Diabetes, Pregnancy and High Cholesterol

[Stephie]

Hi everyone!!! I'm new to the forum. So happy that I found it!

Im 28 years old and have 2 gorgoues little boys. Blake is 4 and Talan is 2. I was gestational with both of them and then about 2 months after Talan I was diagnosed as a Type II.

I was having massive headaches and VERY blurry vision. Now I am a Registered Nurse so I should have picked up on all the clues, but of course I did not. My husband finally told me to check my sugar. Low and behold...394 FASTING!

As I mentioned before I have 2 boys...I'm dying to have another child...Praying that it will be a girl. So that brings me to my question....

I also have high cholesterol and the Endo has put me on Crestor 5mg at night. My husband and I are going to start trying in November and I need a med that I can take while pregnant. Does anyone know of a cholesterol medication that you can take while pregnant?

Thanks!!!!

[David_S]

No I don't know about the med issue.. but after I was diagnosed my vision was blurry for about a month .. your eye lens changes when your sugars are up and once you start getting them down.. they come back to normal.. and you can't see while it happens. Don't get glasses yet.. it should pass. Good luck with trying for your third child. I have three.. it is a busy life !

[Stephie]

Yes the sugar crystizes and causes the blurry vision. I wish I had known that before I went to the eye doctor. I did spend $ on glasses, but I did use them for about 2 months after getting them though.

Life's busy now with 2 kids so I can only imagine with 3. :-)

[BlueSky]

... Does anyone know of a cholesterol medication that you can take while pregnant?...
The only safe way to treat cholesterol during pregnancy is with diet and exercise. Cholesterol is usually low during the first trimester, but it rises during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. And it needs to be high at that stage of the process. Amongst other things, cholesterol is used for making cell membranes, so a lot of it is needed as the new baby grows. Low cholesterol is is linked to poor pregnancy outcomes. So stop taking the statin and let your liver produce as much cholesterol as the baby needs.

After the pregnancy, you would IMO be better off without the statin anyway. According to the studies, there is no mortality benefit for women in taking statins. ;)

[birdyland]

I'm TTC... and the endo told me absolutely NOT to take the cholesterol meds my GP told me to take. Check with your endo and/or OBGYN. As a high risk (diabetic) pregnancy patient, you should be under the care of both of those specialists anyway... even before you concieve. Good luck!

[Stephie]

BlueSky--Thanks for the input...Diet and exericse wasnt helping my cholesterol. i lost 50 pounds and was till having high cholesterol. So my endo put me on the Crestor. Im trying to find a non-syntheic med that I can take to help lower it. I am looking into Bios Life now. Have you heard of that?

BirdyLand...Im new to the board whats TTC? Once I get pregnant my regular OB and Endo wont see me I have to go to a Maternal Fetal Doctor. I go back to the Endo Doc in July so I am going to talk more with him.

Thanks!

[BlueSky]

... my endo put me on the Crestor. Im trying to find a non-syntheic med that I can take to help lower it. I am looking into Bios Life now. Have you heard of that?...
The statin drug action is not the key issue here. During pregnancy, the problem with artificially lowering cholesterol is that you are depriving the baby of nutrient that it needs. Cholesterol is an essential ingredient in making new life. So you shouldn't be doing anything that articially reduces cholesterol while you are pregnant. Bios Life is a cholesterol sequestrant, as far as I can see. It binds cholesterol in the stomach so that it is not recycled. The elimination of cholesterol in this way would stress the liver as it works harder to maintain the levels of cholesterol required for a successful pregnancy.

What is your cholesterol level anyway, and why are you trying so hard to reduce it?

[birdyland]

...
BirdyLand...Im new to the board whats TTC? Once I get pregnant my regular OB and Endo wont see me I have to go to a Maternal Fetal Doctor. I go back to the Endo Doc in July so I am going to talk more with him.

Thanks!

TTC=trying to conceive

Please do not let them take away your endo during pregnancy... that specialist is vital to your diabetes control and should be monitoring you even MORE closely if you get pregnant. He should also be monitoring you for thyroid function. Like it or not, you are high risk... it is in your best interest to make them keep you under the care of both the Endo and the OBGYN/Maternal Fetal Doc. Diabetes is an Endocrine issue, endocrine system will make or break a pregnancy and since you already have one endocrine problem, you are at higher risk for others.

Good luck.