type 2, pregnant, and worried

[wendytynes 10]

Hi I could really use some advice right now. I'm 5 weeks pregnant and until the last couple of days my BS has been under control. It's started going into the 200's. Prior to my pregnancy i had an A1C of 5.8. My doc has even upped my insulin and this mornings fasting was 171. I'm really worried because i've had 2 previous miscarriages due to out of control BS. I worked really hard to get my A1C down before this pregnancy.

[TrickyTreeFrog 196]

Hi Wendy,

 

I wish this was something I could help you with but afraid not. But, there are others here that I am sure will be sure to give you great feedback. I just wanted to acknowledge your post and let you know I care.

 

The one thing I will remind you is that "stress" will bring your BG's higher...so try to relax and not worry to much.

 

Best of luck and keep us posted.

 

Hugs

 

Laura

[wendytynes 10]

Thank you for being so kind. I'm new to forums, but i've had type 2 for 5 years and thought it was time to maybe get a little support from others who are in the same boat. Thanks for the reminder about stress my mom told me the same thing an hour ago.

[aiah23 11]

You may be one of those individuals whose insulin needs rise steadily over the course of pregnancy (rather than drop during the first trimester and then steadily increase). What kind of doc are you seeing? As a diabetic on insulin, you're high risk and will want to see on ob/gyn, endo, and a perinatologist (aka maternal and fetal specialist). The last is strongly recommended also given your history of miscarriages. If you have a perinatologist, you probably have a diabetes educator/specialist thru them as well and it's this person who you check in with (via phone and email) a few times a week for insulin adjustments. I highly recommend keeping a journal with your blood sugars, food consumed, and how you feel (since nausea will also raise your blood sugars sometimes or pain from not sleeping comfortably at night). This journal will be so valuable to your docs as well as yourself should you get pregnant again, as well as establishing trends in your blood sugars this pregnancy.

 

Fawn

[wendytynes 10]

Hi, Fawn I'm seeing my regular O.B. And I will be starting a journal, that was a great idea. I hadn't thought of that. I didn't know nausea and pain would raise my sugars. I've been nauseous in the mornings and have back pain from not sleeping comfortable. And i'm not even sure there's a perinatologist around here it's such a small town. But I will be looking into it. Thanks for your advice I truly appreciate.

 

 

Wendy

[aiah23 11]

Hi, Fawn I'm seeing my regular O.B. And I will be starting a journal, that was a great idea. I hadn't thought of that. I didn't know nausea and pain would raise my sugars. I've been nauseous in the mornings and have back pain from not sleeping comfortable. And i'm not even sure there's a perinatologist around here it's such a small town. But I will be looking into it. Thanks for your advice I truly appreciate.

 

 

Wendy

 

anytime. Your regular OB probably isn't experienced with insulin dosing changes, etc (it's like asking a GP to be competent about that kind of thing, it isn't their specialty). At the very least, make it a point to see your endo each month during your first trimester and if there's not perinatologist in your area, seek out a diabetes educator who's seen pregnant patients before (this person you'll see or at least speak to more frequently than your endo anyway). It'll make for less stress for you and less frustration. Yup, nausea and back pain first trimester are a PAIN/STRESSOR and they can raise blood sugars.

 

Fawn

[wendytynes 10]

Fawn had an appt. doc is getting my BG under control. Yesterday tough i saw a small amount of blood when i went to the bathroom. Do you think that is bad?

[aiah23 11]

Fawn had an appt. doc is getting my BG under control. Yesterday tough i saw a small amount of blood when i went to the bathroom. Do you think that is bad?

 

Nope, that's pretty normal actually. I made a post addressing this under your blog post. I had the same problem at 7 weeks and it completely cleared up within 24 hrs.

