TAGS
My husband and I just celebrated being married for five years and he is still the most amazing thing that ever happened to me. My honeymoon with him will never end. The ‘other honeymoon’ has to do with my recent ‘marriage’ to diabetes and the phase where your body is still producing a small amount of insulin to offset/support insulin injections. It is typically just a matter of time when this honeymoon ends. Diabetes may not be one of the most incredible things that ever happened to me, but despite it’s challenges, it is actually a very positive part of my life.
It is almost exactly 4 months since I walked into the emergency room with my husband, feeling tired, lethargic, weak, thirsty and with a blood sugar level of close to 800 mg/dl. I still managed to keep a smile on my face as one medical professional after the other came by asking the same questions as the previous. Doctors couldn’t believe I was walking and talking (and smiling) – as I should have been in a coma, or even worse – dead.
Our bodies are truly amazing and they often do things that can’t be explained, nor understood. Between our body and our mind, how could we ever doubt that we have what we need to live an incredible life – a healthy body, peaceful mind and happy soul? The problem is that we often take for granted, we expect, we doubt and we ignore what keeps us alive, healthy, happy and safe.
The Honeymoon phase refers to the period of time shortly after type 1 diabetes diagnosis when the pancreas is still able to produce a significant enough amount of insulin to reduce (not stop) insulin needs and help blood glucose control. During the honeymoon phase, blood sugar levels are generally easier to control as the body still has some ability to help itself.
After the honeymoon period wanes, the reality of diabetes management and self-care skills becomes much more immediate. During the honeymoon period, most people with diabetes could perhaps get away with dietary indiscretions without much effect on blood sugars. After the honeymoon, this is no longer possible and attention to nutritional management, exercise, and insulin timing and administration becomes extremely relevant and immediate. This transision can be an emotional roller coaster before you feel empowered again to care of yourself or a loved one with diabetes.
According to at least one diabetes expert, Dr. Richard Bernstein, the end of the honeymoon period is not inevitable—though it’s very, very likely. Bernstein, a type 1 diabetic, is the inventor of the basal/bolus method of injections that many type 1 diabetics follow, where you have one long-lasting “basal” shot each day (in my case Levemir), and one short-acting “boluses” with your meals (in my case Humalog). Bernstein was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 12, and became a doctor in his late forties so he could better understand the disease that he felt was killing him through its complications. He drastically improved his health by switching to a low-carb diet to normalize his blood sugars. In his book Dr. Bernstrein’s Diabetes Solution, he writes, “Based upon my experience with the fair number of type 1 diabetics I’ve treated from diagnosis, I’m convinced that the diabetes honeymoon period can be prolonged indefinitely.
The trick is to assist the pancreas and keep it as quiescent as possible. With the meticulous use of small doses of injected insulin and with the essential use of a very low carbohydrate diet, the remaining capacity of the pancreas, I believe, can be preserved.” The problem is that by the time someone has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, at least 80% of their beta cells, the ones that produce insulin, have been destroyed. So there are less than 20% of beta cells remaining – to work with for the rest of ones life. Also, high blood sugar levels are thought to be toxic to these beta cells, so unless you are able to keep very tight control of your blood sugar levels, these cells will burn out one by one. Dr. Kaufman pointed out that there’s ongoing research to figure out how to “allow the beta cells present at diagnosis to survive. But so far there is nothing that has been durable for a long time.”
There are ways to prolong (and possibly sustain) the honeymoon phase. One of them is by administering insulin. Injecting a small amount of insulin (even when your numbers are ‘perfect’) will enable the remaining pancreatic beta cells to produce insulin (until they are eventually destroyed by the autoimmune process). A lot of research is being done on the subject of this ‘honeymoon phase’ and one study suggests that getting regular exercise might help extend the diabetes honeymoon period duration. Another study suggests that high vitamin D levels can extend the honeymoon. One endocrinologist suggested omega 3 and 4, and a herbalist suggested fenugreek, burdock, and nettles to strengthen pancreatic function. There is a lot of suggestions and recommendations out there, and as long as you consult with your doctor(s) – go explore them!
.
