Pregnancy and Type 1

Hello, all!
I’m new to the forum, because quite frankly I’ve been doing crazy amounts of research on all of the risks myself and our baby are subjected to since finding out that I am pregnant. I go to the doctor tomorrow, but I’m anxious to hear of others experiences having type 1 diabetes and the struggles they faced. I’m especially worried because my last A1c level was tested at a 13 which is very high! I’m concerned for the health of our baby. He/She was not planned, but we consider ourselves blessed nonetheless. Since testing positive, I’ve been obsessed with checking my blood sugar and eating healthy diabetic meals. I’ve managed to get my glucose levels back down into the mid 100s and they are steadily improving. Has anyone been through the same situation and can provide me any advice?

Speaking as someone who is half way through their first pregnancy, I can definitely attest to the challenge that being diabetic and pregnant poses! Controlling your blood sugar, paying attention to what you are eating and going to the doctor (the many, many doctors) will control just about every aspect of your life.

I prepared for a year before we started trying because I wanted to have my sugars perfect before stepping up to that challenge. I wanted to minimize every possible risk so that I could have as close to a normal pregnancy experience as possible and so my kid would have the best chance at being born healthy. Even still, it has been a stressful adventure.

I do hope for the best for you and your baby, but I personally can’t imagine starting this challenge in the same position. It sounds like you are still struggling to keep your diabetes under control for your own sake. Adding hormones and weight gain and normal insulin resistance from pregnancy on top of that is going to be incredibly difficult. Not saying you can’t do it, but be prepared, not just for the challenge, but having to defend yourself to every doctor you talk to. Even with an A1C of 4.7, I constantly have to deal with doctors telling me what I can and can’t do.

Definitely find a doctor you like and trust and can talk to. Good luck!

I’m currently in my 33rd week of my second pregnancy. The most important tool for me is my Dexcom CGM. I can’t recommend a CGM more than while being pregnant. I have very few symptoms when I’m low during both this pregnancy and my last, which I’ve been able to monitor with the CGM. Also, for me personally, my insulin needs rose throughout the pregnancy until I hit 30 weeks. Since then I haven’t had to increase my settings at all, which was a relief. So, be prepared for constant adjustments to your settings.
I have also had success with a low carb diet and close communication with my Endo. I speak with her weekly to check and/or adjust my settings.
I wish you all the best with your pregnancy.

I like to play devil’s advocate to the low carb diets. I was consistently in the mid 5’s for my A1C through the first 7 years after diagnosis, then I decided to go almost full vegan (I still cheat on the cheese and eggs every once in a while but am full vegetarian). I made the change for a lot of reasons–environment, overall health, and the animals of course!–but never really thought it would have an impact of my diabetes. I was amazed to find out at my next endo appointment that my A1C had dropped to 4.9 after 5 months on the new diet. My weight, which had also been steady at 124 for years also suddenly dropped 5 pounds even though I had made no other changes. Of course, I think being vegan is only healthy if you actually eat a variety of whole foods (unlike my vegan friends growing up who only ate potato chips…).

Not at all saying OP needs to add a diet change to the many challenges ahead, but I do like to share this story because a low carb diet seems so obvious for a diabetic, but it is not the only option and depending on the person, maybe not even the best. All the recent studies out of Europe are starting to point at high meat diets as being more to blame for type two diabetes then even diets high in sugar. Not the same as T1D of course, but the last thing a T1D needs is to deal with insulin resistance on top of a bum pancreas!

I am a t1 and got pregnant for the first time in april. My a1c was 12.4. That pregnancy ended in miscarriage. I am now 7 weeks pregnant and vwry nervous because my a1c is still around 9 i think. My dr said to maintain a healthy pregnancy it should be below 6.5, but he has delivered with ac1 as high as 8.5. Did anyone start out with high a1c and deliver? If so how did you get your sugars down and what were your numbers during first trimester?

I don’t have experience with a high A1C, but as far as blood sugar patterns: insulin needs went slightly down for most of my first trimester (I did not have too much difficulty with morning sickness) and have been steady so far in trimester two. Some days they seem like they are trending up then the next I’ll have to slash my basal back down. Just rolling with the punches so far and trying to stay very active in adjusting everything as needed.

I am fairly new, I was diagnosed as a t1d almost 2 years ago at 30 yrs old. I still haven’t figured my insulin out completely. It seems like my blood sugar will be high for no reason and low as well. My numbers are all over the place and Idk how to get on top of it for baby. :frowning: my last miscarriage was heart breaking and I don’t want to go through that again.

are you on a pump? Aside from my pump and recently CGM (although that can be hard to see to begin with with how much levels DO fluctuate), one really helpful tool for me is to write down EVERYTHING for a week or so and then look back to see what’s affecting what. I’m doing that currently to help me achieve better ‘habits’. I write down everything I eat, BG before and after food, what time I eat, how long I prebolus, what activity I’ve been doing/am I stressed.
It takes some time but you end up learning what affects you/what helps/hinders.
The no reason levels usually have a reason-it’s just that the reasons can be invisible (stress/incorrect rates) or seemingly not connected (ie, a bad low will mean for me up to 12hrs later a stubborn hours long high that’s difficult to correct).
You can do this!!

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Eating the same foods at relatively the same time everyday can also be really helpful. Pick one meal you like for breakfast, another for lunch and another for dinner and eat the same snacks in between. Over the course of a few days of eating the exact same things you should be able to adjust your bolus needs to cover for those exact meals. Once you have that nailed down, you can contribute any unexpected highs/lows to hormones, stress, or something else outside of food/carb ratio. Of course you’ll want to pick nutritious choices that cover all your daily needs. I know some women who have kept on the same meal plan for the entire nine months (just upping portions slowly as needed). I personally switch up my lunches and dinners from week to week, but having the same things consistently for even shot blocks of time can help you figure out where your lows and highs are coming from.

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