The honeymoon period happens right at diagnosis, if it happens at all. In this episode, Jessie and I talk about what the honeymoon period is, how long it lasts, who gets it, and why it only happens once—if it happens at all.
The gist is that the honeymoon period happens after diagnosis, though you could have developed T1D for a longer period before the diagnosis. Officially, the honeymoon period starts when the doctor gives that diagnosis of type 1 diabetes.
I don’t think I had a honeymoon period, since my blood sugar was 544 mg/dL when they diagnosed me, but that’s anecdotal and not representative of everyone’s experience with the phase.
Wins & Fails
Colleen’s Win: This is a mixed win. I discovered a way to restart the Dexcom G6 sensors, only for the sensor to be wildly inaccurate or fail to keep working after the restart. This is my experience, but YMMV. I’m back to just using a sensor for a single 10-day session.
Jessie’s Fail: Jessie left her emergency vial of insulin in the car for a week and it turned yellow with the heat. There wasn’t much insulin left in the vial, but it’s a stark reminder that heat will denature the insulin and ruin it. Keep your insulin cool or at room temp, folks!
Tip of the Week
I’ve noticed with Control IQ on my Tandem t:Slim pump, which is the algorithm that stops insulin for lows and gives insulin for highs, that my dawn phenomenon is a lot worse for some reason. I’ve consistently woken up at around 95-110 and half an hour unhooked in the shower will bump it up to over 140 with a trend arrow angled up. So this hack is to bolus for my missed basal BEFORE I miss the basal when I get in the shower. I have to play with the number a bit based on what it is before and where I think it’ll go, but this is definitely something new with Control IQ.
Diabetes Spotlight
JDRF’s Seattle awareness run, called “Beat the Bridge” moved online this year with the effects of COVID-19 still impacting large gatherings and events like this.
Jessie runs Beat the Bridge every year. The online event was on the honor system, and the event officials coordinated the run for May 17th, 2020.
Now It's Your Turn...
Did you have a honeymoon period when you were diagnosed? How long did it last? What was your experience with it?
Mentioned in This Episode
- Support the blog & podcast by buying us a coffee through Ko-fi!
- What is the Honeymoon Phase of Diabetes? (Medical News Today)
- The Honeymoon Phase in Diabetes (BeyondTypeOne)
Community & Social
- Join us in the Half-Dead Pancreas Club, our private Discord community for people with T1D.
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Credits
Our music is by Joseph McDade. Check out his website here!
