I'm 12 weeks today and have been running highs in the evenings. My daytime numbers are good and I'm able to get my numbers back down before bed, so there are no prolonged highs, just for the 2-4 hours after dinner. I've increased my basil rates significantly already, as well as my bolus calculations, but little is helping. So, I'm taking an alternative route and trying low to no-carb in the evenings.
Any of you gone low carb (or no carb) for problem times of day? When did you switch to low carb? How many of you were low carb your entire pregnancy?
I have moderate carbs during the rest of the day and my numbers are fine. Meat is really turning my stomach right now but I can stomach eggs, cheeses and some veggies. I see crustless spinach quiches in my near future! :)
My A1C immediately before conception was 5.8 and I was at 6.1 at about 6 weeks. I was pretty steady at 6.3 with my first pregnancy.
Of course, every time I see a high, I'm freaking out and feel so guilty. I know noone is perfect, but my experiences with this pregnancy so far have been so much different than my first.
So, is low carb the way to go? Tell me about your experiences!!! Thanks!
My only experience with low carbs was at the beginning of my pregnancy when I felt too nauseous to eat and I ended up with ketones in my urine because I wasn't eating enough carbs. Since then I've been very intentional about eating plenty of carbs. Rather than cutting down in carbs during pregnancy I would just take more insulin-this is what your body would do normally if you didn't have diabetes. Don't beat yourself up over high BGs just keep track of those carbs and take as much or as little insulin as needed. I'm 38 weeks now and pumping in the insulin to combat insulin resistance. It's just part of the course :)
I haven't been on an explicitly "low-carb" diet, but I have been constantly adjusting my diet throughout the pregnancy to avoid the super high highs. I've found that I do well with some carbs as long as they are accompanied by protein. For example, my go-to breakfast for the last 8 months has been eggs, whole wheat toast with peanut butter, and a piece of fruit. As long as I have the protein in there, I generally avoid the scary 300+ "OMG no!!!!" blood glucose readings... most of the time... :) Try your best to figure out which combinations of foods work the best for your body, as I think everyone is different. Unfortunately for me, the best way to learn this was through trial and error. I learned that for me, yogurt and milk are great! As long as I have peanut butter or chicken or eggs with it. You know? I can definitely identify with your freak outs at every high bg reading. I have had MANY a freak out in the last 34 weeks. But keep in mind that your overall bg patterns are what will impact the baby's health the most, not random occasional high readings. I've had readings in the 400's at random points in the pregnancy but have maintained a1c's between 4.9-5.8 throughout. Just do your best, combat highs with more insulin, and move on with life. Best of luck to you!
I was kind of "lower carb-ing" it pre pregnancy. Once the first trimester nausea set in, I had to add some more carbs back in to settle my stomach. Now that resistance is the name of the game these weeks, I am removing the carbs again. Fun! Fun! Breakfast is my difficult time. Afternoons are my sweet spot.
I enjoy a low carb cracker (Love me some Kavli: http://www.amazon.com/Kavli-Thin-Crispbread-5-29-Ounce-Boxes/dp/B000FBM4FI) with cream cheese and lunchmeat. I like PB on anything! I found some lower-carb tortillas (8 g carb for a 10-ish inch tortilla) with eggs and cheese and meat. Dark chocolate (the really dark stuff - think +70% cacao) is also low carb....with some pb on one of those Kavli crackers - yum! I really like plain greek yogurt (with a dab of honey to take off the edge). Also string cheese, veggie sticks, etc.
I also think that even if you don't remove all the carbs, putting more protein and fat in place of carbs (more eggs and bacon, less pancakes) helps even those spikes out and makes me feel like I'm not depriving myself.
Good luck and let us know what you end up doing and how it works for you!
