Hey ladies! My husband and I just found out last week that I'm pregnant with our first child. I have been type 1 for about 12 years, and I wear a medtronic pump and cgm. I have always heard one of the tell-tale signs of pregnancy in type 1's is low blood sugar. Well, mine has a tendency to run low but since finding out I am expecting, I really haven't had many lows but I have had some postprandial spikes. I thought it was too early for insulin resistance? Has anyone else experienced this? I have noticed my bg will spike up to 150-190, one time it went to 210, about an hour or so after a meal that would typically not affect me. I hope that nothing is wrong...I go for my first u/s in 2 weeks so hopefully I will have more peace of mind then. I am trying really hard to catch these spikes and bolus accordingly so I'm not staying high...I so worry about harming my baby especially in these early weeks. Thanks for listening ladies!
I forgot to mention I am taking 200mg progesterone daily due to luteal phase defect. I wonder if that could be partially causing the elevated bgs?
I had bad spikes starting about 3 days after I found out I was expecting which would have been about 3 weeks pregnant, I'm 21 weeks now and still find my sugars don't always follow what the doctors say. I think everyone is different, I had to do a lot of adjusting for highs for quite awhile before I got to the lows. Usually "they" say you will hit the constant lows around week 8, but again "they" aren't always right so just do what you need to, and it will be fine :) it's the average sugars that count, but I know it's stressful in the beginning. (hugs) and congratulations
Thank you for the reassurance, ladybell! I keep trying to tell myself any change from my "norm" has to be a good sign that something is going on. You would think after all these months trying, I would just be happy and excited when it finally happened...but of course I keep finding something to worry about! I went ahead and dropped my insulin:carb ratio from 1:14 to 1:12 so we will see if that helps some. I see my endo next week so hopefully she will be able to straighten me out. Thank again and congrats on being over halfway there! :)
Hi there, and congratulations! I'm pregnant with #2 now (also type 1) and with both pregnancies, I had crazy highs very early on, like before I even knew I was pregnant. For me the lows came later, maybe around 10-12 weeks (?) and were mainly in the middle of the night. Don't be afraid to adjust your basals or I:C ratios fairly aggressively if small changes don't work. You will probably have to lower them again in a few weeks, but that's okay. You will be constantly adjusting throughout your pregnancy. Best of luck!
I’ve read that progesterone works against the insulin so that may be an issue. I’m also pregnant and finding that my insulin needs go up and down every few days. For example, I was having tons of lows when I first found out I was pregnant then last week the meal that sent me plummeting 4 days before caused me to spike to 190. I had the same meal again today and dropped but not to the 42 that it had been that first week…only to 62 this time. I’m having a hard time keeping up and I’m only at 7 weeks.
My blood sugars haven't followed the expected pattern either. They spiked in the beginning and then I got lots of lows around weeks 14-16. I just took it 3 days at a time: if i saw the same pattern for 3 days, I made adjustments. Now that I'm 22 weeks, I noticed that my BS spikes an hour after a meal but then usually comes down, so I just wait longer between my bolus and eating (before 15 min was enough, now it's more like 40 min). Be careful with over-correcting (I tend to do that when I my blood sugars don't move for 60min). My endo forbid me to correct again if i'm less than 3h away from previous correction and sometimes these 3 hours seem to last forever. Just remember it's not the 3 h of high sugars that count but rather the sustained over long period of time high sugars (over days) that do the damage.
Hope you get to see your little miracle on a u/s in 2 weeks!
Yep sounds about right :) My lows didn't start until around week 9.
Try to avoid the spikes, but don't dwell on them. The main strategy I used was to check enough that I was never staying high for long. Also, for many of us, low carb breakfasts became the only way to prevent spikes in the morning.
Thanks! I felt the exact same way early on, I think I was in panic mode till I got to the second trimester because than I could tell myself the worse is over! And yes every weird thing just means good little things are happening in there. :)
Hi Katie! Congratulations on your baby. I also got highs at the beginning, that's what made me take the first pregnancy test (took 7 LOL. I think around week 10 I started getting low and had a REALLY scary one one night, then I over compensated and got a bad high. It's a roller coaster, but try to stay on top.I eat mostly the same stuff everyday, and that helps.Weekends are harder though. I'm 26 weeks now and our baby girl is doing GREAT! Good luck!
Congratulations! Sorry you've been dealing with crazy numbers, too, but it is a bit comforting to know I'm not the weird exception. My diabetes has never followed the text book so I don't know why I was surprised. ;) I was just so worried that maybe something was wrong since I wasn't having all the lows people warned me about...but sounds like they will be on their way. Thank you again for the help- it is so nice being able to ask other type 1 mamas how to deal with all of these new things!
Leigh, that is interesting about progesterone. I may need to tweak my basals some to help with that especially while I'm on the supplements.
Congratulations! You're a couple of weeks ahead of me. That is crazy how sporadic our numbers can be...it is especially frustrating when you repeat a meal and your bg responds totally opposite! Sounds like we will be doing a lot of testing and correcting the next few months. Hope it gets much easier for you!
Congratulations to you! I am so glad to have y'all to ask about this stuff. That's a good thought to do a 3-day test. I may try bolusing a few more minutes before my meal and see if that helps. I am terrible about over-correcting because I am used to my sugars running on the low end and absolutely hate seeing high numbers...and then a couple hours later I'm in the kitchen looking for crackers. Thank you for the reassurance. I know I need to just focus on my overall control and not let the few spikes worry me too much.
Thanks! We are so excited and anxious...the next 2 weeks are going to crawl by I'm afraid!
Thanks, Kristin! Yes, I am finding I am very carb-sensitive in the mornings, so I may have to get creative and think of some appetizing low-carb options!
Thank you, Norma! Congratulations on your baby girl! So happy to hear she is doing well. OK, so it sounds like the lows are in the future...guess I'll be adjusting until my numbers come down and then start adjusting again lol. Sorry to hear about your overnight low...those are the worst! I don't really like to wear my cgm all the time but will definitely be keeping it on as much as I can the next 8 months! I am pretty happy eating the same foods all the time, so I guess I just need to start a routine. Good luck with the next few weeks! :)
Thanks Katie, you'll get the hang of it. Just try hard to no stress to much and stay away from Dr. Google and horror stories. You and your baby will be fine. :)
No problem--good luck and keep the questions coming!
Just something to consider: I had a Minimed CGM during my first pregnancy and really didn't like it, so I only wore it sporadically and didn't find it that helpful. Now I have a Dexcom G4 and can't recommend it highly enough--it has helped me SO much this time around. I'm happy to share more details if you're interested.
Oh, that's interesting. I really don't care for my cgm because it always seems "off" no matter how many times a day I calibrate it. It makes me freak out after meals because sometimes it will show those double arrows like my bg is sky-rocketing so I'll check and it is totally normal. Also, I have developed a contact allergy to the adhesive that is on the sensor so I have to use benadryl cream and spray a steroid inhaler on my skin before inserting it- not fun! My endo said "I know you just got this one paid off, but maybe we need to consider a new one." I may need to look into the Dexcom. I follow sixuntilme,com and she is always wearing it.
Thanks! Congrats to you as well. I don't feel my lows as much anymore so I requested a CGM...been using it a couple of weeks and am feeling better about things. I have the Dexcom G4 and it has been relatively accurate. I can see a high coming now and correct it before it gets too out of control...same with a low.