Honeymooning

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Northerner

Northerner

Admin (Retired)
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi, I think it's pretty much beyond doubt that I am in my honeymoon period. I am a little surprised as it is now 15 months since I was diagnosed, although I have read in Ragnar Hanas' book that it can be between 1-3 years after diagnosis, and can last longer in adults. But there's no way I would be getting the levels I get unless my own pancreas was helping to smooth the path for me.

Here's a picture of my last 10 days' meter readings. Out of a total of 69 tests, I have had 2 hypos, 15 'above range', and the rest within range. The majority of above range readings were taken before and after runs, when my BG would be above range anyway - plus they are only slightly above range (7s and 8s).

I'm wondering how long this is going to last, and how wrong things are going to go when it ends? Has anyone here experienced anything like this? Of course, I am doing everything I can to help those levels, but there's no way I'm THAT accurate at carb-counting and bolus calculations for activity etc.

honeymoon.jpg
 
Wow, i don't know much about Carbs and counting but you seem to be doing really well.
Well done

Julie x
 
Hi Northerner , I do think you are Honeymooning and have thought that for a while (sorry 😱 , I know its also hard work and dedication ) Enjoy it while it lasts I say !! My Honeymoon was over within 12 months and a few people I know it was 10 months. I think maybe it depends how long you have had Diabetes , undiagnosed ?... I have been Diabetic for quite alot of years so my Pancreas was on its way out a long time before yours obviously. We should do a poll so we can compare .
 
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I'm pretty sure that my pancreas started failing around June/July 2006, because from that date I started losing weight gradually at 1-2 pounds a month, eventually losing 2 stone. There was no explanation for it, but in retrospect I was also drinking more from around that time (not just alcohol, although there was plenty of that). It was only when things took a nosedive last May that I got diagnosed and put on insulin - I think if I adn't caught a virus at that time I'd probably still be undiagnosed now. I think it took me nearly a year to recover and then my insulin was hugely reduced in April, so I'm guessing that's when I recovered some beta cell function. I'm convinced that I am Type 1.5 - all the evidence points to it. Is that going to be different to a honeymoon period? How long does LADA last before all beta cell function is lost? I'll go and look it up!
 
Northerner said:
I'm pretty sure that my pancreas started failing around June/July 2006, because from that date I started losing weight gradually at 1-2 pounds a month, eventually losing 2 stone. There was no explanation for it, but in retrospect I was also drinking more from around that time (not just alcohol, although there was plenty of that). It was only when things took a nosedive last May that I got diagnosed and put on insulin - I think if I adn't caught a virus at that time I'd probably still be undiagnosed now. I think it took me nearly a year to recover and then my insulin was hugely reduced in April, so I'm guessing that's when I recovered some beta cell function. I'm convinced that I am Type 1.5 - all the evidence points to it. Is that going to be different to a honeymoon period? How long does LADA last before all beta cell function is lost? I'll go and look it up!
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Hmm I think the more you look in to things sometimes it gets more confusing :confused: Mybe Im LADA too ?, I was Diabetic for over 6 years before going on Insulin .. consequently treated (if you can call it that 😡) as type 2 . I was losing weight and constantly thirsty all that time . I only got diagnosed as type 1 after being admitted with DKA after being sick with a bug for a week , then I was put straight on Insulin through a DKI drip. Maybe all of us older type 1's are LADA , thats why we were not child Diabetics ?
 
Northerner;55051 I'm convinced that I am Type 1.5 - all the evidence points to it. Is that going to be different to a honeymoon period? How long does LADA last before all beta cell function is lost? I'll go and look it up![/QUOTE said:
As you know Alan I was diagnosed Type 2 by my Dr going by my BS levels (i.e. over 7 for a few months when tested), then when I was admitted to hospital with a level of 25 the Endocriolost I saw said I was LADA (Type 1.5) and that he predicted I would be injecting by the end of a year (starting Oct 08).

10 months later, levels still good on Metformin and Gliclazide, so he's gven me until August 2010 before he wants to see me unless levels rise above 10 on 3 consecutive days - then I've got to seek help and will be on insulin.

He said I must be honeymooning now with the levels I am getting (somewhat like your good self I suppose) - does this mean we're honeymooning together !!
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Hi Northerner ...

From my little understanding of LADA ... you can continue to produce insulin for many years after initial diagnosis, much longer than a typical honeymoon phase ... there is increased sensitivity to insulin ...

I do believe however there is a test to determine LADA ... where a certain level of antibodies can be measured that will attack insulin beta cells with in the pancreas .. ICA and GAD ...

