First Pregnancy - High Sugars & Scared!

Hi, I’m new to this forum - I’m 6 weeks into my first pregnancy and have had T1 Diabetes for 20 years. I’ve been trying to keep really tight control of my sugars, last HBA1C was 6.4, mostly my sugars are around 6 (108).
The doctors have told me all the horror stories and I’m absolutely terrified of having high blood sugar, but I was 14 (252) this morning and I’m just wondering if anyone else has had a few high sugars and still had a healthy pregnancy? I’m also having really bad hypos around 2 (36) with no symptoms, which I’ve never had before, so I’m really scared! I’m on a pump and testing my sugars 15-20+ times a day. I can’t afford CGM, even though I know how great it is!
I’d really love to hear from anyone to know if I’m doing okay or if there’s any ways I can manage better?? Thank you!

First, take a deep breath. You can do this!!!

You are going to have some high blood sugars. You just are. My doctor told me that the only thing that will harm my baby is CONSISTENT high blood sugar. If it spikes up and you can get it back down quickly it is very unlikely that it will cause any damage at all. It’s obviously not ideal, but like I said, it’s going to happen. We just do the best we can.

Having hypos and not being aware of them is common in early pregnancy. I had a lot of really bad hypos, especially at nighttime, during my first trimester. Just make sure you are diligent with testing - it sounds like you already are!!

I am currently 28 weeks into pregnancy so I don’t have any end result to share with you yet, but things have been going well and my doctors have no extra concerns thus far. I am happy to answer any specific questions you have if you think I would be helpful to you.

2 Likes

Thank you SO much - you’re the first person I’ve actually spoken to with diabetes while pregnant so it’s really encouraging! :slight_smile: I’ve been testing about 3 times a night and often picking up hypos, but I’m too scared to reduce my basal as last night I was really high at 2am, with the same dinner as the night before! So glad to know that occasional highs aren’t doing any harm, that was the main thing I was worried about. I’ve always wanted to be a mum and have always been told by the doctors I probably couldn’t with my diabetes, so this is a really exciting time for me!

How exciting - 28 weeks, so glad everything is going well for you! :slight_smile:

1 Like

My pregnancies were a long time ago but please don’t beat yourself up over those excursions out of range. They happen and as already stated, even back in the early 90’s, I was told as long as highs were not for an extended period of time, it was ok. And my A1C was higher than yours is and I have 2 beautiful children. You can do this. It is hard work but so worth it! Good luck!

1 Like

I definitely understand how you feel. I NEVER thought I would feel comfortable carrying a child. I had always planned to adopt and just not risk it. But I’m so glad I made this decision!!!

Halfway through the first trimester I had to reduce my nighttime basals but then the insulin resistance kicks in. I’m currently doing TRIPLE the insulin I did before pregnancy. Kind of crazy.

You can do this! The frequent testing is the first step and it’s great that you are doing it. I have a CGM but didn’t use it exclusively during my pregnancy (no complications for me or baby, who was born at the end of last October). But you do need to feel comfortable adjusting basals and I:C ratios ALL THE TIME. I know the reluctance, it does feel weird, especially if pre-pregnancy your diabetes was pretty stable. But that’s the key. Don’t let more than 2 days of any one pattern (highs or lows) persist. Since you are on a pump (another great thing!), you have so much flexibility. If you’re not already super comfortable setting multiple basal rates and I:C rates and changing them, reach out to your care team, or a different knowledgeable support team (I didn’t use them in the end, but had Integrated Diabetes Services in mind if I needed additional help). Also, there are a couple of books you can read which describe some of the common experiences for women with T1D during pregnancy: Cheryl Alkon’s Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-existing Diabetes: Healthy Mom, Healthy Baby and Ginger Vieira and Jennifer Smith’s Pregnancy with Type 1 Diabetes: Your Month-to-Month Guide to Blood Sugar Management. While both those women had other complications pre-pregnancy, there is a lot of useful info in there to prepare you for some of the literal highs and lows. (There is also this one, but I haven’t personally read it so not endorsing it necessarily, but just for a more complete list: Diabetes and Pregnancy: A Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy for Women with Type 1, Type 2, or Gestational Diabetes).

I am currently quite busy with our 5-month old but if you have other specific questions, will try to reply within some reasonable timeframe. :slight_smile:

Best of luck, and you got this!

Sorry, I know this is an older post, but I just stumbled across it researching the same thing. 8 weeks with my first pregnancy, T1D for 13 years, 3 of the past 4 mornings woke up with levels around 300 (EEK!) that is so not normal for me, and naturally I’m freaking out! My last A1C before getting preggo was in May, and from February to May I had brought down my A1C from 8.4 to 7.5. But, it seems as long as you catch the high blood sugars and don’t make it a habit, it’s nothing to stress completely about? My dr did change me from Tujeo to NPH when I got pregnant, so there’s probably an adjustment period with changing insulins completely, I’m sure. I just know I’m still early, so I don’t want to damage any forming organs! I do know someone whose A1C was 12 when she got pregnant, not sure how much/how fast she lowered it by the end, but other than a few days in the ICU to get his blood sugar levels up, baby had no lasting damage or any organ failure, so that gives me hope!

You are going to be okay. Try to relax. True, 300 isn’t where you want it to be. Try to get it under control as soon as possible, and keep it there. A random high blood sugar now and then shouldn’t be the end of the world. I had two healthy babies. My youngest is turning 25 this Friday. I did it with no pumps or cgm. I still don’t have either of those things.

There are many moms on this site that have had healthy babies. You can be one too.

1 Like