lantas as I was experiencing some hypos in my sleep. I have since been of insulin completely and have been sticking to my low carb keto diet. I wear a free style Libre BG monitor which means I can watch my levels well. They are 99% of the time perfect and are within my target range. However up to like the past few weeks my energy levels have been decreasing and I have been feeling a little foggy and a little mentally shakey. I am worried this could be ketoacidosis but do not really understand how this works ? Can this occur if I have been good with BG levels but I am on a ketogenic diet and are using no insulin to manage my levels ? Or could this be my body going into ketosis from my high fat diet ? Any feedback would be appreciated as I am struggling to find many similar cases

Thanks

My teenager was pre-symptomatic when he was diagnosed. We lowered his carb intake to 50 carbs per meals and the only times his numbers would go over 150 were after eating higher-carb meals. When his numbers would go over 200 I would freak out and call the doctor and her answer was always the same - if it doesn’t come down after a few readings call her back. It was almost a year and a half of this before he needed insulin. It happened slowly for us - mostly great numbers - the occasional blip and then back to normal. The time in between blips and normal got shorter and shorter until eventually he woke up over 200 three days in a row and his day time numbers were never under 150. By that time we had drastically reduced his carb intake and he was losing weight (no hunger, no thirst, no constant peeing by the way.) He was pretty miserable at that point - afraid to eat anything. So in a way finally tipping over was like a breath of fresh air.

So in a nut shell - it happened slow enough for him that there was never an emergency. Watching those numbers is nerve-racking I know. They still don’t know a lot about what happens before a type 1 becomes symptomatic. If you haven’t read about Type 1 stages I would recommend going here https://asweetlife.org/the-stages-of-type-1-diabetes-it-starts-earlier-than-we-thought/
I thought that was a pretty good summary. As an adult hopefully your diet will slow down the progression - By the way - I would not recommend a low carb diet for a child. I know there are people out there who advocate it. The doctor suspects that his diet may have caused him to stop growing.

I don’t think it’s DKA because you would probably be nauseous and if your BG’s are so good then that makes DKA unlikely as well. How long have you been on a ketogenic diet? If you are in just the first couple of weeks then it could be your body adjusting to nutritional ketosis. You may want to start your own topic so that everyone will see it more easily and be able to chime in.