OB/GYN specialist in D/FW area

Hello ladies! I have a quick question for anyone in the Dallas/Ft.Worth area.

My husband and I have decided that it’s time to start trying for a family this year. I’ve done tons of research and have been on here enough to know how get my body ready to become pregnant. Over the last year my a1c has been a 6, and my most resent trip to the endo at the beginning of June it was a 5.8. I have been going to a regular OB/GYN for the last 3 years and the very first visit with her she told me that she would do my yearly exams and prescribe my birth control, but that once I was ready to have a baby she would pass me off to a specialist. Well, at the first of June I had my yearly exam and saw the nurse practitioner and she had me come back two weeks later for a pre-conception visit. She told me that my doctor knew of a team that dealt with diabetics in Ft. Worth and that she would probably pass me off to them. So then when I went back for the 2nd visit, that’s when I got mad. Basically my OB gave me the whole doom and gloom version of being diabetic and pregnant and pretty much told me I was going to die if I tried to get pregnant more than once in my life and was about to talk me out of having children at all, until I realized that I was smarter than she was, and she was talking crazy. She made me so angry I can hardly stand to think about the visit without being in a bad mood. She told my kidneys would most definitely fail and my insulin needs would go through the roof and she would have to consider me as a “brittle diabetic.” Okay, I’m one of the lucky few that was made for being diabetic. I’ve never had any problems with it whatsoever and I’m so great at it that even my endo and educator don’t know what to tell me anymore. And I’m not stupid to think that I’ll never have any problems, trust me, so that’s why she made me so mad.

So now that my really long story is over, I have a question for anyone in the Dallas area…
Have you had children while living the D/FW area, and if so, who was your doctor, specialist, endo or otherwise? And did you like them or not?

I’m trying to find a new doctor at the moment so I thought I would get some opinions from people who would know the best…fellow diabetics.

My endo (at Endocrine Associates of Dallas) suggested the following three ob/gyn’s. I went with the first and am very happy (after my first prenatal visit). They all work primarily at Dallas Presby, but some service other hospitals as well. They all have experience with Type 1 pregnancies. My A1c is 5.8 as well, and when I told Dr. Nokleberg this, she was so impressed and congratulatory that it made my husband’s eyes tear up. :slight_smile: He said he felt like she’d take really good care of us (I’m 11 weeks along). She was familiar with my pump, my CGM, and though she hadn’t heard of Apidra, made the comment that it sounded like it worked just like Novolog, which told me that she knew her stuff.

Dr. Jane Nokleberg, Walnut Hill OB/GYN Associates
Dr. Julie Hagood, Walnut Hill OB/GYN Associates
Dr. Tricia Shimer, private practice

Thank you so much! Every time I try to talk to my endo about pregnancy she kind of avoids the topic. I’m a little nervous staying with her while being pregnant if she doesn’t want to talk about it before I’m even pregnant. Thanks again!

OH, I had another quick question…did you go to her after you were actually pregnant, or before?? I’m wondering when I need to make an appointment when I DO find a doctor.

After. I called the OB at 6 weeks and they said they would see me between weeks 8 and 10. My appt was during week 9. My endo released me to start trying to conceive once my A1c was below 6.5. She has been incredibly supportive.

During my pregnancy, the endo, OB, perinatologist, and CDE all want to see me once a month until week…24? 26? I don’t remember which week, but at that point the visits will increase to twice monthly and then weekly closer toward the end.

This OB also said that she delivers type 1s at 38 weeks, either vaginally (induced) or by c-section. One of the many things I’ve learned in my prep this year is that the placenta can age quickly in a type 1, which is partly why full term babies of diabetics were once so commonly stillborn. But that also means that the babies’ lungs are often better developed at an earlier stage, which is why some docs propose an early delivery.

Some OBs do offer preconception counseling. I went to a session with a different doc before I even started trying. He seemed to think it was weird that I was there but he was very informative. I ended up not going back to him because he was retiring.

Okay. I have my regular 3 month appointment with my endo at the end of the month. I’ve been right at a 6 with my a1c for over a year, so I SHOULD be okay in that area. I just have no idea what I’m doing and I’m tired of people treating me like I’m going to die if I have a baby when OBVIOUSLY it’s okay to do, otherwise type 1’s wouldn’t have children EVER.

Thank you so much for all your information!

Hi. I see Dr. Bressler in Dallas as my endocrinologist who is wonderful. For my pregnancy, I saw a maternal-fetal specialist at UTSW (Julie Lo, MD). She was wonderful and I have only great things to say about her. She doesn’t manage diabetes in your pregnancy, she wants your endo to do that, but she is trained to work with “high risk” pregnancies. I had a 6.7 A1C prior to becoming pregnant, and kept is between 5.3-5.7 through the entire pregnancy. Your insulin needs to go up tremendously, but you just manage by changing your insulin requirements and communicating with your health care team.
My pregnancy was not planned, so I had not seen this doctor prior to becoming pregnant, but she wish I had seen her prior to becoming pregnant, so I’m saying you should go see this OB specialist while just considering becoming pregnant.

I had a very healthy little boy, and things were essentially perfect throughout the entire pregnancy even though I had dramatic glucose swings.

You can email me privately and I can give you all sorts of info if you want. Hope it isn’t too late for me to be answering this!