Hi Everyone!
As an update, I wanted to let you all know that I got a postive this month. I got my positive on only 10 days past ovulation and have tested everyday since and now on 12 days past ovulation so I haven’t even reached my menstrual time. I guess I’m just terrified of having a chemical pregnancy or miscarriage later on. I know I shouldn’t be fearful but I AM!!! My a1c isn’t terrible…but could be better (6.7). My fear is that I can’t get my blood sugars down no matter what I try…they continually go above 200 and I’m fearful it will lead to miscarriage. I also haven’t had any nausea…only cramps! I’m trying to make an appointment with the ob asap to get a confirmation but any words of wisdom and PRAYERS would be greatly appreciated. I just want this so bad and can’t imaging getting this excited and losing it! 
Just wanted to say that it’s perfectly normal to go up above 200 during pregnancy. I go above 200 daily. You just have to bring it back down as quickly as you can. We have lots of people here on this board who conceived at above 6.7 (my current pregnancy started at 7.0%). I’ve even known women with A1c’s in the 8s and 9s who carried healthy babies to term.
A miscarriage is always possible with any pregnancy, but it is much more likely the result of chromosomal abnormalities completely unrelated to blood sugar management. Try not to beat yourself up over your blood sugars.
Thanks Melissa! That makes me feel a little better. I’m just so frustrated that I cant even keep under 200 no matter how much I correct I just changed my basal rates so maybe that will help. I did read that you can experience out of the norm highs in early pregnancy and if I’m calculating right I’m only about 4 weeks. Did you or anybody else on here experience this? I finally got an appointment for Wednesday too so maybe I’ll get some answers then as well.
Yep. That’s how I knew something wasn’t right! My bgs were very consistent and then they were not! I knew it was early for my period (which usually throws things a little out of whack), but had no idea what was going on. Thankfully my good friend made me think twice about taking a home pregnancy test and sure enough, it was positive!
Like you, I quickly saw my endo and she and I made a plan of how to meet my target.
My A1Cs have been: 6.7 (4/11); 6.2 (6/11); 5.9 (8/11); 5.8 (9/11). These are my best A1Cs in 15 years of D.
Also, those numbers do not indicate that my bg is perfect. For example - I am currently sitting at 213 and have no idea why. Probably because it’s Tuesday and my pancreas doesn’t work 
Anyway, all that is to say that you can do this! Fear is normal and it will come and go and come again. I’ll be praying for peace and strength for your family!
Congratulations!! I found the first trimester unnerving due to my fear of miscarriage (I had a relatively early miscarriage around 8 weeks last year). But, so far my pregnancy is going pretty well this time around – almost 18 weeks now. I had a couple days of really high numbers early on (ie, 300s due to a bad infusion set, then consistent >200 numbers the next day or so) before I found out I was pregnant. My A1C a couple months before becoming pregnant was 6.8, and it was 5.7 a couple weeks ago. I have spikes outside the recommended pregnancy range around once a day (if not more often) but I’ve been able to get them back into range quickly. If highs are particularly high or persistent, I’ve found that they’ll drop quickly if I run a temp high basal or take a correction and then a ~20-30 minute walk. Some days a simple correction seems to work just fine; other times a little bit of exercise is definitely needed to increase insulin sensitivity and/or speed up the insulin action time.
I’m 6.5 weeks, and have had to increase both my overnight basal and my I/C ratios quite a bit. Like doubled my overnight basal – all of a sudden I have fairly serious dawn phenomenon.
Part of what I’ve found frustrating is how little info there is available to us about what to expect from our blood sugars. Lots of places say to expect insulin resistance starting in the second trimester, but to beware of lows in the first. But I’ve definitely had more troubles with highs than lows so far – I just have to watch it when I exercise, more than usual.
I’ve already seen my endo, and he said NOTHING about what patterns of increased/decreased insulin resistance to expect. Ah well, my CDE nurse is better with the day to day stuff, and I see her later this week.
P.S. Me too – no nausea, only cramping.
