Honeymoon period etc

[Jon-Manchester]

On Saturday I had the first really good day, I tested about 10 times throughout the day, and i only fluctuated between 5.1 and 6.5... lulled me into the false sense of security that i had started to get this all under control.. Then on Sunday it all went wrong... started with a hypo at 2.8 at 10 in the morning, I got really worried so I over compensated, so an hour later i tested Hyper with 10.2.
Through out the afternoon I had another 4 hypos while trying to compensate and clearly failing...going up and down as a yo yo...
Sorry for my rambling but it made me think, I am still in the so called honeymoon period and this is suppose to be the easy period and i cant even control this thing now...so I am dreading how i will be when I am out of it..
How does it work coming out of honey moon period, does it just happen overnight or is it a gradual transition?
How hard is it coming it out of honeymoon period, did you feel well prepared when it happened etc?

 

[Bruce Stephens]

I am still in the so called honeymoon period and this is suppose to be the easy period and i cant even control this thing now...so I am dreading how i will be when I am out of it.

It takes practice, and some training. One thing you'll hopefully have realised is to be patient: when you're hypo, take 15g of something (preferably high in glucose) and wait 15 minutes before testing again. And sure, sometimes you'll overcorrect (in one or other direction), so next time try to do that a bit less. Remember that insulin doesn't do much for half an hour.

It's worse with a Freestyle Libre (or CGM): if it tells you you're going low, chances are pretty good you're already hypo, and it'll be half an hour before it shows that your 15g of glucose has got you back to normal (if it has). Obviously, on the positive side it can show you where things are going, so often you can adjust things so you stay in a safe range.

But I'm sure we all make the same clumsy mistakes (i know I do, after 38 years). Just less often.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

Thank you Bruce.. at the moment it all feels like it is all trial and error (mainly error on my part). I am so worried about staying in range, so I tend to overcompensate (both ways) but I am trying to find that happy equilibrium. I am only 6 weeks in so I obviously have some way to go before i get your 38 years of experience...

 

[Bronco Billy]

It might be the honeymoon period, but it’s not uncommon for a spike to occur after correcting a hypo. These often sort themselves out. Did you do anything about the 10.2.

My son had quite a long honeymoon period as he was diagnosed early. We found this time was very unpredictable because it was always impossible to know what his body was going to do naturally. It was easier to deal with when this period finished because we knew what we were dealing with and there was more consistency in how his body behaved. Hopefully, this will happen to you, so don’t worry about it. You will come out of the honeymoon period gradually.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

It might be the honeymoon period, but it’s not uncommon for a spike to occur after correcting a hypo. These often sort themselves out. Did you do anything about the 10.2..

Thank you @Bronco Billy I really appreciate your post. Yes I was about to have lunch so I added an additional 1 unit of bolus (Novorapid) but I think I got the lunch carbs wrong so I had too much novorapid ... so back to another hypo

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Sorry you’ve had a bit of a rough ride recently, but try not to beat yourself up, and give yourself credit for adjusting and adapting to your diagnosis.

Diabetes is a long game, and you can’t expect to get perfect numbers all the time. Your insulin requirements and response to things will change over time. Sometimes rapidly, sometimes more slowly. And our job is just to keep rolling with the changes, and aiming to keep results as in range as we can, for as much of the time as we can - while also living a full and varied life.

My transition out of ‘honeymoon’ seemed to take a couple of years (where my insulin requirements gradually rise) after which they levelled off, and have just wibbled ‘up a bit’ and ‘down a bit’ over the course of the year, ever since.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

Sorry you’ve had a bit of a rough ride recently, but try not to beat yourself up, and give yourself credit for adjusting and adapting to your diagnosis.

Diabetes is a long game, and you can’t expect to get perfect numbers all the time. Your insulin requirements and response to things will change over time. Sometimes rapidly, sometimes more slowly. And our job is just to keep rolling with the changes, and aiming to keep results as in range as we can, for as much of the time as we can - while also living a full and varied life.

My transition out of ‘honeymoon’ seemed to take a couple of years (where my insulin requirements gradually rise) after which they levelled off, and have just wibbled ‘up a bit’ and ‘down a bit’ over the course of the year, ever since.

thank you Mike @everydayupsanddowns . This forum helps so much, it makes you feel less alone in trying to figure this thing out. Having lived a life of never having to even consider that you have to plan whether you are going to have one or two toast for breakfast, has been such a shock to me. To some extent I count myself lucky that I have got this far before Diabetes hit me but on the flip side there is a lifetime of getting away with no planning or thought about the carbs we eat....causing such a steep learning curve
Thank you guys

 

[Bronco Billy]

Thank you @Bronco Billy I really appreciate your post. Yes I was about to have lunch so I added an additional 1 unit of bolus (Novorapid) but I think I got the lunch carbs wrong so I had too much novorapid ... so back to another hypo

It may have been a carb counting error, but it could also have been a case of the BGs naturally lowering themselves after the spike, so the additional bolus made you hypo. Maybe see what happens next time if you don’t correct the post-hypo spike.

As you are recently diagnosed, there will be an element of trial and error for a while. Some things will work, some won’t, such is the nature of type 1. Whatever happens, you will learn and be better equipped to deal with a similar situation next time.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

It may have been a carb counting error, but it could also have been a case of the BGs naturally lowering themselves after the spike, so the additional bolus made you hypo. Maybe see what happens next time if you don’t correct the post-hypo spike..

thank you
It might sound stupid, but I hadn’t even considered that there might be some correction happening naturally at this stage

 

[Bronco Billy]

It definitely doesn’t sound stupid, you’re very new to all this. How do you think I found out? 🙄

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

thank you
It might sound stupid, but I hadn’t even considered that there might be some correction happening naturally at this stage

Also important to realise quite how long ‘rapid acting’ insulin can last, and how long it can take to get going.

