hi everyone! i have been trying to get pregnant for the past 3 years. i have been in very poor control of my sugars also, but im scared i wont be able to have kids because my brother has been out of control for years also and his doctor told him he couldnt have kids because of it. so i am terrified that its too late for me....any suggestions? please help!!
You should definitely be working with your diabetes care team to get yourself in better blood glucose control. I don't know how blood sugar affects men and their ability to reproduce, but in a woman high blood glucose can make an unhospitable place for an embryo to develop and make pregnancy that much more difficult. I'm guessing if you can get yourself in better control, you might have more success with getting pregnant. Of course you will need to talk to your medical team about this but I think turning your control around now will be the first step to your family planning.
It looks like you are quite young to have been trying to get pregnant for three years. I urge you to slow down and use some sort of birth control before you do get pregnant. You MUST get your diabetes in control (we are talking A1Cs in the low 6s!) before getting pregnant. If you are not in control throughout the entire pregnancy, the risks to you and the baby increase dramatically. You have to be a "mom" now before you even get pregnant and do what's best for your not yet conceived child. If your diabetes is out of control, the chances of birth defects rise, as well as the risk of pregnancy complictions.
Being a type 1 is hard. Planning for a pregnancy and carrying your child to term in the best possible scenario are even more tough on women with type 1, but it's something we must do. Talk to your doctors, start working at bringing that A1C down. It's going to mean lots of BG checks, lots of extra shots and adjustments to your insulin doses and rates, but having a healthy baby and not putting that baby in a risky situation is what mom's do. I wish you luck.
Are you on the pump? If not you may want to consider it. I am starting to think about having kids and my first goal is getting my A1C at 6. I already can tell it is going to mean giving up a lot of foods that I love but it won't be forever and I want to do anything and everything to have a complication free pregnancy.
Tighten down on the control. There are a lot of tools that people don't utilize and of which the less sophisticated physicians are unaware. Symlin can be a terrific remedy for post-prandial spikes if used correctly. CGMS can help make you aware of the trending. Frequent visits to CDEs and a pre-conception diabetes group is also helpful. Hope is never lost - I delivered a baby from a woman who was an ovarian cancer survivor. But its not easy.
Its never too late.. My Doctor (OB) has asked me to be in good control for at least three months and too be on their diet eating every two hours aand testing every two hours before attempting to get pregnant. It sounds like a lot and a pain in the ass but if the result is a healthy baby and a healthy mom its totally worth it to me.
I am just now starting this process its a little overwhelming but I am committed/