Thank you so much everyone. You have all helped ease my worries. I will keep you all posted on rather or not I get confirmed at the ob tomorrow so keep the prayers coming. What will this first appointment consist of and should I go ahead and schedule with my endo if I get confirmed? Even though I’m still reading positive on home pregnancy tests I still feel like it’s not real yet so I dont want to get overzealous with all these appointments if it’s too soon.
Congratz!
An A1c of 6.7% is pretty darn good and you should be proud. Ideally, the docs will tell you to get it under 6.5%, but all that will come in a short amount of time since you seem very keen on glucose control. Just remember, stress and worry will elevate them. So sit back, relax, sip some water and try not to stress.
Best of luck.
Right there with you, Anna. I’m at 17 days past ovulation, got a positive test a week ago today. I’m also getting cramping but no nausea (thank goodness.) I’m jealous of your A1C…my last one was 8.4, and since I’m nearly 40 and this is my first pregnancy, I’m super freaked out about the possibility of losing it. But in the past week I’ve brought down my average blood sugar by 75 points. Trying to control what I can and leave the rest up to those more powerful than I. Good luck…looking forward to hearing updates.
With my first preg, I hit highs in weeks 6/7 that refused to come down. Haven’t experienced the famous first trimester lows either time. I just start getting insulin resistant quickly. My CDE and endo both say that it’s your I:C ratio that needs adjusting before your basal rate in pregnancy. Start fiddling there and then with your sensitivity/correction factor before jumping to increasing basal rates.
My OB didn’t want to see me until week 9 w baby #1, week 7 w baby #2. I am currently seeinng either my CDE or endo every 2 wks and my OB and perinatal every 4.
Update…
I got a confirmed pregnancy by the ob today!!! He said I was about 4 weeks and should come back in 2 to look for a heartbeat. Can you even hear one that soon? I so wish my personality would allow me to celebrate and get excited but I’m playing it SO cautious. My other question is about caffeine. I only drink one cup of coffee in the mornings and thats it but I’ve heard it can increase the risk of miscarriage. Should I lay off now that I got confirmation and have I already caused any harm? You may all feel free to now roll your eyes at my OCD.
I read today in a pregnancy magazine that as long as you keep your caffeine intake below 200mg a day, its ok. But that’s non-diabetics…do you find that caffeine affects your blood sugar? It does a lot for me, which is why I’m cutting it out completely. It can reduce your ability to absorb insulin by as much as 30%.
I guess I never really thought about it because I’ve been drinking it ever since I was diagnosed. Guess if I cut it out I will find out if it affects my insulin requirement in the mornings. I’m just afraid of cutting it out cold turkey because of the headaches. Tried it once before and only lasted 3 days. Just want to be responsible though.
I figured out a few years ago that I need to count a cup of coffee the way I’d count about 10g of carb. I noticed on my CGM that I’d spike about 40 mg/dL after a cup. My CDE says it affects some people more than others and that some people don’t need to account for it.
During pregnancy, I cut back to one cup every morning rather than drinking it throughout the day. A cup of coffee generally has about 140mg, so much more than that certainly can spike you over the recommended caffeine intake, but lots of women can do 2 cups without concern from their doctors. If you have a history of miscarriage, it’d be worth cutting it out entirely for sure. Otherwise, I think it’s a personal choice based on your concerns about risks and blood sugar management.
I quit caffeine while TTC without too much trouble – I didn’t go cold turkey, but weaned myself off. From 2 cups to 1.5 to 1.25 to 1, and so on, while making up the rest with decaf. This took about 2weeks, and I barely noticed. Since 1 cup probably isn’t a real problem anyway, I don’t think you should worry about taking 2 or 3 weeks to get completely off it.
Because I had a history of miscarriage, I didn’t drink any caffeine in the first trimester, when the risk of miscarriage is highest because of the supposed link to miscarriage. But there are lots and lots of reasons for miscarriages, mostly due to genetic problems, not caffeine or some high blood sugars or whatever!
You will have different people tell you different things, but the general rule of thumb IS that anything under 200mg a day is fine. I am 23 weeks along, and I drink a cup of fully loaded coffee EVERY morning, completely guilt free. You certainly haven’t done any harm by drinking caffeine so far.
And yes, you CAN hear the heartbeat super early…I heard one at 7 weeks!