Hello, my husband and I are trying to conceive and I am interested in taking a poll on how long it takes for type 1 diabetic women (who have good blood sugar control) to become pregnant compared to non-diabetic women.
Thanks,
Paula
Hi Paula,
Thats a good question. I tried to conceive for over a year and a half with no luck until we went to a fertility specialist and i was put on Clomid. They couldnt explain why i wasnt able to do it on my own. My husband was tested and he was fine and i was tested and that came out fine as well. So after they put me on clomid (it makes you ovulate, even though they told me i was, they still tried it on me) i was able to get pregnant the first time using it, but i had a miscarrige at 8 weeks, the second dose didnt work, but the third time we tried it worked and i'm now 38 weeks pregnant with a little boy.
I have heard from my endo that it could just have been from my blood sugars being so up and down that could have stoped me from conveiving but nobody really gave me any good answers. Good luck with trying. My other friends who are type 1's never had any problems at all making babies so it could just be a matter of when your body is ready or not. lol
Thanks, Amanda.=) Congrats on your new baby boy!
Not sure if this is good to share or not- but got pregnant on first try first time. Then 4th or 5th try.
Thanks, Rachel, I really appreciate your response!
I wish some times that it did. i got pregnant with my son first time round, and my daughter the moment i was off my B.C. and I'm now unexpectedly pregnant because antibiotics were enough to cancel out my B.C. I personally don't think diabetes cause's it I was not in good control prior to my first and it was the easiest pregnancy by far but that is also probably because i was 17 when i got pregnant. I was around 8.3 with my second and i think i was miserable with that pregnancy because it was a girl but no complications with her either. This time I'm at about 10.2 and a little scared. Good luck with getting pregnant, it was so worth all the worrying and sleepless nights my kids are my favorite part of my life.
Thanks, Alisa!
Paula.
Are you tracking your ovulation with a kit? That will be a big help!
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I've been working with my doctor for over a year getting my A1C down to 6 (I'm still at 8.1, ughhhhh). She says that as long as you are in good control, type 1 does not cause infertility. I also asked her if type 1 would make make it harder to conceive as I got older, and she said no.
My husband and I are going to start trying at Christmas. Hopefully my newly acquired CGM will help!
Let me know how it goes with the CGM! Mine drove me insane and I stopped wearing it :) My doc says she will want me to start again in my 3rd trimester, so I guess it wont be a complete waste of money!
Diabetes doesn't cause infertility but poor blood sugar control makes everything difficult during a pregnancy. I am a Laborand delivery nurse, have type 1 for 26 yrs and now have a 7 year old with type 1. I got pregnant the first month with both of my pregnancies. If you have recently stopped taking the pill it may take you up to a year. Get on a great prenatal vit and have super blood sugars for 3 months prior to trying for best results. Also breastfeeding for at least 12 months is suppossed to decrease risks of your child getting type 1- didn't work for me as I breastfed both for 15 months. If your not on a pump, I'd surely get one makes life much easier. Insulin requirements typically triple by delivery.
Best of luck,
Jewels
I agree about the poor blood sugar. I have an 8 month old now, but when trying to get pregnant was hard. I was on BC for 16 years and I was told I shouldn't have a problem if my sugars are under control and I'm off BC for at least a month. It took us 15 months to get pregnant. Before even trying to conceive I worked very hard doing "Tight Control" and got my A1C down to 7. We started trying and I visited w/ a high rish team. After a year we saw the team again and they checked my tubes and said everything was fine. Within a month or so I became pregnant. I am on the pump and boy is it so much easier being on that. The whole time during my labor, the team let me handle my own insulin intake. I kept my sugars between 90-110 the entire 33 hours :) You'll be fine. Get your sugars under control. Don't stress over not getting pregnant. Relax and have fun trying and you'll get there. Best advice I can give is meet with a High Risk team to discuss a plan. I did that and had the best preganancy. No issues. Gave birth to 8lb 12oz baby boy.
Beth
Thanks for the responses Bethann and Jewels. The blood sugars are actually not really my problem. I was trying to use my diabetes as an excuse for my infertility but now I am realizing that my luteal phase is too short (if I don't have any additional issues). I have never had a hemoglobin A1C result above 6 the 8.5 years that I have had type 1. I have been on the pump for 4 years and I was on birth control before I was diagnosed with diabetes. 3 years ago I had to switch from orthocyclin to progestrone only pills because the orthocyclin pills were giving me high blood sugar. Estrogen causes me to be insulin resistant. Now I am just trying to get used to adjusting my basal rates and bolus ratios based on my menstrual cycles. I notice that I need for insulin right before I ovulate, then my insulin requirements drop and continue to drop right before my period. I think this month I have finally figured out my blood sugars but I can't say that for sure because every month I have to change my basal rate just slightly different and it is never consistent month to month. I wouldn't been so down about trying to conceive if I didn't have to deal with my changes in blood sugar every month. The blood sugar was so much easier to control while using the progestrone only pills because it kept my hormone levels the same. Since hormones make my blood sugar rise (I am curious if anyone else notices this), I do not want to take hormone therapy to treat any infertility problems. I am currently trying to fight my insurance company for CGM but I have lost interest in this fight since my main point of getting CGM was to help with pregnancy. I have seen a high risk pregnancy doctor before starting this process so I made sure everything was in place before starting not thinking that it is practically a miracle to get pregnant. I have pretty much given up hope (even though my husband is still so optimistic, poor thing) and I am just enjoying life the way it is. Thank you all for your responses and I wish you all the best of luck.
Paula, so sorry to hear about that. Is it a possiblity for you and your husband to adopt?
Gina, thank you so much for your concern. At first I wasn't interested in adoption because I was (and still am) afraid that I won't give the child as much love as they deserve but now my idea of adoption is starting to change. So we haven't ruled that option out :)