So, this is for those who have already had their babies....
My guy is six months old now and my blood sugars have been nuts for the last few months... some days I'm riding really high, the next day I'm fighting off lows, and I've been trying to figure out what causes the dramatic differences from one day to the next. I've been assuming its hormonal, but I finally figured it out.
When I have a good night's sleep (that is, when my son sleeps well), my insulin resistance is really low the next day. When I don't sleep well (e.g. this last while my son has been teething), my insulin resistance skyrockets. Its kind of scary how much my sleep quality has been impacting my blood sugar control, but what else can I do when I have a young baby? My husband and I split the night duties currently... I could ask him to do more, but I don't feel like that's fair either as he is working full-time in a high stress jobm whereas I am at home with baby working on my dissertation which is much more flexible.
Has anyone else had this and, if so, how did you deal with it?
I am still a few weeks away from having my first, so I can't give you and recommendations or advice from experience. It doesn't surprise me that sleep deprivation (and the resulting hormones) would mess with your blood sugars like that.
However, are you on shots or on a pump? If you're on a pump, could you try setting a temporary basal after those sleep-deprived nights to help stay ahead of the highs, perhaps setting your basals 20-30% higher at first and adjusting as necessary)? Whether on a pump or shots, could you also adjust your correction factor down to get the highs down more quickly or even your carb:insulin ratio to fight of the insulin resistance?
I guess my concern would be dealing with the lows once you start tinkering, but if you're prepared for them (juice, glucose tabs) and testing frequently, you can head the lows off a little better....
I can't wait to see what advice/suggestions you might get. I am in a similar boat. My problem is that I just canNOT find a way to predict which way my blood sugars will go. No matter how much I keep track of or try to adjust foods, exercise, how much the baby nurses, how much sleep I do or do not get, basal and bolus rates, etc etc etc...some days it just seems like the numbers swing on a hair-trigger pendulum (mixing metaphors much?). It's hard for so many reasons but the worst is not having any clue how to predict or respond. If I have a low, how many carbs will treat it TODAY? If it's high, how much insulin will I need to bring it down NOW? So, sorry for not being any help but just know you're not alone! It sounds like maybe you've figured out your pattern so that is a great start! Good luck, hang in there, and thanks for asking my question for me!
This is interesting to me, I hadn't considered the role of sleep with my blood sugars. I have a five month old and work full time and just struggle finding time to test my sugars, or remember to take insulin after I eat! I think I went from crazy proactive diabetes pregnant woman, to caring only for the baby (esp. since I stopped breast feeding at a month), and I haven't found the balance of caring for me and my daughter. Its good to know, though, that I should at least consider that, since her sleep paterns have begun to change. I'm trying to focus more on caring for myself, but also remind myself to give me a break! Its so hard to be a mom and being a diabetic is this huge extra part of our lives, and at least for me, I am really hard on myself now. Its like its so easy to second guess how you are parenting, that I also second guess and judge myself in all aspects of life. Anyway, here's to diabetic mom's loving ourselves enough to care for us, but also enough to cut ourselves some slack :)
I have the same problem, i don't have a good control over my bg. I think that hormons and brestfeeding do that. I just try to do my best and hope for better days soon. I was thinking of baby number 2, but with this kind of juggling of the bg, i wouldn't take my chance.:(
