Trying and trying and trying for the right A1c

[chemgeek]

Hey everyone,

I was searching for any blogs or forums on Type 1 diabetes and pregnancy and came across this... it seems great!

I've been T1 for 17 years, using the MM512 (with Glucose Sensor, which I highly recommend).

I've been working for 2 years to get my A1c to a 6.0... thats where my Obgyn/Endocrinologist want it before I get pregnant. I've been working SO HARD and can't seem to get below a 6.8 (gotten this 3x's now over the past 9 months).

I've found that after I ovulate and before my period starts (when my hormones are crazy... probably the progesterone) my blood sugars go crazy. I need to increase my basal by 20% to keep it under control without food. Then, anytime I eat anything and take a bolus, it's like I'm hyper sensitive and will see my blood sugar go up by ~100 in just 30 min (NOT normal during other times). There never seems to be a pattern, sometimes it will be fine overnight, and sometimes I'll go to bed at 100 and wake up at 300.

So.... a lot of background for this question. Has anyone else ever encountered this? How do you deal with it? I try so hard to eat foods during this time that are from a "box" or can be weighed/measured so I can exactly count the carbs, but it is just getting so frustrating.

I just turned 29 and definitely feel the clock ticking. Any advice?

Thanks,
Kim :(

[ccryder19]

What helped me was to go on a very low carb diet and to check blood sugars more often. The low carb diet helps a lot because if you intake no carbs or just a few carbs, you only need a small amount of insulin (if any) and thus can maintain blood sugar more steady throughout the day. There is always a margin of error due to insulin being absorbed differently every time you bolus. The less insulin you give, the lower that margin of error and the better glucose control. Checking glucose often ensures that you catch a high reading before it gets too high. I just had twin babies 3 weeks ago at 35 weeks. They were perfectly healthy and my A1c was 4.6 and 5.3 during that time. I've never had it that low but I can directly attribue those A1c's to the two tips I've just given you. So try to reduce carbs (eggs, organic chicken and meat, low carb veggies such as green veggies, and nuts are all great choices) and check more often including once at night. This will ensure you don't wake up 300. Good luck to you, I know you can do it, I had A1c levels of 9.0-11.0 for many years so if I can do it you definitely can :)