Hi everyone! So, the end of last year has just been so crazy for me and I haven't been on here in awhile. A funny thing happened in the beginning of this new year. In mid-January, I had shoulder surgery and was taking antibiotics which was making me all nauseous. I usually get my monthly during the 2nd or 3rd week of the month. So, I during the surgery and recovery time, I thought everything was all normal. By the end of the month when I didn't get my monthly, I realized something was not right. I also was still feeling very nauseous long after taking the antibiotics. Took a home pregnancy test and it came out positive! I'm really excited and scared about this all at the same time. This will be my first. I am scared & concerned b/c this happened a lot sooner than I had expected as I am still working on bringing my A1c down to 6. My last one was 8.2. I also see my endo next Wed. Then, I have my OBGYN appt. on the following Wed.
Here is where I kind of need some help or advice...I have started taking prenatal vitamins and have been checking my sugars about 6 - 8 times a day as opposed to my usual 4x a day. I've been able to stay in control so far, but I find that I'm eating less (as foods don't appeal to me as they used to & I will have random cravings), but eating less also makes me hungry like every 2 hours. With all this in mind, I have also found (especially in the past couple of nights) that my sugars having been dropping low in the middle of the night as well as in the morning when I wake up. I have lowered my basal rates on my pump during these times and I get up as soon as I feel the low to eat a piece of fruit or drink a glass of milk. However, I am finding that these lows still come and they exhaust me to the point that I just want to sleep most of the day. I'm afraid I also might be starving the embryo that is developing. My endo appt. cannot come any sooner. Please, please...anyone w/experience in this who can make some suggestions for me until I can speak to my endo, I would greatly appreciate it.
Congratulations! I bet that is very exciting and very scary!
I don't have a whole lot of advice, except that protein can really help even out BG over time, so make sure you're eating some protein with each of your 2 hour meals. Good luck with your endo and obgyn! keep us updated!
Thanks, ajax! I try to eat protein w/my meals, but that's one of those foods that doesn't appeal to me right now. LOL! I usually like cottage cheese too, but that makes me wanna puke when I look at it now! I can eat yogurt though. I've been eating a lot of yogurt. I find meats & seafood hard to stomach right now as well, so I've been trying nuts, beans, & soy. Any other protein alternatives u can think of? I'll definitely keep u guys updated. Thanks again!
My wife is a non-D but I can tell you her first few months of each pregnancy sound much like what you're describing. One bit of comfort her OB offered was as follows: You can think of your embryo as the worlds most efficient parasite. Even if you are starving, chances are good, it won't be. Eating well and eating enough are still important to keeping mom healthy too but it really sounded like there was at least one less reason to panic. ;)
Congratulations - I can't imagine more exciting (and life changing) news!
I know you're eager to hear from the folks who have T1, but I just wanted to say congratulations! I was just exploring your wedding pictures----you are so beautiful! What an exciting year for you.
I know nothing about T1 and pregnancy, but I have had two babies. All I wanted to do was sleep the entire pregnancy, but particularly the 1st trimester. It's a lot of work growing a baby! Start making those lists of questions for the endo and the ob.
Congrats Lady! Deep breathes! It's so overwhelming to find out you're pregnant even if it was planned, but you'll make it through!!
Lots of women can't eat much the first trimester, and I promise the baby won't starve. I lost 10 lbs my first trimester and my endo was worried, but I think the embryo was just taking all my nutrients, and my son was absolutely fine. I also ran super low during the night when I was pregnant. The baby tended to be active at night, so I imagine he was stealing all the glucose from my body. (; My husband woke me up 1-2x's a night the whole pregnancy so I could drink some juice (even with my cgm which I sometimes sleep through).
When you see your endo, ask for a referral to a high risk pregnancy doctor (either called a maternal-fetal-medicine specialist or a perinatologist). Then, you'll typically need an OB as well if that specialist doesn't deliver babies. Your endo should definitely have some doctors she's worked with in the past. Then, you can set up a system to send her your numbers once a week. I'd had D for around 25 years and felt like I knew everything when I got pregnant, but I still needed tons of help from my endo to adjust my insulin. It's just a whole new ballgame. So, your increased testing is a great idea. You may find you feel more comfortable testing even more often.
I'd also see a retinopathist right away, When women bring down their a1c's very quickly for a pregnancy, there's a slight risk of retinal damage, so it's good to be checked each trimester.
You'll have a lot of appts for the next 9 months, but you'll get to see ultrasounds of your baby about 10x more often than "regular" Moms -- that kept me going to all those stupid appts each week, knowing I'd see him on the monitor again. (:
Send me a message if you have questions! There are also other pregnant T1's in the "diabetes and pregnancy" forum on here, so you might want to check them out.
My daughter is T1, not me, but I remember being really, really tired during my first trimester. Your body is doing a lot of work to prepare for the baby. It's awesome how it works that way.
I would love to hear how it goes throughout your pregnancy just to get the T1 perspective for my daughter later (much later) in the future.
@ Sarah: Thank you so much for your sound advice. It does make me feel much better that what I'm feeling is "normal". I have been making my list of questions for my endo & OB (b/c I have SOOOOO many!). LOL! I hope my insurance doesn't start hating me b/c I just had shoulder surgery and now they're about to find out I'm pregnant! I may have some questions for you along the way. Thanks for adding me so I can do so. ;o) Yesterday was the worst. I was super nauseous all day but soooo freaking hungry. It was a vicious cycle.