Depending on the person a dose could easily still be working 4-6 hours later, so your earlier dose may still have had a bit of oomph in it without the added correction.

As @Bronco Billy suggests - there will be quite a bit of trial and error in the early years while you establish how the theory of what you’ve been taught applies to you as an individual.

 

[nonethewiser]

Sorry for my rambling but it made me think, I am still in the so called honeymoon period and this is suppose to be the easy period and i cant even control this thing now...so I am dreading how i will be when I am out of it..

Seriously mate, all will be much better & more stable, once things settle down you can predict more how your bg will behave.

Don't remember how long it took to come out of HP, so many years have passed, just recall being on really low doses then seeing doses increase, eventually settling down and seeing less highs lows. Keep the faith.

 

[DaveB]

Hi. Can I assume you have checked that your Basal is set correctly to maintain a stable level of BS after fasting for a good few hours? Note that meals with a lot of fat can take longer to digest whereas a plain carby meal needs the Bolus to be there near the start of the meal; experience will guide you. Honeymoons vary from a few months thru to, in my case, 10 years! I also find and I think it's fairly common that if I have a series of large meals such as on a cruise I need to greatly increase my Basal and tweak my Bolus ratio. It is a bit of a game but experience should guide you.

 

[rebrascora]

Thank you @Bronco Billy I really appreciate your post. Yes I was about to have lunch so I added an additional 1 unit of bolus (Novorapid) but I think I got the lunch carbs wrong so I had too much novorapid ... so back to another hypo

I have just been on the DAFNE (Dose Adjustment For Normal Eating) course and one of the things they teach you is not to make a correction the meal after a hypo even if you are high. The reason is that the liver will be slowly drawing glucose back out of your blood stream to restock after the hypo during the next 8 or so hours and so any correction at that following meal can lead to another hypo and hence the yo-yoing you describe.
My consultant told me not to make a correction under 14. I thought that was strange and couldn't really understand the logic for months until my DAFNE course when I met people who were constantly correcting to try to keep in range and it caused them to yo-yo like this, so I can now see the benefit of his advice. If you get the chance of a DAFNE or similar, I can highly recommend it.

 

[trophywench]

Always baffled me why on earth they call it a honeymoon period. I've had two honeymoons after marrying two different husbands and I can assure you I thoroughly enjoyed both of em exactly like we're all supposedly expected to!

So called diabetes honeymoon periods have never ever sounded in the slightest enjoyable to me - certainly not what I do for fun personally or would suggest anyone else did for that purpose. Why not be truthful and call it the diabetes mayhem period?

 

[SB2015]

Thank you Bruce.. at the moment it all feels like it is all trial and error (mainly error on my part). I am so worried about staying in range, so I tend to overcompensate (both ways) but I am trying to find that happy equilibrium. I am only 6 weeks in so I obviously have some way to go before i get your 38 years of experience...

Hi Jon

Your posts brings it all back. Think of this time as Trial and Improvement. Honeymoon Period is a rediculous name for the start of T1, as @trophywench said, a Honeymoon is supposed to be enjoyable, whereas the Honeymoon Period for T1 makes things very unpredictable. Just keep a watch, keep track of your carbs eaten and do the best you can. With more information things will improve, but in the early stages it is so easy to over compensate, and yo-yo. Try to be patient and wait a good 15 min after the hypo treatment.

 

[Jon-Manchester]

Also important to realise quite how long ‘rapid acting’ insulin can last, and how long it can take to get going.
Depending on the person a dose could easily still be working 4-6 hours later, so your earlier dose may still have had a bit of oomph in it without the added correction.
As @Bronco Billy suggests - there will be quite a bit of trial and error in the early years while you establish how the theory of what you’ve been taught applies to you as an individual.

Thank you Mike. Nothing seems to be black & white, i had assumed that after 4 hours all the Novorapid will have been gone. But very good to know tthere may still be some lingering insulin

Seriously mate, all will be much better & more stable, once things settle down you can predict more how your bg will behave.
Don't remember how long it took to come out of HP, so many years have passed, just recall being on really low doses then seeing doses increase, eventually settling down and seeing less highs lows. Keep the faith.

Thank you nonethewiser. Your (and everyones) message really helped settling my nerves.

Always baffled me why on earth they call it a honeymoon period. I've had two honeymoons after marrying two different husbands and I can assure you I thoroughly enjoyed both of em exactly like we're all supposedly expected to!
So called diabetes honeymoon periods have never ever sounded in the slightest enjoyable to me - certainly not what I do for fun personally or would suggest anyone else did for that purpose. Why not be truthful and call it the diabetes mayhem period?

Ha ha thank you Jenny, I have to say the “name” Honeymoon has really worried me, thinking this equates to the good/happy period..

Hi Jon
Your posts brings it all back. Think of this time as Trial and Improvement. Honeymoon Period is a rediculous name for the start of T1, as @trophywench said, a Honeymoon is supposed to be enjoyable, whereas the Honeymoon Period for T1 makes things very unpredictable. Just keep a watch, keep track of your carbs eaten and do the best you can. With more information things will improve, but in the early stages it is so easy to over compensate, and yo-yo. Try to be patient and wait a good 15 min after the hypo treatment.

Thank you SB2015. Really appreciate it