[sarahspins]

Originally Posted by KCP

One of the things about diabetes and pregnancy is that it can have the ability to make your blood sugars very hard to control. It would seem that you are working as hard as you can to control these sugars and honestly? that is all that you can do. Testing, watching the food and then also trying to control hormonal urges as well make pregnancy a difficult tie. But Like Kheez says: Try to enjoy this experience You are doing all you can!

Yes, and keep in mind that TRYING is so much better than not caring

Your #'s will not be perfect all the time - where the difference really comes in, is what you do about the #'s that aren't so great. It will be okay.. and the #'s you had today are really not that bad.

I struggled with lows early in all of my pregnancies... insulin resistance for me didn't really kick in until the end of my 2nd trimester, *however* I will say that some things, particularly dawn phenomenon, definitely did change pretty early, and that was one thing with all of my pregnancies that really kept me guessing right up until the end.

[Morris "Type 1"]

*wonders how you are today*

[Jojokittie]

I really am thankful for the positive feedback. You guys are awesome. So I found out yesterday..that I was doing it wrong. I was testing my sugar level 30 minutes after meals....like my doctor told me to do. Noooope! I was supposed to be doing this 2 hours after. Ugh. No onder I was getting rediculous readings. LOL. Today I actually had a low of 70. Then after lunch it was 125. YAY!!! Then before dinner it was 120. So I feel a bit better.

[Tsukia]

Know that you aren't the only one and just because you are diabetic does not doom a pregnancy. I have been diabetic since 16 being told I was type 1 then type 1.5.

I am currently entering the third trimester of my first pregnancy and apart from some emotional issues (which do effect my bg's) the pregnancy has gone well. If you only had to switch one medication you are lucky I got taken off of a few completely and had to change another.

Best advice I have is relax and talk to your diabetic team often. The others are right I have been dealing with my own insulin issues, the pregnancy causes you to need less sometimes and more others it isn't fun and makes me feel like I was just diagnosed again. Just know there is support out there and try to relax if you are concerned talk to you team. Some people are able to get pumps to help with the constantly changing needs with insulin while pregnant, something to look into

Good luck, keep us posted
and if you need to pm me we can share the ups and downs of diabetic pregnancies

[Jojokittie]

I am actually doing better. I think I might finally have a bit of a handle on things. Learning about the dawn phenomenom has helped a little. Last night I woke up around 3 and ate 4 cherries. When I got up this morning my fasting level was 83!! Also learning to test 2 hours after eating instead of doing it 30 minutes later has helped tremendously! Yesterday my levels ranged from 71-125. I dont think my doctor knows what he's talking about telling me to test 30 minutes after meals. LOL. Instead I spoke to a family member who is an NP and she has quite a few diabetic patients. She has helped me more than any other doctor I've seen.

[genie86333]

Great to hear things are going better!

[jwags]

I think you have to think positive. I lost a baby full term, 25 years ago and was devastated and afraid to get pregnant again. At that time I wasn't even diabetic. They couldn't even give me a reason why it happened. I did get pregnant within 4 months and gave birth to a beautiful baby boy who is now a successful hedge trader in a bank. I also had another son and daughter who are now in college. What got me throught my grief was that God works in different ways. For some reason he wanted my little angel in heaven with him but gave me 5 other children to raise on earth. I'm sure you will be fine but understand your worrying. I was there everyday until I gave birth. Good Luck.

[Jojokittie]

I think the reason I am freaking out is because someone once told me that an A1C over 6.5 means that any pregnancy is doomed. That has forever freaked me out. I'm afraid that if I even have a BG of over 200 for even 2 hours will stop the baby's heartbeat. I'm hoping I will relax when I'm out of the 10 week mark (that was when I last miscarried), but I'm worried that I wont relax...LOL. I feel crazy.

[genie86333]

I had a diabetic pregnancy & was never given an A1C (just a OGTT) or even told to monitor my blood sugar, or given a special diet. They didn't even test my blood sugar after I was diagnosed at the doctor's office. So, I thought it was no big deal. Then, my daughter was born and was over 11 lbs (which means my blood sugar was probably sky-high the entire pregnancy!) Other than the temporary shock of sudden drop in blood sugar when she was born, she was perfectly healthy.

[slipperyelm]

Oh Jojokittie, you have been given some mistaken information more than once. No wonder you were so scared.

Do you have a doctor who specializes in diabetes? Do you have an OB-gyn doctor? What doctor is making the adjustments to your meds during pregnancy?

You say you are type 1 and diagnosed, um, did you say 2 or 3 years ago? Well I think there may be a basic misunderstanding on someone's part. That Amaryl you used to take is given to people who have a pancreas that does secrete insulin and is in fact capable of secreting even more. It is given to Type 2s, not Type 1s.

And the Lantus insulin alone would not be enough insulin for a Type 1.

