Short simple question. How long did your honey moon last?
My isn't over yet(13 months)
It usually depends on how old you were at diagnosis. Little kids will have there honeymoon end in the blink of an eye. I was diagnosed with T1 at 57 and still get some (although declining) support from my beta cells seven years later.
Tight control is usually one of the best ways of preserving whatever insulin production you have left.
Maurie
Get on insulin quickly and try to put less strain on your remaining beta cells in hopes of having it last longer. I probably had over 10 years between the time I started showing diabetes complications and the time I was no longer producing meaningful amounts of insulin at age 45.
My "extreme honeymoon" lasted about 1 year--I needed minimal insulin then. But I was diagnosed 19 years ago, and we now have so much better information about how to prolong the honeymoon, and how truly important it is to prolong the honeymoon. Intensive insulin therapy is the way to do it, as Maurie says.
im am almost 2.5 years in and still honeymooning. i started low carbing immediately and maintain pretty tight control. i try to only use basal insulin, though if i want to eat something more than about 30 carbs in one go (ok, maybe 25) then i have to use fast acting. i get highs someimtes, but 1 unit of novorapid drops me about 100 points.
i was just at the endo and she said it is prolly cuz of my low carbing and physical activity. i just wish someone could tell me that it would stay like this forever. or at least be like maurie!
As Maurie said, it has a lot to do with age of onset and how many Beta cells you have at onset. As a juvenile onset in DKA (BG higher than they could read), I never experienced any honeymoon.
i was dxed at age 27(2 yrs ago) and got it under tight control very quickly. all of my a1cs since have been low to mid 5s. i got a cpeptide test a few months ago and i am not honeymooning anymore. I dont know when it ended or if I ever was honeymooning. My management hasnt changed drastically since dx, so maybe i never experienced the honeymoon phase.
I was a little relieved to know im not honeymooning and wont have to worry about things becoming more difficult once the honeymoon ends.
Like Jag1, I never had 'honeymoon' either and I was dx at 60, but had neither DKA nor extremely high BG at dx, straight into T1 & insulin. In fact the endo at the time said there was no such thing as 'honeymoon phase' which I have since found out isn't so (just one of the many "errors" on his part-nor is he my endo anymore.
thats what im worried about! the REAL diabetes, the post honeymoon, sounds scary to a honeymooner...
Here's to long honeymoons! But if Melitta is correct, then maybe I for one should remember to ask my endo (when I get one, soon!) the W's and discover what the best course of action will be for me.
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I am a strong believer that having high blood sugars is in itself damaging to your beta cells (sometimes called glucotoxicity). If you can maintain tight blood sugar control then you can maximize the length of your honeymoon. That is why it is very important to start insulin early (both for T1 and T2). Dr. Bernstein believes that for some T1 patients, starting tight blood sugar control can prolong your honeymoon forever. Although it is important to note that his definition of honeymoon is "some" level of continued natural insulin product (a nontrivial c-peptide) and he does start his T1 patients on insulin from day 1.