Hey everyone, I am eighteen years old and I have tested positive on four pregnancy tests. I mean it could be a possibility that I am testing positive for some other reason but here's the jiff...
I am really nervous and am going to find out for sure tomorrow or Tuesday for sure, I am about a week late for my cycle.
Right now I am trying my best to keep my sugars level.
Is there a diet mean plan I could follow?
I know that when I go to the appointment I am going to talk to the doctor about me and my diabetes and my options and what is the best way to carry on being "diabetic and pregnant".
I told my mom, and she is saying I should not carry on with the pregnancy if I am for really am.
I understand that there could be many complications and something could turn out wrong if I am able to carry all the way.
My last HcA1c was 8.2, which means my levels were running 200-250s. Not good, I know.
I am just nervous and want to hear about your stories or anything.
Any ideas, tips, or support is welcome. Please! :)
My plans exactly. I just went to the doctor at the end of September and my A1C was 8.2 then.
Seems as if I am quite irresponsible if this is really happening.
I think that you need to go and makes sure that you really are (but with 4 positive tests I would be really, really, really surprised if you weren’t). But then you need to make an apt with a high risk obgyn asap and take your mom with to that apt. Even though your numbers are high, I think there are a lot of women who have had kids that were higher than that.
With that being said - as far as terminating the pregnancy, I think that you need to go see a high risk doctor first. I don’t think that you having a baby is even remotely as dangerous as your mom thinks.
Just so you know - I am pro choice, but I think that you should go into it with an informed decision instead of things like ‘Steel Magnolias’ as a point of reference (which is seriously over dramatized for the movie and out of date with modern medicine).
False positives are not common with home tests, so you probably need to wrap your head around the fact that you’re probably pregnant.
MANY women have QUICKLY brought their numbers into range starting with an 8.2% A1c at the beginning of the pregnancy. What is important is that you caught the pregnancy quickly and that you now start aggressively managing your blood sugars.
There is no reason to jump on the idea of terminating solely on the basis of possible blood sugar problems. Until the embryo has been evaluated by a high risk doctor, I wouldn’t start assuming the worst. Our bodies are amazingly viable when it comes to protecting the baby. If you wish to terminate for other reasons, that’s your own business. But I can tell you that there are diabetic women who have started with worse odds stacked against them who have had normal, uneventful pregnancies.
You should work with your endocrinologist and a high risk OB to determine your own personal BG targets, but I can tell you that my doctors wanted me 70-90 before meals, no higher than 140 at 1 hour after a meal, and no higher than 120 at 2 hours after. Your doctors will make adjustments to your insulin doses to help with those targets.
It’s true that an 8.2 A1c isn’t ideal for pregnancy but it also isn’t a nail in the coffin that dooms your child and your pregnancy to automatically having complications. I’ve heard of women with 12 and 13 A1c before after and during their pregnancies who’s children came out perfectly healthy. I saw a show where a T1 woman escaped from the hospital to eat popcorn and candy after being admitted for high blood sugars. She was completly wreckless with all 3 of her pregnancy and had blood sugars of 300+ all the time. The interesting thing is that all of her kids were fine. On the other hand, my sister’s friend (who isnt diabetic) had a baby with serious medical problems yet she did everything right. Ate healthy, took prenatal vitamins and saw her OBGYN regularly. So…my point is that pregnancy with or without diabetes is hard and there are many unknowns. It’s risky business for all moms to be.The only thing you can do at this point is try your best to get your sugars down. My A1c was 7 before getting pregnant and now i’ve gotten it down to about a 6.3 i’m still working at it and it’s hard but it’s completely do-able. You’re young so you’ll have extra challenges but thats not a reason why you couldn’t be a great mom. I’m a social worker for teen moms and I see them win over hardships everyday. What state are you in? If you decide to continue the pregnancy I can give you the contact #'s for the National Teen Parent Program that I work for. Don’t let a less than ideal A1c be your only determining factor in terminating the pregnancy. An 8.2 isnt stuck in stone forever. You and your Endo know what steps to take to get it down. Feel free to contact me anytime and Good luck!
I don’t think that you are irresponsible. At 18 years old my A1c was 12 and I’d skip my endo appointments all the time. I had really, really bad control. I would’ve been thrilled to have an 8.2 A1c. You are responsible enough to know you have to work on your sugars and thats all that matters!
I really appreciate all this input ladies! I am going to see a doctor today and find out for sure, I will be sure to let you all know what is up. I thank you all for helping me out.
Hi! I am diabetic and at the end of my pregnancy. When I started this unplanned pregnancy my A1C was 10.7!!! I immediately got it down by working closely with my endocrinologist. I don’t agree with your mom when she says that you need to get rid of the baby because of your sugar levels. These days technology and medicine is more advanced and the doctors know how to monitor us better so that we can have healthy babies…even if we start off “bad.”
