I’ve now been in the honeymoon period for close to a year, after being diagnosed last summer. My insulin productivity has until this point been high at 800 or so (it was expected that I might actually be type 2 with this figure) but now I am told it is coming down fairly rapidly (now, at 500) I’ve been told that this will continue to do so for the next few months and I will no longer produce my own insulin within 6 months top. I was told this on the phone, and burst into tears. I think mainly because they weren’t 100% I was type 1 (although I was rushed into hosptial, lost a stone in a week and had most of the other symptoms too) a part of me was holding on to the possibility of not having to reply on the insulin and eventually getting off any meds. Of course, I knew deep down, but I guess I wasn’t ready to truly accept it.
So here are my questions, and I hope you feel that you can answer them. Any help would be much appreciated.
How did you find the honeymoon period and what were the main differences in your management of D once you were out of this period compared to honeymooning? I just really want to know what to expect (I know everyone is different but any sort of suggestions would really ease my mind) I think it’s the fear of the unknown, and I’ve got myself into a nice little daily routine now. Will it be much harder to manage? Easier even? I have no clue… At the moment, I am having hardly any hypo’s at all, so I guess this will change. I have also put on a significant amount of weight this year (10kg!) and been put on metformin to see if that will help.
How did you emotionally cope/come to terms with coming out of the honeymoon period? I totally accepted the condition when first diagnosed and on the whole, am dealing with it well. Of course I have my moments, but who doesn’t. I just worry that this change will affect me emotionally just as I’m in a good place and feeling positively about life, my future. So any tips for dealing with that, how to prepare myself psychologically?
Right, so that’s all. Sorry for the long post. I would appreciate any replies, as this has been on my mind for a little while. Just to hear that others have gone through it and they came out the other side fine would be so lovely to hear!
Unfortunately, i can’t answer #1 as I don’t remember (1. b/c it was 30 years ago and 2 b/c I had gone off to college and was uh, partying a lot…)
I would think that it would actually be sort of easier to deal with stuff post-honeymoon since you have control over your input of insulin without any “home grown” messing up your data? I recall my first endo explaining the honeymoon and have a vague memory of him saying “you need to take more insulin because the honeymoon is over” but I wasn’t attached to it at all.
I so remember being scared while waiting for my son’s “honeymoon” period to end. I was surprised when his doctor told us (a little over a year after being diagnosed) that his honeymoon was already over. I really did not see a huge change. I think it just happens over time and you adjust your insulin accordingly and then it is over and you have already made the necessary adjustments with the insulin per your blood sugar readings. I did ask our doctor and what she told us was that we have good control over his blood sugar and keep good logs of food and make changes as needed that that is why we didn’t have any issues with the honeymoon ending. Stay on top of everything. Keep your food/insulin logs up to date. Good luck!
You will look back and vaguely know your honeymoon ended because the same meals started giving you inexplicable highs until you increased your insulin. Honeymooning is such a short period compared to the long term battle of T1, i wouldn’t get too emotionally invested in the idea of omigod my honeymoon is over! Most of us experience inexplicable periods of more difficult control even after the honeymoon. Just the nature of the disease. For example, I recently experienced lows every evening for 3 days in a row and then it stopped.
I was dx’d at 43 a year ago in the hospital in DKA and A1c at 12 something. I don’t know if i really had a honeymoon, but being an analytical person, I figured out how to count carbs, DRASTICALLY cut back on the number I ate, and things weren’t all that bad. A1c down to 5.6 and then after about 6 months, things just got screwy. Got a cool new meter and realized that the readings were different than my old one, then used them both and they were all over the place, then got pissed that they don’t have a meter that works worth a crap. Looking back, the new meter wasn’t that great, but I was mentally fed up, and the meter was the target I chose as a focus for my venting. Things were a bit harder for awhile but I think it was more due to me saying WTF than an actual phycical issue. I have had unexplainable good times and bad, but if looking at ‘other’ factors, in retrospect there is usually an explanation.
So what do I have to add for you. Given that I have pretty much no insulin production and haven’t since my dx, I would say that it isn’t that hard to manage if you understand what is going on and keep on top of things. Count ur carbs, don’t eat lots of them, or don’t expect to manage as well when you do off and on. But most importantly, don’t go mental when you go mental. Things will happen, and just try to let it slide. My A1c went up to 6.4 after being at 5.6 for 9 months, but I can explain it and am letting it go. I went on vacation and kept my levels high so I could scuba dive. I ran alot and elevated my BG so i wouldn’t crash during the run. And, most of all, I quit making adustments before bed, so I started waking up slightly elevated. There I analyzed things, know why it happened, and made a few changes to fix things. Worlds not coming to an end. Relax. Do what you have been doing. It will all be fine.
