Is the honeymoon over?

Type 1 and LADA
1

I think my son’s honeymoon may be at and end, but a whole host of things have happened this week, so I’m not sure. There are lots of details, so forgive me for the novel below, but I’d sure appreciate your input.

My 12 year old son was diagnosed with type 1 six months ago. He is currently on MDI using lantus & humalog. Since the second week following diagnosis, he has never been high enough to require a correction and we’ve had to continually adjust his i:c ratios and reduce his lantus to ward off lows. Generally, he wakes up in the high 80s to 100.

Then came the events of this week. He got sick (bad chest cold but no fever), had state achievement tests at school (so no first period athletics, thus little exercise this week), and we started a new vial of lantus. The doctor wants him to be between 80-150 pre-meal. I know the high end is much higher than most people like to see, but I suspect he has that broad range because of his age and stage of life. Until this week, he’s always been at the low end of that range.

His morning readings have been good - about 10 points higher than usual, but still around 100ish… His numbers before first period athletics are usually around 105 and he has to have a snack so he doesn’t go low. This week, he has been as high as 250 at that time. His lunch numbers have been in range - usually in the 80s. After school, he has been higher than normal (he’s usually around 90; the past few days more like 120). He goes into dinner between 100-120; previously, he was in the mid-80s. At bedtime, he’s usually around 100-115 about 2.5 hours after dinner/insulin. We try to have him above 100 when he goes to bed, so sometimes he eats a snack depending on his bedtime test. The past few days, he’s been around 170 at bedtime. At night, our doctor doesn’t want us to correct until 200. The past 2 nights, I’ve checked him when I go to bed and in both instances, he was over 200 and I gave him a shot. A check a few hours later indicted that the shot brought him down closer to 170. Then, by morning, he’s back close to 100. A few times this week, he’s tested because he was shaking and thought he must be low; this week, the shaking is from being high.

So far, here’s what I’ve done: threw out his humalog and started a fresh cartridge; made him test like crazy; changed his breakfast/dinner ratio by a small amount, and worried a bunch. Tonight, I think I’ll start a new bottle of lantus since all of this started the day after we started a new vial, just in case that’s a factor here.

So, is this what the end of the honeymoon looks like? Could this be the result of a cold? Are the easy times over? I’d sure appreciate you sharing your wisdom here.

2

could be the honeymoon being over… things went kinda crazy for my son at that time…he was on a pump and they even took him off and put him back on MDI for a while… My son is at the 1 and 1/2 point since diagnosis and they figure the honeymoon is totally gone… they do figure it by how much insulin /hight weight though… so ask them …is he using what his body would need out of the honeymoon? That will tell you more than me or anyone else here can. Good luck either way… as a fellow D-mom…you have my respect.

3

Illness will send BG up along with insulin resistance. Stress will also, so it could be combo of being sick & the tests. Honeymoon phase is difficult because there are stops & starts, so good that he’s testing a lot. The more highs he experiences, the shorter the honeymoon will be. He’s had great readings & my guess is that this is from his chest cold.

4

Thanks. I hope it’s from the cold - the longer the honeymoon, the better, as far as I’m concerned. I know time will tell, and the way he handles “the end” will be influenced a lot by how I handle it. I want to be as prepared as possible, so I can handle it all matter-of-factly and not put my anxieties and fears on to him. I think I do a pretty good job of keeping my concerns out of his sight, but it’s hard not to show a little shock when you expect a 100 and a 250 shows up instead. Fortunately, he just rolls with it all. Good thing he got the easy-going genes from his dad!

5

You’re doing great & so is he! It’s a mom’s job to worry & be prepared. Know that feeling of shock. My first thought is if I forgot to inject & then frustration when I realize I did take my insulin. Hormones play havoc also & this could just be a blip on the screen.

6

It’s hard to say if this is a permanent change. It sounds like you’ve prepared yourself mentally for the possiblilty of his honeymoon ending so either way you will do well. I hope it lasts too…

7

Thanks for your input & encouragement. My son’s cold is mostly gone and his athletics class is meeting again, so we’ll see what happens this week. Thanks again!