What Is a Honeymoon in Type 1, Can It Go into Remission?

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic autoimmune disorder that results in destruction of insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. The autoimmune process is thought to be waxing and waning resulting in variable endogenous insulin secretion ability. An example of this is the honeymoon phase or partial remission phase of type 1 diabetes, during which optimal control of blood glucoses can be maintained with significantly reduced exogenous insulin, and occasionally exogenous insulin can be temporarily discontinued altogether. Understanding this phase is important because even fairly small amounts of endogenous insulin secretion is associated with reduced risk of severe hypoglycemia and microvascular complications.