I am currently TTC and have been on a low carb diet around 30-50 carbs day for about 8 months now. I am LADA and just started insulin about 6 weeks ago so how I see it is the less carbs the less insulin=the less mistakes. My endo told me I would have to up my carbs during pregnancy because ketones pass through the placenta, I’m wondering how many carbs a day do you all eat? Any of you low carb or semi low carb during your current or previous pregnancies?
I’m pre pregnancy and my nurse would get soo mad at me if i was only eating 30-50 carbs a day. I MUST eat 150 a day and 180 on an active day-especially because when I am pregnant I will be eating more, also my BGs kept dropping dramatically and she felt that this was happening because I wasn’t eating enough carbs. In total I take about 32u of insulin on average per day-including basal. This can change depending on height and stuff but I’m not that tall 5 5. Also my nurse educator is type 1 diabetic so I really trust her judgement. Talk to your nurse and dietician about these things though
Pre-pregnancy, I was eating 150-180g of carb. During pregnancy, I’m eating 185g of carb per day. I’m eating lots of protein and fat to fill up, as I could easily eat more than that (hunger wise). I’m 24 weeks along now and find that I need lots of protein in addition to that many carbs just to feel full.
I don’t consider myself a low carb-er but eat everything in moderation. I try not to deprive myself of anything baby is craving… but baby seems to only want salads and fruits these past few weeks. (yay for me!) So, I’d guess between 120-180g carbs per day for me. Which to any normal person, that’s a low carb diet. 30-50g carbs is extremely low and I’d be surprised if you weren’t passing ketones due to low carbing right now. Have you checked?
Kudos to you for your determination and ability to do this. We get our energy from carbohydrates, so I would be surprised if your endo and obgyn don’t strongly suggest you up your carb intake. Even if it was to add just a few glasses of juice per day. Baby needs a lot of different vitamins- like from wheat breads, fruits, and milks.
I’m currently 19 weeks along.
I know you recently were diagnosed and recently put on insulin. The key is to make sure your A1c is below 7% at conception and that your glucose levels are stable for the first 8 weeks (minimum). Which means having your glucose levels stable (no spikes and dips) even before a pregnancy test can detect you’re pregnant. Most tests will only show a positive when you’re already 4-5 weeks along.
So, I would ask your doc to see if they agree with increasing your carb intake. From my experience, it would be a good idea for yours and for baby’s sake.
Good luck! It’s a challenge, but it is manageable. Promise.
So 185 carbs per day…how many meals and snacks is that, with how many carbs and how do you eat so often without overlapping boluses? Does the pump make this possible??
Yeah, I am trying to up my carbs by about 10 every other week. I plan on trying to eat 70 carbs per day when I find out I’m pregnant and if I have ketones I will keep upping my carbs by 10 to 80 then 90 100, etc.
Thanks for the reply! I do not have ketones during day or night but I do in the morning.
Thanks for the feedback…for those of you that are pregnant have you gained a lot of weight from upping your carbs and having to take more insulin??
I haven’t gained a ton of weight. This is my first pregnancy. I’m 19 weeks along and have gained about 15 lbs so far. That’s more than you’re “supposed” to gain, but I’m comfortable with how I look right now. I was thin at conception, so I can carry a little extra weight. I’m not too worried about losing the weight afterward either
6 meals/snacks with limitations on “fast-acting carbs”, which means fruit or milk products (these are the only fast acting carbs that I’m eating during pregnancy):
7am - 25g (only low GI, no fruit or milk products)
10am - 20g (10g from fruit/milk products)
1pm - 50g (10g from fruit/milk products)
4pm - 20g (all 20g from fruit/milk products)
7pm - 50g (10g from fruit/milk products)
10pm - 20g (10g from fruit/milk products)
My boluses DO overlap, but that is not a problem according to my endo. I actually think it helps me not to spike as the last bolus is still active when I start eating the next snack. If I skip snacks, I think that I would go low. So I have to stick to the routine, but it works for me. On a good day (like today), even measuring 1 hour after eating, my highest number was 110. On a bad day, I go up to 160. But I have been able to handle that many carbs without spikes. You just need to adjust your insulin doses to stay on top of it.
I think it would be a good idea to try introducing more healthy carbs before pregnancy and see if you can figure out a system to keep you from spiking. For many people waiting 15-20 minutes after the bolus helps.
How high are your morning ketones? I have trace ketones as well, even with my higher carb diet.
Also, the pump may make it easier to know about how much active insulin is still working when you have overlapping boluses, but the truth is that I really don’t think my pump accurately predicts that. So I think that you can overlap boluses on injections too, but ask your endo.
I have gained about 15 pounds as well (now at week 24). Most of that has been in the last month. In the first trimester, I didn’t gain much at all. My endo was not concerned about the weight gain. At the beginning of the pregnancy she told me that she wants me to gain 25 pounds MAX. I think that I may gain more than that (if I keep up the current rate), but so far most of the weight seems to be on the belly where it should be!
Also, as a side note, I’m actually still taking less insulin than I did pre-pregnancy. There is a theory that some people regain some insulin production during pregnancy and I think that might have been the case for me (like pregnancy calms autoimmune reactions). My insulin needs started to increase in the last 4 weeks, but I’m still under the pre-pregnancy amount for now.
The ketones might not depend on your daily total, but how long of a time you go fasting. Some people seem to be more ketone prone than others. I have a type 1 friend who never had ketones at all during pregnancy. I have always had trace morning ketones (even before pregnancy, but also many mornings during pregnancy). I eat at 10pm and 7am – so that is my longest fasting stretch. As long as they stay just trace ketones, then my endo said not to worry. But if they remain high, then a 3am snack will be introduced! (I wake up around then every night anyway to pee and check my blood sugar.)
My ketones are not enough to show up on the hospital test – just when I use the urine test strips at home, I detect trace amounts.
Thanks for the advice Kristin, that makes me feel better! 
Sounds like you are doing great!
Really!?! Thats AWESOME! Hope I end up in the same boat lol are you LADA?
I was diagnosed type 1 at the age of 21. I think that my onset was rather sudden and my diagnosis came in the ER when I was in DKA. So my endo said type 1 (but many endos don’t recognize LADA anyway.) But given my age at diagnosis, I might have LADA. I was never really sure and I have never had a c-peptide test as far as I know.
I gained 35 lbs in my pregnancy and lost all of it breastfeeding in about 6 months. I was eating about 180-200g of carb per day as opposed to 100-120g pre-preg.
During pregnancy my guidelines were:
breakfast: 40g max
lunch & dinner: 60g max
3 snacks per day (except in the first trimester): 10-20g
The snacks were to make sure that i didn’t go long periods in between meals without eating, which make you more at risk for developing ketones, and also make blood sugars a little more stable.
By the end of the pregnancy i had gained 26 lbs, and was told i should have gained 25-35 lbs for my pre-pregnancy size. i think diabetics probably gain a little less excess weight than other women because we have to be more mindful of what we eat and can’t have a lot of sweets, although i did eat lots of cheese and nuts which are high in fat.