I’m curious - has anyone else experienced quite a bit of time not needing any basal insulin (but definitely needed bolus) during the honeymoon period? I was on nothing after diagnosis, then basal/bolus during pregnancy, and now just bolus - it’s been 6 months since I had baby. My fastings are perfect - 70s/80s most days, and in between meals, unless I’m snacking a lot, I get back down to that again. It’s not that I WANT that to end; just curious how my pancreas is able to work well enough for that, and yet I can’t handle any carbs without bolusing.
It’s common to need much less insulin during honeymoon phase because the body is still producing some of its own insulin. Liam now needs insulin all the time for the most part, but for the first year, we had to turn off his basal all, or some of the night (from .05) because he’d go low. Now if we have it off, he will go high during the night.
How long each persons honeymoon phase lasts varies, but you’ll know it when it’s over because zero basal will mean you’ll start moving up higher than you should be.
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I don’t think it’s that uncommon for LADA folks to honeymoon for years after they’re diagnosed.
I was diagnosed as a kid, so my “honeymoon” consisted of my insulin needs being cut in half and my readings becoming more stable for a few months before going back to the way they were when I was diagnosed. I was never able to get off long- or short-acting insulin.
These days using Fiasp (which for me is very fast-acting), I can’t suspend my pump for more than 30 minutes without my blood sugar rising significantly. Even when I disconnect for an hour or two to facilitate intense exercise, I have to bolus for the basal I’ve missed to prevent my blood sugar from skyrocketing later.
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Yeah, as I said, I don’t mind things being where they’re at - despite the sometimes unpredictable “help” from my pancreas, I’m able to maintain pretty good control overall. It’s just interesting to me how I can maintain perfect BG levels unless challenged by any food - then it just climbs unless covered by bolus. Using Afrezza has been eye opening as far as my BG response to food goes, because I have to dose it after meals, and it takes some exta testing to figure out how fast I rise after different things (all within 10-30 mins, depending on type of carb and fat content). Seeing it just reminds me how inadequate my own insulin production is!
Agreed. I only have experience with the child diagnosed T1 but from many accounts, it certainly sounds like adult diagnosed T1 can progress in a much slower fashion than child T1 even if they ultimately end up at the same place.
How long we were in honeymoon is hard to tell as it was an age where children are growing and changing. So much is going on that it becomes difficult to pinpoint it is due to this reason or that reason. The only thing that is for sure is change.
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Enjoy it while it lasts. Like everything else D, the only constant is change…
Ha, people keep telling me it’ll be easier when my honeymoon ends. Then I really think about it; think about how “easy” control is right now, and I can’t imagine it getting any easier!
Most people think of the honeymoon period as a period of highly fluctuating insulin delivery. Yours sounds like it is more steady state. Perhaps the slower onset, means you won’t go through the quite frustrating fluctuations.
Good point. That reminded me how I was diagnosed (A1c was 5.8, fasting 105, just randomly tested positive for antibodies), so mine’s probably very slow progressing, even with pregnancy speeding things up a bit. I’ve heard starting insulin therapy early also can help extend beta cell function, so maybe that is helping, too.
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