Hello everyone, I am so excited I found this site. I have been type 1 since I was 9 years old. I have always wanted to be a mom and now that I’m married we have just recently started trying. I felt so alone when it comes to diabetes and pregnacy until I found this site. I just have a few curious questions for you guys. Was is hard to get pregnant for anyone did it take awhile? How early did you find out and is anyone not on the pump ? I used to have the pump when I was younger and hated it is anyone just taking injections like me?
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May I ask what about your pump that you hated? the idea of wearing something 24/7? hated the particular model pump? had trouble with your sets?
I believe it was a mixture of a few things. Back when I had it the pump was still new. I hated being attached to it and was also going through middle school and kids where mean and I was self conscious wearing the pump at all times. I also had trouble keeping the needle site in place, when I showered or went swimming it always came off. My A1c is 6.5 and has been in the 6s for years. When I had the pump I was 8-9 . I wouldnt be against trying it again now that I’m older but prefer to stick with the injections.
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Hey there! I’ve been type 1 since 11, and also always wanted to be a mom! We are trying to conceive right now, but my body isn’t adapting very quickly after being off birth control for a few months. Trying to rebalance my hormones and keep trying! I’ve heard it can take a bit of time. My diabetes educator (a T1 herself, with children), said that women with type 1 need more folic acid than a regular prenatal supplement has in it. So maybe try adding some extra to boost your chances!
Anyway. I understand your reservations about using a pump. Things have gotten better in some ways - you might find that cannulas with extra adhesive or prep pads (I use Skin-Tac) would help prevent them from coming out. The reason you might want to consider trying a pump again is that in pregnancy, I understand you will need so much more insulin, and you may have to be doing correction doses a lot more often than normal! This would require A LOT of injections to keep up with. A pump would just make this aspect a lot easier. That being said, pregnancy is doable on injections. It just might be nicer, when taking so much more insulin, to have the pump deliver it!
Hope that helps!
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Hi Bbritt! What an exciting adventure you are about to embark on! I am currently 26 weeks pregnant with my first child. I have been T1D for 8 years. I was lucky in that it did not take us long at all to conceive. I started preparing for pregnancy about a year beforehand. My A1C had been in the 5’s for most of my diabetic life and I was able to get it down to 4.9 before we started trying. I also established an exercise routine and diet/meal routine that I knew I could stick with through pregnancy to make things like tracking blood sugars that much easier (routine is key!). I took the pregnancy test about 5 days before my missed period and got a very light positive, so we found out right away!
I am currently on a pump (about 3 years now). For me personally, the advantages of the pump far outweigh the grievances. For instance, I currently need .125 units/hour basal in the morning, but .700 units/hour late at night. If I was on shots, I would have to find some middle ground and would likely be dealing with lows all morning and highs all night! even the slightest adjustments make a huge difference when pregnancy hormones are driving your blood sugars crazy. With that said, I think the most important thing is that you feel confident and comfortable with the method you are using. You will be making CONSTANT adjustments throughout pregnancy in both basal and ratios, so really knowing what you are doing is key.
BUT, I would highly recommend getting a CGM if feasible. Each change in hormones brings a noticeable change in insulin needs. It is so much easier to look back on a graph and determine what changes you need than to scroll through a bunch of pin pointed numbers on your meter (and it saves you from having to prick your finger 14+ times a day!).
Last bit of advice I have (largely stolen from other great resources I have met on this site), you should absolutely read: Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-Existing Diabetes and Pregnancy with Type 1 Diabetes (Amazon for both!).
I am happy to chat if you have more questions!
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I think this is great advice. If your body’s going through big changes there’s nothing like a good data stream to show you what’s up with regard to bg. How you treat that – with MDI or a pump – is your choice, but at least with a CGM you can see what’s happening in more or less real time.
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I second the opinion that you should get a CGM! I’m of the opinion that every pregnant woman with diabetes should use one!
I’ve been t1 since I was 14 and we only recently started trying for our first baby.
Although I would have to disagree with the recommendation for the book Balancing Pregnancy with Pre-existing Diabetes. I found a lot (a LOT!) of the information to be old and outdated, especially if you’re into doing things more naturally. Read the reviews on amazon and see if it’s for you. I’ll give you my copy if you still want it. 
From what I’ve read and discussed with my endo, first trimester generally makes women run low, so insulin needs will decrease, then start steadily increasing during the second and third trimesters. A pump might be great for those tiny incremental boluses the first trimester but you might be changing out your sites a LOT during the third trimester. You’ll have to look into your costs and insurance coverage and see what makes sense financially. Or switch back and forth to find the best method for you. You CAN manage with just injections, especially with a cgm. I’m on injections now and not sure if I’ll go back on my OmniPod or not.
Read the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility if you haven’t already and start tracking your cycles. It’s amazing what you can learn and astounding what isn’t taught to young girls about their bodies these days.
Good luck and if you ever want to chat more on the ttc journey, just hit me up. I’m on the fertility friend app and the TCOYF app too. 
Curious as to what your diet is like with such a great A1C, mine is currently 6.2 but still with lots of variability and I’m thinking changing my diet may help that. Thanks!
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My diet is largely whole food and vegan.
I went mostly vegan about a year ago. I did it for a lot of reasons, but I really never considerd that it would effect my diabetes. But it certainly has. My A1Cs were always between 5.5 and 6.5. Three months after going vegan my A1C had dropped to 4.9.
