Hey guys! I'm new here, my diabetes educator told me about this page for support. My husband and I have started the baby conversation and I'm just trying to get all things diabetes in order. I've been working on getting a mind set of doing 12-15 finger sticks a day but have also been tossing around different CGM options as well. As ladies with diabetes, what are you doing?? What do you suggest?? I will add, I used a CGM for almost a year and it was a terrible experience. It was painful and horribly inaccurate, so I have a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to them. With that being said, I do feel like it's important to have a continuous reading when it comes time for baby. Thanks in advance guys!
I am a T1D and just had a perfectly healthy baby boy a week ago. While I was pregnant, my endo was obsessed with me wearing the CGM, even though I felt like it wasn't accurate enough to help me and I also found it to be painful and annoying. I wore it to appease him (he said even if the readings aren't perfect it still shows trends and what happens after eating and while fasting, etc.) but I still checked my blood sugar at least 10x a day. It put my mind at ease and allowed me to sleep a little sounder ;-) From my experience, I had highs and lows and that's going to happen but I just corrected ASAP (especially at the end when he was growing VERY quickly) and everything turned out very well for us :-) Good luck! Listen to your gut, it's your body and your baby!!
I had a healthy baby girl this past July. I didn't use a CGM, just tested 15-20 times a day (yes, my fingers hated me at the end, but it was worth it). Like Alicia said, some highs and lows are going to happen, just correct them as quick as possible. One of the biggest adjustments for me was being comfortable with lower readings. Pre-pregnancy a reading of 80 or 90 meant I'd consider eating something small, but during pregnancy I had to learn to be more comfortable leaving readings like that alone (unless it was obviously dropping). I always felt better sitting at 150 than at 100, so it was a huge learning curve for me.
I am currently that way, I'm more comfortable a bit higher, but I understand that numbers need to be lower. Thanks for the input, I just had such an odd experience with my first CGM that I'm just not that into getting back on one. I know it can be done with finger sticks alone, and I'm thinking that I'll probably just stick with that.
I’m not pregnant (yet), but I’m hoping to be soon. About 3 years ago, I started using the Medtronic paradigm sensor and I HATED it. It hurt, was inaccurate, and didn’t work most of the time. About a year and a half ago, I switched to the dexcom 7, and now I’m on the Dexcom G4. I can honestly say that I love it. It’s like a breath of fresh air compared to the Medtronic. No pain, easy to insert, and 90% accurate, especially with lows. I still check 8-10 times a day, but I wouldn’t want to live without my Dexcom.
At the beginning of my pregnancy I used a CGM for just a day to confirm my pump basal rates were accurate.
For the duration of my pregnancy I didn't use a CGM and tested about 6 times a day. My A1c was excellent and my son was born with a normal blood sugar.
Just like every part of diabetes management, in pregnancy with type 1 you have to find out what works for you. We are all different. Some people test a lot, but it's not a requirement. I think a pump drastically improved my control during pregnancy, but I've known of people who do injections who also have healthy pregnancies.
I wore my CGM for the first 3 months and then it started driving me nutts, so I took it off. It helped me get my a1c down to a really great level but the constant beeping was too much for me. I had an excellent pregnancy without the CGM.
You can always try it again and if it still is difficult for you, you can always take it off. Or wear it 1x per month just when you want to figure out your levels.
Which CGM are you using anyway?
I have to agree with Gina but I kept mine on the entire pregnancy. It was wonderful for showing or alerting me when I was climbing higher....then I would check my blood sugar and do a correction bolus to try to beat it back down. correcting those highs are important and the CGM helped me see when I was starting to go up. I did check my bs about 10-12X a day but I was so overly protective of my unborn that I didn't care how obsessed I was being. It made me stress less which was highly important. The insertion doesn't feel wonderful but if you locate them on further back from your navel it's tolerable... do what is right for you. Put it on for a week a month to help you manage what foods are doing what to your blood sugar each month...congrats!
Gina, I started out with the MiniMed CGM ... I HATED it. I have an appointment for Monday to give the Dexcom a trial run. I hear great things about it, but I'm nervous based on my last experience. I'm ok with doing the multiple finger sticks, but I'd like to have the 24 hour insight as well. It will just have to figure out which way works best I guess.
Thanks again guys!
I used the Medtronic cgm with my pump ( still do) during my second pregnancy. I still tested 10x a day at least but was testing double that with my first pregnancy where I only used a pump. I definitely found it very helpful. I hate wearing my cgm but I hate not wearing it more. It can be uncomfortable, annoying ( buzzing all night long), painful and inaccurate! But , when it is accurate it’s really helpful at showing trends and helping you stay within the blood sugar numbers you are aiming for. Like other ladies posted, you will still have plenty of highs and lows but the important thing is to get your blood sugars back to normal as swiftly as possible. The cgm definitely helps with that. I continue to wear it now, even though I’m not pregnant because it continues to help me stay in range. Once you’re a mom you will be very distracted and you won’t always give yourself the attention you need. For example, if i forget to bolus for food or forget to eat all together my cgm will alert me that I am trending up or down.
JaWatts09,
I switched from my MM cgm to a dexcom and I loved it! It was less intrusive, the site stayed on my body and I saw better and more accurate numbers while using it. I think you should defintely give it a go. I believe you will like it so much better!!!!