Hi Everyone,
I have just found out i am pregnant… completely unplanned. By my own calculation (1st app is in a few days) I am 7 weeks!!
I 22 years old have been diagnosed 2 years and to be completely honest not great with control and rarely see a bg of less than 15mmol/L.
I am completely panicking and have no idea what to do and have read all the horror stories about high BG durning pregnancy.
Please help!!
I am sure many women on the site have be pregnant and will be willing to give advice. I will listen and give support but will not be of any medical help. Hang in there. Keep appts with ob/gyn and endo and try your best to control sugar going forward. I know it is easier said than done.
It will take a lot of work to keep your BG’s in line during your pregnancy but you can do it with the right treatment and enough hard work. I can assure you that there are plenty of diabetic women out there who had babies before modern diabetes control came about but it is safer for everyone if you can get under better control.
Can you tell us more about your current treatment and A1C? How often do you test your BG? Can you get a CGM so that you will be able to get alarms whenever your BG is out of range? If you can’t get a CGM right away then you should start testing yourself very frequently to see if there are any patterns and talk to your Dr. about doing some basal testing. Keep in touch and ask as many questions as you need to.
All three of mine were different. Listen to your docs and follow their instructions. Oh I didn’t have all the new equipment that we have today. Just be vigilant.
The first thing is to ignore the horror stories, and start learning with a positive outlook.
If you don’t have CGMS, consider getting it. When you have visual data real-time of your BG, it is very motivating to make different choices and confirm/ tweak your food, insulin, activities.
I understand one risk is having a larger baby, due to high BGs. But you have time to make changes.
More complications occur for women who have long term diabetes, and already have existing damage to kidneys or eyes. That should not apply to you, since it’s been only 2 years.
When I improved my BGs, it was by adopting a lower carb diet. There are many good discussions on this site for lower carb ideas.
Hi. What happened yesterday doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is what you do today and moving forward.
Blood sugar control does matter. So work closely with your diabetes team and you will have to take personal control and responsibility.
My personal experience is
I followed teachings of Dr. Bernstein on low carb diet. He has utube lecture series at Bernstein Diabetes University, if you are interested. Even if you don’t decide to go as low carb as he recommends, there is heaps of information there on insulin and how to adjust it, which may still be useful.
Hang in there. It is hard work. But many have been there, done that, and come out successfully the other end.
Hi everyone,
Thank you all so much. At the minute my last appointment my A1c was 11% but I’m not sure what it is currently as that was over a month ago now.
At the moment I am using novorapid and degludec flex pen… I am due to start using omnipod in around 3 weeks time. Not sure if it is recommended to start a pump once pregnant?? Sorry I have not been able to get hold my diabetes team yet… several messages left but not call back!
I do also use freestyle lover but currently having issues as it was self funded and my mom was paying for it.
Thank you all so so much for your advice… over the past day or two I have gotten my readings down to around 10mmol/L which is a start I guess!!
You can do this!
I have had two healthy babies, both without the benefit of CGM or pump therapy. (Or eating low carb) Start testing your blood sugar constantly. Respond to it if it’s high or low. Test again 1/2 hour later! It’ll be like you’re your own CGM, but it will bring your blood sugar (and your glucose awareness) into control quickly. Keep us posted! Jessica
First of all congratulations and I wish you the best. So, anticipation. Sometimes that which we anticipate without knowing or actually going through it causes us to worry more. You’re sugar levels are about 270. Not great. At times, sure but you should be working on better numbers. Getting it down to 10 is a great start and great!! See? You are more than capable of doing this just as you are capable of being a great mother. Everything you do now is for your child. Just remember that. So what’s good for you is good for your child, and you want what’s best for both of you. It is difficult I know. But you’re young, so you’re strong. I’ve had a1c’s around 11. But the very next visit I get them down to 7. 7 is about my normal. You can do it. Ok. I believe in you.