That said, I still think a whole food diet (no processed food), vegan or not, is vital to reaching those kinds of numbers. My philosophy has always been to eat healthy clean food that helps all your other systems run at peak efficiency to help make up for the short falls in your endocrine system. Seems to work well most of the time!
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Thank you!
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This!!! My CGM is the only reason I’m comfortable being pregnant. My a1c was 5.4 at conception and has been between 4.9 and 5.2 for my pregnancy so far (currently 27 weeks). I give full credit to my CGM!
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that’s really encouraging! great job… may i ask if you were always so controlled? tips? i’m trying super hard but my a1c is still in the mid 6s!! 
I was definitely never that well controlled until I got my CGM. Do you have one?
I think the key for me has been a routine (if I eat 30 carbs at lunch, try to eat approximately that many every day, eat at approximately the same time, etc). I’m certainly not a slave to any sort of schedule but I just find that routine helps me reach the BEST control.
I’m also very careful about bolusing 10-15 minutes before I eat any carbs. That makes a HUGE difference.
@Lcpgh thanks! I am using the Dexcom 5 since January 5th.
It’s totally helped, but I’m having a tough time with my post-meal highs.
I have another appointment with my endo in 3 weeks.
I use the omnipod as well. I just think I need to hone down more, like you said routine is key. Today I ordered a diary to track my meals, insulin & readings. I am not TTC yet, but ideally if I was not diabetic I would be (lol).
I know this will take a lot of effort. I am going to do this, be the healthiest I can, and have a wonderful baby! One day, and may it be soon!!!
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My best advice with the CGM is to set it really tightly. I have my CGM alert me if it’s 130 so I can catch it before it even thinks about getting high lol
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I am TOTALLY going to follow that advice. I do have it at 150, but why not tighter?
thank you so much for responding to me. I am in a family of T1Ds, but I’m the first female who is aiming to get preggers!!! having this community to read & chat with is really boosting my confidence!
A lot of good points above, and here is my slightly different perspective. (For context, I have always had good control, I think the highest HbA1c I ever had since diagnosis was 6.3, and the vast majority of my ten years with T1D it was in the high 5s). During pregnancy it was in the low 5s and high 4s. Obviously I was more vigilant than I have ever been with my BG levels, but there is something about the hormonal changes your body is going through that seems to bring the level down as well.
CGM set on tight targets is good, but the same results can be achieved with frequent testing as well. I am the rare (it seems) person who is not so in love with her CGM – I did use it a lot more during pregnancy, but still not 100% of the time. Now that I am breastfeeding and half the time trying to keep our 5-month-old asleep, I just don’t have the patience for its alarms or the free use of my belly for the insertions (that’s where the baby is lying while breastfeeding) and have completely stopped using it. This is not an argument for others not to use one, but to say that the flexibility and good control really come from the pump. First, make sure your basals are set right. They will keep changing during pregnancy, but pre-pregnancy you should have them down to a T. High post-prandials are best dealt with by pre-bolusing and learning for which foods you might benefit from a dual/square bolus.
An additional factor many people overlook is regular exercise. I knew this about me from before pregnancy – if I had a stretch where I wasn’t regularly physically active, my basal needs just crept up even if everything food-related was the same. Not to mention exercise also has benefits when TTC – the improved circulation apparently make the uterus more receptive to implantation.
Thank you! I had a CGM a few years ago and I kid you not I likely used it for 4 days. I HATED it. Now since January, I’m on it and feel crippled without it! It’s certainly about what you do and when you do it.
I’ve had diabetes for about 22 years now. My a1c just felt like it “could not” get under 7… but now I’ve been stuck in the mid 6s. From @Lcpgh advice yesterday I set a tighter alarm. And my goodness I’ve had a great 24 hours. I know 24 hours isn’t a major change, but truly I take it by the moment.
Kudos to you for your hard work!!! We’re all tough! I haven’t felt so… I don’t know. I’m sorry if I’m getting emotional lol but here goes!
I’ve had diabetes as I said for over 20 years. And everyone in my life is understanding, but I don’t think until I moved in with my now husband that anyone else really understood. Quite frankly, on one of our first dates the monster took over (my blood sugar dropped to under 30) and we didn’t speak for several weeks. I don’t even remember that day… well that moment. I hadn’t told him yet, so of course I seemed like a lunatic acting erratically. Now I’ve become more open. Getting onto the Omnipod made me almost have to be open, because that thing attached to your leg is quite a conversation starter. But I feel like people think I’m exaggerating. No sweetie, the thing that keeps me alive truly can kill me. I’m glad to have found this community to get real answers. My husband didn’t understand HOW much work I am constantly doing for myself, until we lived together. He didn’t truly realize I wake up in the middle of the night… or that when we’re walking the dog I may need to just stop here to have a juice box. I’m just feeling so grateful for everyone here. I have spent the last 4 months just reading & rereading the same darn articles about diabetes & pregnacy. Watched steel magnolia like 6 times (and always end by saying this isn’t flipping life anymore!!!). Now I come here and it feels like WHOA- real women, with real diabetes! Who knew???
Anyway sorry for the rant. I’ve been emotional in a positive way the last few days. Xoxo
Just out of curiosity - which CGM do you have?
Guardian3 since middle of last year; the earlier Guardian version before that.