I mention this because I think the fact the you are Type 2 probably had something to do with your medical people not giving you a good education on handling your diabetes. Sometimes they seem to act as though Type 2s don't need to know much or do much. What a shame, and now it has helped cause all this anxiety for you in your pregnancy!

That is really a huge break through that you found out the proper time to test your blood glucose. I am so relieved that you learned that.

Listen, many, many women give birth to healthy babies every year even when they did not have the greatest control over diabetes. Most likely you will too. Heck, I am old enough to have friends who were born to Type 1 diabetic moms back in the days when the best the moms could do to know their blood sugar was to test their urine for any sugar slipping through. There were no home blood tests. That meant they would only know about being high well after the fact and not until their blood sugar had been over 180, possibly sky-high. There was no Lantus to meet the most basic needs. There were few choices for insulin. Many were just told to inject the exact same amount of insulin every day at the same times.

It was a crude way to manage diabetes, but it was the best that could be done at the time. Even with all that going against them, these women gave birth to healthy (though big!) babies. Some babies needed some extra help for a while, but basically they were fine.

I'm telling you this because I am hoping to reassure you. I'm so sorry you were scared through these first weeks of your pregnancy. Most likely everything is going to be totally all right. And once you have that baby, you'll have all the more reason to continue learning about diabetes and how to do your best with it. My child was already 5 when I was diagnosed, but he was quite the motivation for me to get it turned around.

I wish you the best pregnancy ever and the most beautiful baby ever.

[Cloudedbrains]

I have had several miscarriages all at various stages but all happened before I was even diagnosed with diabetes (but I had other serious health problems).
Every miscarriage brings heartbreak but every new life brings joy too.

Enjoy being pregnant hun and you can only do your best

[Candace]

I am 19 yrs old, i've been type 1 diabetic for 3 years, i do not have children nor am i pregnant. I just wanted to find somewhere to talk to diabetics who have had or are having babies. I have so many questions and i need a little reassuring. I get very discouraged thinking i will never have a healthy baby or even be able to get pregnant, because i've never been told different, no one in my family is diabetic! My worries are basically im afraid if my sugars arent perfect my baby will be born unhealthy or i will lost him/her. Im also worried about my baby becoming diabetic early or later in life. I have been told by my doctor its hard for diabetics to get pregnant even if there BG is under controll..is that true?? I know this is long, but i reall really need some positive things about being diabetic and pregnant, and just what to kinda expect. When i was first diagnosed the doctor told me i would never have kids and that broke my heart. Im not planning on having kids for a few years, but i need to prepare myself, please give me all the info anyone has!! =) thank you!!

[Morris "Type 1"]

@Candace

I can't say a lot but I know that I have seen posts here by diabetic women who have had children, it would seem to me that there is no logical reason for it to cripple your chances at motherhood.

I think part of the problem is a lot of people don't take care of themselves, especially as diabetics, so maybe there are complications that arise similarly along the lines of the blindness, amputations, etc that we are threatened with down the line if we aren't careful. So maybe the doctor has seen people who are in the worse kinds of states and just assumes that one size fits all.. I don't know.

One of the things I do is hypnosis, the subject of hypnosis and doctors come up from time to time, basically a doctor is a hypnotist by virtue of their position and the level of trust people give them. For many people what happens is the part of the brain that says, "NO WAY!", to anything undesirable becomes suspended or switched off and somehow whatever the doctor says appears to be the gospel truth. So much so that the patient ends up taking on that information as a belief, it becomes a part of them. You have seen how much fear the doctor has instilled into you, this is the problem, generally speaking most so called professionals are not experts. If we have no one else to turn to, we accept what they say, give in and just proceed according to their plan. Often times this can be bad..

People make judgement mistakes regularly, it just so happens in their case it ruins lives.

As far as I can tell you will have minimal intrusion from the diabetes.

[Candace]

Thanks so much for your advice! Im just so confused, because when i was first diagnosed the doctor told me i'd never have children, pretty much killed every dream i ever had about having a family. Than i got transfered to another hospital and they told me basically that doctor was a liar because it wasnt true. Its just hard to believe doctors when they arent diabetic or diabetic and pregnant. Thats why i came here because most everyone is diabetic and is either currently pregnant or has been. I just needed to be reassured that it can be done with no complications. One thing they did tell me was it's likly that i will be on lots of bed rest, and working very little when i am pregnant. I need to get all my facts straight lol.

[RedRD]

I've been a diabetic for 23+ years, have 2 healthy children 6 1/2, 4 years - and the pregnancies were stressful, but ended w/no problems. My BG levels were a tad high the first trimester, and I'd freak out on occasion. I tested about 50 times a day, it seemed like. I think it made it worse...obsessing. But, I did have 2 healthy babies!!

Hang in there - sounds like you are doing well!