In many children with juvenile diabetes a period occurs shortly after being diagnosed
they go through what is commonly called as the honeymoon period. This is a time when
your child’s blood sugar levels will return to normal without the aid of additional insulin.
It is important to remember that this happens in a lot of children and does not mean that
the disease has gone away. The pancreas is still trying to do its job and is working
overtime to make insulin for your child’s body. Following are some guidelines to follow
when this happens.
The length of the honeymoon period is not the same for everyone. In one child it can last
months while in another child it can feasibly last for over a year. It all depends on how
much insulin your child’s pancreas can produce and how long it can keep up that rate of
production. It will be hard to figure out how much if any insulin your child needs during
this time when their blood sugar levels are normal. Constant monitoring of the blood
glucose levels is still required, because you will not know when the honeymoon period is
over otherwise.
Keep in close contact with your health care provider. He or she will help in determining
what the best plan is to follow during the honeymoon phase. Some may even want you to
give minute amounts of insulin daily in order to keep your child used to the injections and
your child’s body accustomed to the additional insulin it will need.
It can be emotionally hard for your child during the honeymoon phase. Everything will
seem back to normal and they are going to want to resume their life like it was prior to
diagnosis. It is important to remain on the diabetic diet and continue monitoring during
this time.