To Everyone else: Thank you so much for the congratulatory wishes! While physically, I'm not yet enjoying this, mentally I'm super stoked. I'll keep you all updated through the process. I think I'm also going to start a blog of my journey as a T1 Diabetic experiencing her 1st pregnancy. I want to make it like a diary, documenting the progress and all the doctor appts., the ups & downs of dealing w/diabetes & pregnancy together, etc. I think it will be therapeutic for me.
I know you're eager to hear from the folks who have T1, but I just wanted to say congratulations! I was just exploring your wedding pictures----you are so beautiful! What an exciting year for you.
I know nothing about T1 and pregnancy, but I have had two babies. All I wanted to do was sleep the entire pregnancy, but particularly the 1st trimester. It's a lot of work growing a baby! Start making those lists of questions for the endo and the ob.
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Thanks so much Angie! I feel much better knowing that the hardships I'm going through now seem to be the normal experiences other women had during their 1st trimester. I was so worried before b/c my sister seemed so strong during both of her pregnancies. She got some morning sickness, but she still continued to go to work and work long hours. I just don't see how she did that b/c I can't seem to get out of bed before 10a now and around 12:30p, I'm already ready for a nap! Is the 1st trimester the worst part of it? I hope so. It's not fun.
Congratulations!! It's a scary and exciting time for you trust me i know. It's been about four years since I was pregnant but i do remember having terrible lows during my first trimester. one time so low that my husband had to call an ambulance for me because i wouldn't respond to him at all. I was taking shots when I was pregnant and remember having to cut my lantus dose almost in half during the first several months of pregnancy.
but aside from the lows, I had a very uneventful pregnancy my doctors never considered me high risk and I delivered a very healthy little boy 2 days past my due date:). I tested about 8-10 times a day, and kept my a1c in the low 6's for the entire pregnancy but besides that, I pretty much ate what i wanted, when i wanted, just giving myself the insulin i needed to cover it. So enjoy your pregnancy because it is an awesome thing.
let me know if you have any questions I would love to offer any advice that I can give.
Congratulations! That is so exciting!!! I am about 17 weeks now and I spent the whole first trimester basically taking naps and eating because I was low all the time. I am still testing about 15 times a day. Tomorrow I hope to find out if it is a boy or girl! It sounds like what you are experiencing is very normal. I am sure your doctor will adjust your basal rates and eating small snacks throughout the day really helps. You need your rest though- you're making a little person in there! If I can help, I will be happy to! Good luck! =)
Thanks so much Angie! I feel much better knowing that the hardships I'm going through now seem to be the normal experiences other women had during their 1st trimester. I was so worried before b/c my sister seemed so strong during both of her pregnancies. She got some morning sickness, but she still continued to go to work and work long hours. I just don't see how she did that b/c I can't seem to get out of bed before 10a now and around 12:30p, I'm already ready for a nap! Is the 1st trimester the worst part of it? I hope so. It's not fun.
I don't know if I would call the 1st trimester the worst...It was hard, and the 2nd trimester was the best, but the last two months are hard too, just as far as having more weight to carry, having a different gravity center, and the baby being so big and sitting on your bladder...it's a different hard...but fun! By then you'll have felt the baby move and kick, and you will see different body parts poking out and kicking you through the outside of your stomach. Oh, this is bringing back good memories for me. Enjoy your pregnancy and savor every moment of it!
Congrats and I have gone through this twice with no problems. you will find that you will have to test much more frequently during the pregnancy than you ever have, because your numbers swing so much. I was adjusting my basal rates weekly it seemed like. I normally test about 8-10 times a day but I think I was closer to 18 times a day with my pregnancies. Work closely with your endo and you should be able to work through things. Having a pump makes it much easier because you can tweak your rates as you go. And I found afer both of my pregancies that the day after I gave birth I had to go back to my regular pre-pregancy rate. Don't forget to write down what those rates were because after 9 months as much as you want to remember, you may not. Pregnancy is a crazy roller coaster on blood sugars, but it is worth the effort and bother in the end. Trust me! Keep us posted please!
My first pregnancy was hard, but I had aa lot of support from friends and family. I started seeing Gary at Integrated Diabetes Services. Gary is a T1 and an Diabetes Educator. He helped me to regulate my BS better, especially when I could not get a hold of my endo. This was extremely helpful. My A1C was the lowest it ever was since I was diagnosed. If it is of any help, he does do consultations over the phone, e-mail, fax. The number is 610-642-6055. Good luck and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
I was diagnosed with T1 november 2009, nine months after the birth of my daughter. I was 26. I am now on the animas one touch and have just found out last week I am pregnant. My last A1C was 7 but I am still scared of random highs and the effects on baby?! I was pregnant in October but miscarried, for unknown reasons.
I am scared but excited as well. I haven't had too many unexplained lows yet but Im sure they are coming. My biggest fear is the baby not developing the way he/she should because of my bg control. I cant find much information about it on the net. It scares me that the risks for baby are higher and I am wondering if this is every pregnant T1 concern?