The Honeymoon Period
Posted Apr 3rd 2007 11:55PM by Allie Beatty
Filed under: Type 1, Type 2, Childhood, Adult Onset, Diet, Lifestyle, Research, Support
Not exactly romantic like a honeymoon, but definitely a significant event preceding a life long commitment -- the Honeymoon Period is a period of time when a patient is first diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.
During this time, patients sometimes seem as though their diabetes appears to go away. The patient's insulin needs are minimal and some patients may actually find they can maintain normal or near normal blood glucose taking little or no insulin. This can last between a few months to as long as a year.
Dr. Richard Bernstein, the best-selling author of "The Diabetes Solution" answered the following question from a mother regarding her child's diabetes and the influence of diet. He said:
If every newly diagnosed child with diabetes were put on our program at the time of diagnosis, we would rarely encounter the horror stories that we hear from nearly every parent. These include the roller coaster blood sugars with frequent and severe hypos, the need for snacks, the fear of delayed meals, personality changes and growth retardation. Furthermore, we find that the "honeymoon period" can be prolonged indefinitely if blood sugars remain within the normal range (about 90 mg/dl). Prolongation of the honeymoon period not only makes diabetes control much easier, but also preserves the pancreatic beta cells.
If Dr. Bernstein's idea about controlling the length of the Honeymoon Period through diet is possible - is it possible to ward off the onset of autoimmune diabetes (type 1 diabetes) through diet. The belief may be heavily supported by contrarians, who traditionally contest conventional medical wisdom. I'll admit - I could be one of them. I own Dr. Bernstein's Diabetes Solution and I have to hand it to him - at first glance I thought I voluntarily entered a diabetic Twilight Zone. Then I reminded myself why I bought the book in the first place.
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1. Alas, while there is certainly some truth to Dr. Bernstein's methods, it is worth noting that support for him is hardly universal. Most notably, there is the difficulty in following his methods that needs to be considered. And others like to note that Dr. Bernstein himself is frequently low. But I think he has one undeniable truth, and that is the law of small numbers, namely that by minimizing the amount of insulin required, the patient also reduces the possibility for errors, and if errors occur, they are likely to be less severe. That does not mean that one needs to follow Bernstein's recommendations exactly, and others find that they can minimize their insulin requirements by exersizing vigorously rather than by avoiding refined carbohydrates, while still others find that adding Symlin to their treatment plan does the same thing, but the basic idea is the same: insulin is not an easy medicine to use, therefore the idea of reducing our need for it is probably a goal that is worthy of pursuit.
Posted at 9:14AM on Apr 4th 2007 by Scott