How long can a honeymoon phase last? About five years ago, I was initially thought to have type 2 diabetes and was on pills, but my sugars remained above 500 mg/dl [27.8 mmol/L]. At that time, I was being treated by a family doctor. I then went to an endocrinologist who did some tests and determined I had type 1 diabetes. When I began treatment, I went on a weight loss plan, which was a bad idea as I have been in and out of treatment for anorexia for 12 years. As my weight dropped, so did my insulin needs. It seems to me that compared to others, I don’t take much insulin and am fairly controlled. I do have some readings over 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L] and I have hypoglycemic unawareness. I just wondered if I don’t get real high readings because I am still in some kind of honeymoon period.

Your question is a hard one to answer without some measurements that could answer the question. Honeymoon periods usually last weeks to months. Over time, the underlying autoimmune response that initially destroyed the majority of your beta cells with type 1 diabetes destroy the rest of the beta cells. This can be demonstrated by measuring your C-Peptide level following a meal or test meal. A normal response would demonstrate a rise in C-Peptide. A person with type 1 diabetes would likely have an immeasurable level. The more patients with type 1 diabetes that are studied, the more we know that some patients maintain a very small level of in vivo insulin C-Peptide response. This is not great and not always seen. With little food intake, your insulin requirements could still be quite low. With less weight, there is less insulin resistance. The fact your sugars still rise to values over 200 mg/dl [11.1 mmol/L] suggests you cannot maintain your sugars without exogenous insulin.

JTL