I have had type 1 diabetes for almost 8 years now. I have had A LOT of ups and downs and through my whole teen years I was out of control. My last few A1cs have been under 7.5 and as low as 6.3.
I haven’t brought it up to my doctors yet but we are trying to plan when to start trying for a baby. I do have one complication from T1 already because of my neglect. I have neuropathy. Its damage to the nerves in my legs.
Every thing I have read when I was younger said that diabetics shouldn’t become pregnant because its such a high risk to both the mother and child. I want to have a baby more than anything. For years now I have been so discouraged by what I have read that I never thought it was possible. But after reading some of the posts on here I am starting to get even more excited that I may be able to have my own babe.
I would like to know some of your experiences with your pregnancy if you don’t mind sharing. My fiance also read some of the posts on here and I swear he was smiling from ear to ear at the thought of having a little one of our own. He is fine with the idea of adopting or even having a surrogate but I think he was a bit more excited of the idea of me carrying our baby myself.
I know this is kind of scattered in my thoughts but I am just trying to take in the idea of ME having a baby since for so long now I have thought it to be impossible.
First you should talk to your doctors. There are additional risks with T1 and those can be amplified when you have T1 complications. Talk to your endo and an obgyn who specializes in high risk pregnancies. It is never too early to start talking about it and learn about any special considerations that you would be facing.
I met with several doctors about a year and a half before we started trying to conceive. There was an neonatologist, OB specialist and two others (who were those other people??). They gave me some realistic expectations, scared the hell out of me a little but made me realize that tight control of diabetes was my #1 priority before I got the green light to TTC.
I don’t have much to offer in the way of advice, as I am TTC, but i can say that after having T1D for 15 years (HEY…I missed my anniversary this week…whoah…) I spent my life believing that I couldn’t/shouldn’t/wouldn’t have a baby…but my how things have changed in this last year. Educate yourself as much as possible, know your body and your health better than your doctor, and know what you want. That said…you still have to listen to the professionals, so start a discussion with your endo, but know that it can be completely possible to have a child of your own. (As many many wise and wonderful women have informed me of here!!)
Hi Amber, I’m 25 years old and have been Type 1 for 19 years now, and 21 weeks preggo with my first baby. Don’t believe what you read, talk with your doctor about you your plans on becoming pregnant, and just because you have one complication now pregnancy doesn’t always worsen the complication. when i found out i was pregnant my a1c was a 7.7 but with hard work i got that down to 6.5 within weeks! you don’t have to adopt a child, have your own!!! Good luck to you!!
My A1c was above 10% from age 10-20, easily, and I had horrible control for many years. But I worked hard through my late 20s to gain control (after meeting my husband and finding this community) and I was cleared to try to conceive at age 29 with an A1c of 6.1%. I had a lovely pregnancy and have a beautiful 1-year-old daughter.
You can do it. Work closely with your medical team to address your concerns about neuropathy, but otherwise, diabetic pregnancies can be very successful now. Don’t let people scare you. Do you have specific fears or questions?
