[RobiJo]

Originally Posted by david1555

so high numbers BEFORE pregnancy DO NOT have negative effects on her body?(the parts of the body pertaining to pregnancy,that is)

David its important to know how long she has been diabetic. Does she visit a ophthalmologist (special kind of eye doc). Assuming she can get her A1c down to 6.5 or lower, she still could have issues regarding past A1c's. Pregnancy can put a lot of stress on her body even if the baby is healthy. Kidney and eye issues are the first that come to my mind. A1c's that are too high can lead to eye problems in 10 or less years of Diabetes. If she's not seen an ophthalmologist in a while she needs to get that checked out, and then again each trimester of the pregnancy.

Find the local High Risk Pregnancy group at your hospital. Set up a consultation appointment to start things rolling. They will tell you what you need to know and do before conception, then during and after pregnancy. In the meantime, work on lowering that A1c and test frequently. Oh and you can always practice conceiving!

[Jesska]

Jan,
I agree - definitely needs to be under control first -like it was when we were initially seriously trying. It was 6.4 then but I'm reading even in the 5's is most desirable. I believe I had my thyroid checked and that seems to be fine. Funny, when going through fertility treatments, they check you for EVERYTHING and when they can't find anything, they consider you "unexplained". None of my docs seem to know much about diabetes related to conceiving or not conceiving. My endo knows diabetes and the fertility experts know fertility - can't seem to get them to learn from one another.

Dana,
When your docs were referring to "complications" to the baby did they mention complications to conception or very early pregnancy? I'm either not conceiving at all or they are just not surviving past 2 weeks because I always get my period on time. When we had IVF 2 times, the eggs were fertilized but when they put the embryos back in, 2 weeks later - both times - I got my period.

Maybe I'll try getting into to the 5s and see if that helps. At least 6.2 or even less than 6 is a new place for me to start - a bench mark...thanks to both of you!

[mell1682]

I've been pregnant twice and both times my A1C was well beyond what someone should be (11) and I do not know how I even remained pregnant let alone had 2 very healthy children. But I do know that it is of DIRE importance for mom to have a healthy A1C level BEFORE pregnancy. This was a scary lesson for me as we waited and watched my babies develop. I didn't plan on becoming pregnant either time and due to lack of insurance and very big financial problems, my sugars were out of control, and I wound up pregnant with sky high blood sugars. The first 6-8 weeks of pregnancy are the weeks in which babies develop all their organs and everything. With diabetics, we run a higher chance of having babies with heart defects and neural tube defects, so getting a decent hemoglobin going in to a pregnancy is ideal. I beg all women to not play the Roulette game with your blood sugars and pregnancy because it is a gamble that you may or may not win. I am so very grateful to have my precious daughters because with all that could have and should have gone wrong, I am one very blessed woman.

[xMenace]

Originally Posted by david1555

so high numbers BEFORE pregnancy DO NOT have negative effects on her body?(the parts of the body pertaining to pregnancy,that is)

High A1C means you are damaging your body. The risks are higher: stroke, hemhorraging, and probably many other things. I'm no doctor, so I don't know what these things are called, but I'd look for a full vascular assessment first.

[jaime7803]

hello! david 1555, yes, you need to get your wife on here asap1 exposure to the realities, fears, accomplishments on here will do her a world of good! as for the pregnancy....it is NON-NEGOTIABLE that she have and maintain a 6 for minimum of 6 months, preferably a year. this is for many reasons:
*to see if she can even reach/maintain it
*ensure the fetus has the best start(all the damage is being done before she even knows about the pregnancy)
*so that she has a holding pattern, so when hormones kick in and jack her sgr up, she'll be able to manage better
i have lost 4 baby boys. i have been type 1 for 20 yrs. although my sugars had nothing to do w/ my loss, i believe that diabetes affects yur entire being. i gave up, it's all for the best for me. i may not live more than 10 yrs. so i'm glad i do not have to worry about leaving a child behind. please do all you can to achieve that 6, 6 mos. or more before trying. even if the baby is born w/ 10 fingers/toes, you never know what is lying underneath that may take yrs to discover?