Heidi
xx🙂
 
vince13 said:
...He said I must be honeymooning now with the levels I am getting (somewhat like your good self I suppose) - does this mean we're honeymooning together !!
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I hope it's somewhere nice!😉 I've often wondered what my levels were like before the DKA event. My DSN thinks my running meant I was probably using a declining amount of insulin very efficiently for some time. I did a half-marathon in March 2008 and really struggled with it.

sasha1 said:
...I do believe however there is a test to determine LADA ... where a certain level of antibodies can be measured that will attack insulin beta cells with in the pancreas .. ICA and GAD ...

Heidi
xx🙂
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I think the C-peptide shows whether you are still producing 'native' insulin and in what quantities, as it is produced as part of the same process as insulin, but te test is ?200 so probably not worth doing on someone like me - wish I had a spare ?200 - I'd love to know!🙂 I obviously don't produce enough to go without insulin as I'm still injecting 35-40 units a day, whereas Faith must be producing enough to cover her meals with the help of the metformin.

Maybe, by the time the honeymoon ends I will pluck up enough courage to demand a pump!:D
 
I'm fairly sure my honeymoon has been and gone. Was diagnosed in November 2008 and once I started carb counting I was using a 1:15 ratio of insulin units:grams of carbohydrates.

However earlier this year 1:15 wasn't working anymore and my blood sugars went up without any real explanation other than I wasn't injecting enough insulin. I fiddled with my ratios a bit and have now settled on a 1:11 ratio which works quite well for me. It may even be that 1:10 is better for me but I'm not quite sure about that.

I would say that I believe my honeymoon started and finished much earlier than I was ever expecting it to. I'm coming up to my first anniversary as a diabetic and I find it staggering that with 10 weeks to go my honeymoon was over weeks ago.
 
LADA? Type 1.5? This is all new to me! I will follow this thread with interest. 🙂
 
Lol, another thread that's totally beyond my ken, but Northerner and Vince, I sincerely hope you both enjoy your honeymoon! 😉

xx
 
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Hope Northerner and Vince enjoy their honeymoon, but not together!
 
Hi Northerner ...

OMG ... I did'nt realise you would have to pay for the test .... ?200 ... 😱 ... that's scandalous ... this should be offered free to all where there is an element of doubt in determing the type of diabetes one has ...

However there is some evidence to suggest that good glucose control and intensive insulin treatment early in when diabetes is diagnosed that the honeymoon phase more likely to last longer ... Honeymoon phases vary from person to person .. and it can last anywhere for up to 4 years in certain cases.

Nathan's honeymoon phase lasted about 9 months give or take a little ..:(

Heidi
xx🙂
 
Heidi, I think that the test wouldn't really make any difference to my treatment, which is why I wouldn't be offered it at my stage - I still need insulin and I'm not insulin resistant, so it would really be a waste of NHS money. The test would show in an older person whether they were Type 1 or 2 - type 2 can produce significant amounts of insulin, whereas Type 1 don't produce any - Type 1.5 (LADA) is in between, declining insulin but not resistant. So it might affect how someone was treated (like in Faith's case). It's possible that, had I gone to the doctor's earlier, I would have been put on meds first and I might have done better in the Hague half-marathon!

LADA = Latent Autoimmune Diabetes in Adults, for those unfamiliar with te term. It's also called Type 1.5 sometimes.
 
Mand said:
LADA? Type 1.5? This is all new to me! I will follow this thread with interest. 🙂
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I was told it was Latent Auto-immune Diabetes of Adulthood (at 62 I guess that's me !) but my Dr is treating me a Type 2 and the Consultant says I ought to say it's Type 1 so it seems to be in between somewhere.

Trust me (and the other LADA-ites on here) to be different - I've been awkward all my life !
 
HelenP said:
Lol, another thread that's totally beyond my ken, but Northerner and Vince, and I sincerely hope you both enjoy your honeymoon! 😉

xx
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Thank you - I don't think either of us is getting much pleasure out of it - I don't think Northener's trying.......... (separate rooms indeed....that Kate Bush has a lot to answer for !!)
 
I was told it was Latent Auto-immune Diabetes of Adulthood (at 62 I guess that's me !) but my Dr is treating me a Type 2 and the Consultant says I ought to say it's Type 1 so it seems to be in between somewhere.

Trust me (and the other LADA-ites on here) to be different - I've been awkward all my life !
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Maybe, if you have LADA, your not awkward - just special. 😉
 
Northerner - if it aint broke dont fix it!!!!!!Like you have said, it wouldnt make a lot of difference to the treatment your getting -so i wouldnt worry about it. And if you do come out of honeymoon - then you have lots of knowledge about highs and lows to be able to deal with it all!:DBev
 
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