My husband and I are trying to conceive. Waiting for tests to come back this month. My blood sugars have recently elevated while sleeping. Just wondering what everyone else has felt in their first few weeks of pregnancy and what happened to their sugars... Thanks!
My husband and I are also trying to conceive. I am a few days away from knowing for sure if it worked this month, but I've been having insane highs for no apparent reason. Mine elevate when I'm sleeping (which is quite unusual for me), and they are going high after lunch. It is very frustrating not knowing if it is because I am pregnant or because of something I'm doing wrong.
I know you posted this a couple of weeks ago - what did you find out? Are you pregnant? Do you have any words of wisdom for me? :)
I'm Type 1, by the way. Diagnosed 22 years ago, when I was 4.
Hi there, I recently passed my 12 week mark :) I can't remember what my blood sugars were like at the very very beginning, but I have heard that they tend to spike. Throughout pregnancy they tend to kind of do what they want, then settle down for a while, and then change all over again! But, as long as you are checking and monitoring it, it is at least manageable, although can be frustrating. I check diabeticmommy.com daily, too for suggestions and tips. It's a great resource! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask :)
I wish you both the best of luck!!
Thank you so much for the information, Suzanne! I found out I am not yet pregnant, but we're going to keep trying. :) I didn't know about diabeticmommy.com, I'll definitely check it out.
Congratulations to you on your pregnancy!
Hi there -
Actually there have been several studies examining blood glucose levels in menstruation cycles. Certain points during the cycle tend to yield more insulin resistance than others. Because pregnancy forgoes the cyclical hormones, it also bypasses this initial insulin resistance. Typically a woman will have her average glucose levels the first 8-10 weeks of pregnancy. At that point, a hormone kicks in that actually increases insulin sensitivity and thus insulin needs go way down. They reach a nadir at 10-14 weeks and then with time, progressively increase. Toward the end of pregnancy, insulin resistance (and thus glycemic control) reaches its maximum making it very difficult to minimize post-prandial glucose spikes.
For myself, I could not blunt the post-prandial glucose spike even with a 45-minute lag between insulin and meal (AM was the worst) toward the end of my pregnancy. Thanks to CGM, tight glycemic control throughout pregnancy is was a much more feasible. The rate of complications remains relatively high despite what was previously felt to be "great control." There is a lot more to control than HbA1c. Glycemic variability has a big impact and its best to minimize it throughout pregnancy.
Though it is not standard, there is definitely a case for serum pregnancy tests in diabetic women. Detecting pregnancy early is critical as every day counts.If you suspect that you are pregnant, ask your doc for a serum HCG test. It will catch pregnancy a week or two before the urine test is positive and might help ease your mind.
Hi. I am new to this site and thought I would try this group. I have had type 1 for 20 years and use a pump. I have two healthy children: age 6 and age 2. I wanted to comment on the question about blood sugars during pregnancy. Blood sugars actually decrease during the first trimester because your body is working extra hard to to make all those baby parts! During the second and third trimesters though, insulin needs increase dramatically because of insulin resistence created by the increased hormones. For example, my insulin:carb ratio almost tripled by the third trimester. That is alot of infusion set changes! Anyway, while trying to conceive, look for increases in hypoglycemia. Hope this helps.
[quote user="Aimee"]
Hi. I am new to this site and thought I would try this group. I have had type 1 for 20 years and use a pump. I have two healthy children: age 6 and age 2. I wanted to comment on the question about blood sugars during pregnancy. Blood sugars actually decrease during the first trimester because your body is working extra hard to to make all those baby parts! During the second and third trimesters though, insulin needs increase dramatically because of insulin resistence created by the increased hormones. For example, my insulin:carb ratio almost tripled by the third trimester. That is alot of infusion set changes! Anyway, while trying to conceive, look for increases in hypoglycemia. Hope this helps.
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I actually had the opposite where I was VERY high (300's, couldn't get them down) during 2 days / implantation, before any preg test showed up positive. It wasn't until I was a few weeks preg that I had tons of lows...
I agree -- diabeticmommy.com was very helpful when I was preg...