 

Fawn

[Christina17 10]

I was pretty much in the exact same situation as you and I gave birth 6 months ago to a healthy baby boy- 6lbs 5 oz despite my OB's ridiculous worry that I'd have a huge diabetic baby, despite my diabetes being tightly controlled throughout my entire pregnancy. Additionally I also had "advanced maternal age" (37) and other medical issues to contend with. My diabetes educators and endo were life savers. I steadily had increases in my insulin needs throughout my pregnancy, ending up on MASSIVE quantities by the 3rd trimester. The encouragement of my docs and the fact that they reassured me that this was not my fault, but rather a symptom of the placenta and pregnancy certainly helped me not feel like I was doing something wrong. I did struggle majorly with almost daily hypo episodes- usually as low as 40. I found for some reason that during pregnancy I did not have the typical low BS symtoms to alert me to a drop in BS. I woudn't feel it until I hit 45 or below. I had to ensure, despite nausea, the usual pregnancy food sensitivities, and a baby pressing on my stomach, that I ate every 2-3 hours to keep my BS between 70-120. It wasn't easy, in fact managing my diabetes while pregnant was literally a full time job- minimum of 4 injections per day as well as at least 10 finger sticks a day, keeping a food journal and BS log, frequent doc appointments, but all very well worth it! I also noticed that for me, what meals that worked at one time, 2 weeks later may have caused a spike in my levels. It was constant effort to ensure I was getting the correct nutrition while finding foods that didn't cause me to spike, all while delaing with cravings, etc!. Fastings were the hardest for me to control, no matter what we did (although we found that if I ate a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before bed, I'd have the best fastings), got to the point mid pregnancy that my endo and I were happy if I could keep them under 150, but the rest of my daily numbers were almost perfect. My A1C was 7.0 when I got pregnant (you're doing way better than I was!), it dropped to 5.7 for most of my pregnancy, but by the time I delivered it was 6.0 My endo informed me that my numbers were, and I quote "phenomenal for a pregnant woman and better than alot of non-diabetics". So it seems to me that so far you started off on the right foot and will surely continue to do great! Best of luck to you! ** definately try to find a perinatologist- you will most likely need many more ultrasounds and non-stress tests and biophysical profiles of the baby than a non-diabetic woman. The nice thing though is that you get to see your baby alot and are reassured frequently how well the little one is developing!

[FarmerCathy 10]

This is a great thread. I am also having trouble with highs. I just found out I'm pregnant. I'm 4 wks and during Christmas I over indulged and did all I could to get it back to normal. This last Monday I call my endo because I couldn't get it to go under 250 for the life of me. I got some insulin because the supplements weren't doing it. Finally I'm under 150 so hopefully I will have it under control by the next couple days.

 

Christina, that must have been tough. I'll see how it goes for me. With my son I had gestational diabetes at the end, so it could have been slowly rising then until the last couple months. Well, at least it will help me get on track and stay on track. I really hope to have a smaller baby this time. My son was 9lbs 15oz. :T

[aiah23 11]

This is a great thread. I am also having trouble with highs. I just found out I'm pregnant. I'm 4 wks and during Christmas I over indulged and did all I could to get it back to normal. This last Monday I call my endo because I couldn't get it to go under 250 for the life of me. I got some insulin because the supplements weren't doing it. Finally I'm under 150 so hopefully I will have it under control by the next couple days.

 

Christina, that must have been tough. I'll see how it goes for me. With my son I had gestational diabetes at the end, so it could have been slowly rising then until the last couple months. Well, at least it will help me get on track and stay on track. I really hope to have a smaller baby this time. My son was 9lbs 15oz. :T

 

Cathy congrats on your pregnancy! Your insulin needs will most likely rise over the course of the pregnancy (as the placenta is responsible for kicking out hormones that cause or increase insulin resistance) so that's definitely something to keep in mind. I didn't see a real increase in needed insulin until about 2 weeks ago (I'm just over 18 weeks now). Wishing you the best of luck!

 

Fawn

[FarmerCathy 10]

Cathy congrats on your pregnancy! Your insulin needs will most likely rise over the course of the pregnancy (as the placenta is responsible for kicking out hormones that cause or increase insulin resistance) so that's definitely something to keep in mind. I didn't see a real increase in needed insulin until about 2 weeks ago (I'm just over 18 weeks now). Wishing you the best of luck!

 

Fawn

 

Thanks Fawn!

[FarmerCathy 10]

I have just discovered that having a snack both times I get up at night has brought my fasting numbers down substantially. So much so that I'm having to reduce my insulin this am. I get up around 11 or 12 pm and then again around 3 or 4 am and then I eat a deviled egg and then a spoonful of almond butter the second time. It's amazing the difference. I guess eating around the clock is the way to go.