
July 2, 2001
Honeymoon
Question from Campton, Kentucky, USA:
When someone is receiving insulin shots in the honeymoon period, is it really resting their pancreas? In other words, does the body realize it has extra insulin and cause the pancreas to hold back? Does the pancreas work the same and the body gets an extra load of insulin? Does the pancreas recognize the extra dose of insulin in enough time to prevent a low from occurring?
Answer:
The reasons for the honeymoon phase are poorly understood, but insulin is in some way protective of the few surviving islet cells. The cells cannot detect extra insulin floating around, that is why it is important to keep checking blood glucose so that the amount of insulin given can be altered accordingly.
JS