My advice would be that your decision to keep the baby should be YOUR decision and try not to let your A1C level be the deciding factor…yours is way better than mine was when I started my pregnancy. Besides, having uncontrolled diabetes doesn’t mean automatic complications with baby and pregnancy…it just means that your risks are increased. My OB told me from the begining that MOST of the diabetic women that come in there pregnant with high A1Cs go on to have perfectly healthy babies…so don’t be discouraged by the A1C. As a young woman, just consider all of your other factors and make the decision that is right for you. Your health proffessionals will do all in thier power to make sure you have a healthy baby if you decide to keep it. I have been seing my endo faithfully every two weeks during my whole pregnancy, along with my regular OB and an additional high risk OB… I had to meet them all half way by being consistent with checking my levels and eating better and for the most part, I did it. The lowest I got my A1C has been 6.8… right now it is 7.2 and baby is doing wonderful!
Ooops and I wanted to say one more thing. If your doctor turns out to be pessimistic or discouraging dont let that halt you… find another endocrinologist. My doctors all were very supportive, yet realistic with me from the begining. I have read of some woman having docs that were very pessimistic. So just keep in mind that every doctor has thier own person opinions, so don’t get lached on to one if they aren’t being very helpful to you.
Thank you Queen, what you said makes me feel so much better. My sugars have been doing pretty good since I found out, although I woke up in the middle of the night with a low sugar. I knew I was low and overcompisated for my low and ended up checking a couple hours later and being 307, so no matter what I shouldn’t overcompensate. Anyway, on a doctor note. I went to a Women’s OB Clinic and met with a doctor. I am about 4 weeks and 3 days today (not too far in most people cases but for me I have my cycle ever 23 days or so, so I knew something was up last week when I didn’t start). Expected due date June 28. I have to start keeping a log of my sugars and they especially want to know my fasting sugars. I go back in 4 weeks. The doctor just wanted to know what type of insulin I was one…Humalog with the One Touch Ping. And he said he has never worked with anyone with a Humalog Insulin Pump before. Of course he said the doctors have had experiences with diabetic patients but yeah… At this point, my parents said they will support me as well as the baby’s father. I am just going to pray tha everything goes well. Maybe in the process of being pregnant I will watch my sugars and diet and my A1C will go down. Since well… My said “you not only have to worry about yourself, but what is inside of you know…” thanks all.
And as I said, any tips or experiences or anything are welcome my way.
Humalog is perfectly safe during pregnancy, so if I were you, I’d ask to stay on it. Some doctors want to switch you to insulins they are comfortable with, but in my experience, that’s harder on the diabetic. You’re about to go through enough changes to your regimen and with your hormones.
It’s perfectly okay, for the first time in your life, to run in the 60s and 70s and NOT treat. Most non-diabetic women are running that low in their first trimesters. Lows DO NOT hurt the baby (unless we’re talking 20s or 30s or something). Highs do hurt the baby. So make sure you treat very very very minimally. Like 1 glucose tab. Or 5 skittles or something. Don’t just assume you’re low without testing and then treat with juice or whatever. My best advice is to not do the “I knew I was low, so I…” anymore (we are ALL bad about that). Unless that sentence goes, “I knew I was low, so I tested and confirmed it and then waited to make sure I wasn’t dropping lower before I very carefully measured out a tiny amount of glucose.” LOL
Haha, I am the type who usually says “I knew I was low, so I…” But now I am getting better and even checking my sugars more and more. Possibly more than the normal, but still I’d much rather check more than not at all. I am 6 weeks now and I am no doubt starting to feel the “morning sickness”, but this feeling lasts for the most part of the day. Sugars are staying in good control! Which I am making myself proud I mean I have gotten the occasional 200 something and even one 400 x_x YIKES scary scary scary feeling getting those highs! But now I am doing good, and not overcompensating like I usually did with lows. I am starting to believe that knowing I am pregnant makes me want to take care of myself more because, well since I am not only taking care of myself now. Next doctor appointment on November 17 at 8 weeks. Anyone know what all might go on at the 8 week appointment? Just curious…
hi ,im on the same boat…i m a known diabetic …n mine is too an unplanned pregnancy…my Hba1c is 9.1…but when ever i check my sugar is within normal range even frm the last 4-5 months o im a bit scared that why a1c is so high my fasting mostly 90-120 n pp always below 150 but my a1c is high so im really upset n not sure that whether i sud conti wth this pregnancy or not…plzplz queen n hollie help me…
Hi, I know this is a scary time. The risks for the general population is about 2% and if you have uncontrolled diabetes it goes up to about 15-20% BUT thats still an over 80% chance that things will be A-ok. Blood sugar checks and A1c’s don’t always match up perfectly. How often are you checking your meter for accuracy?
Also, different foods digest in different ways. There are some foods that get absorbed slowly. So when you check your blood sugars its fine but then it slowly gets higher and higher over a few hours. Thats why it is very important to check your sugars 1 hour and 2-3 hours after you eat. Overall, you can still have a happy and healthy pregnancy with the right care. Babies are very resilient little things, more than we give them credit for! Good Luck and keep us posted!
I agree with Kathy. The A1c is high because you have some highs you’re not catching - probably after every meal. One hour after you begin your meal is likely your highest number in the day. If you can keep that under 150, rather than focusing on just your fasting numbers (try to keep those under 100), you’ll see that A1c plummet into a healthier range. Also test throughout the early morning to see if you have a dawn phenomenon issue spiking you in the 3am-7am timeframe.
