Some Honeymoon

I learned there is period of time, after a Type 1 diabetics diagnosis, that is referred to as a "honeymoon".  Diabetes is caused by the lack of insulin produced from the pancreas.  Once insulin is introduced back into the body via injections, the pancreas says "wow, guess I've been slacking, now that I'm rested, let me help".  Now I'm not dissing the pancreas for wanting to help, but in reality, it's not much help at all.  We went from Madeline's blood glucose numbers hovering around 200 to dropping into the 60's at times.  This happens because I'm giving her insulin to cover her food as well as her pancreas "helping".  Once we learned how to adjust her insulin it was actually quite nice having her pancreas around for awhile.

Mealtimes were such a stressful time for me.  I had learned to hate food.  Madeline was only allowed 45 carbs for her meals.  If you have ever counted carbs in foods, it doesn't take much to get to that number.  It takes a lot of thought how to give healthy and satisfying meals without adding carbs.  But then comes the honeymoon!  Wahooo!  I could give a little extra food here and there, and her glucose numbers stayed in range.

Is honeymoon really a good word for this phase?  Not to a non diabetic, but being a Type 1 diabetic means having to give an insulin shot for all the food that goes into your body.  Think of all the food you eat in a day, then try to imagine having to count the carbs, test your blood glucose, dose insulin and give a shot, all within a specific time frame.  To regain a little freedom from the day to day rules of being a diabetic, honeymoon is a word that fits quite well. 

They warn you in the diabetes classes to not get comfortable with the honeymoon period.  There is no definite time for when it will start, or when it will end, but it will end.  Some people never even have a honeymoon.  If you get to comfortable with the food freedom, it will be like being diagnosed all over again when it ends.  Well, they were absolutely correct.  Because Madeline's pancreas is so small, it gave it's all, but in the end it could only help her for about a month.  Back to a very strict meal plan and 5 shots a day.

Sleep tight little pancreas.