Hey there, I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant and have been T1 since I was 11, so about 18 years. We're so excited and I literally can't stop jumping around I'm so happy. BUT, a new feeling is creeping over me... anxiety! We lost our first baby (completely unrelated to my diabetes,) but I'm sure that's also why I'm a nervous wreck.. My sugar has been pretty unpredictable and even spiked to almost 300 last night! My last A1c was a 7, and I wear a pump and CGM sensor. I'm testing all the time and counting the days until I see my endo... I'm so worried, I want to cry.. It hovers most of the day around 90-130, but as soon as it starts creeping up I just fall apart. I know this anxiety and stress can't be good for my developing baby.
I guess my question is, has anyone experienced the same spikes (although only a few) and still had a healthy pregnancy? Has anyone encountered any problems with their baby due to these spikes in the beginning? Do I need to completely cut out carbs?? I just need some advice, please help!
First of all congratulations! Being pregnant is truly a miracle and a blessing! I was having similar problems the beginning of my pregnancy, my endo had to adjust my basal rates and my carb ratios. Have u tried that yet? Ur A1C is already better than mine was in the beginning so ur on a good start! Your endo is probably going to want your numbers lower, I know mine did. They can get pretty strict with your numbers during pregnancy. If you listen to your endo and obgyn and just keep up the good work, everything should be fine! My pregnancy, although there were some spikes highs and lows, was healthy and my son was born at 39 weeks and 1 day 100 % healthy (except for a quick drop in his sugar immediatly after birth but they were able to control that ASAP) and is now a rambunctious, hyper, healthy 2 year old. Good luck on your journey!
Thank you so much Sarah! I see my endo on July 3rd, and I'm sure there will at least be some carb ratio adjusting. It's nice to know I'm not the only one who had some trouble in the beginning, thanks again!
First of all... calm down!! I think it's something like over 50% of women lose a baby and lots don't even know about it. Sorry to hear that, but you and your baby are going to be fine. Stress can be bad for both of you. So take a deep breath and relax. I have been type 1 since I was 8. I'm now 30. My A1C was 6.5 when I got pregnant and 6.1 through most of the pregnancy. HOWEVER, I had some CRAZY sugars!! We did some traveling in Europe for 2 weeks at the beginning of my 2nd trimester. The time change, the walking, the different food all messed me up. I got down to 27 in Pompeii! I also hit a few 400's. I'd say throughout my whole pregnancy I had between 15 - 25 sugars under 40, between 4-7 sugars in the 400's and about 10-15 in the 300s and I can't count how many 200's I had. That WONT affect your baby as long as you don't let it stay that way! If your creeping up past 170 do something about it. If your fine one minute and then 400 the next ( take a shot) don't wait for your pump, it might be malfunctioning or in tissue that isn't absorbing as well. My doctor said it's when your blood sugar is consistantly high that it takes a toll on the baby. You're going to spike. Take some insulin drink some water. The constant stress your putting your self through is worse than the occasional high or low blood sugars. My baby boy Brady was born perfectly healthy. He had a low blood sugar but that is normal when type 1s deliver. They just get them to feed asap. The doctor did have to induce me 3 wks early but that was b/c my blood pressure spiked one day, it had nothing to do with the diabetes. The little guy wasn't ready to come out so after about two days of labor (on drugs the whole time of course!) they finally decided to cut the little guy out. THANK GOD! He was perfect. He was 5.10 oz. No problems at all. Never got sick until he started day care at 4 months! My doctor even asked a few months later if I was ready to have another one!! Did you know that most type 1's have smaller babies? That is b/c you eat healthier (if your a good type 1 that is) and you don't gain as much weight. I gained 26 pounds. Also, the baby wont take as much from your body as it would a non diabetic mom. It's nature's way of knowing you (the diabetic mom ) need to keep some of the calories , nutrients etc. for your health.
So, I hope this helps. Feel free to look me up on Facebook if you want to ask more questions as I don't check this site too often. P.s You think you have spikes now, wait until your breast feeding!! (If you decide to do that!! )
Hailey! You are a Godsend!!! What a perfect response to all my concerns... I teared up just reading through it (darned emotions...) You are so right.. Sounds like we are the same kind of diabetic. All I can do is the absolute best I can and not worry (for at least my baby's sake) I didn't realize that spikes and drops (although short-lived) were common. I have a good average and getting better, so thank you SO much for responding, I feel less stressed already. We've just moved to WA, and I hope my new endo is as knowledgeable and informative as yours!
You're welcome. I remember how scary it was. Usually the person that will scare you the most is the OB especially if they are not HIGH RISK doctors. I went to a high risk OB and he said i was not high risk enough to need to see him (except for every 3 months for an ultrasound) he wanted my regular Doctor to deliver me and watch me unless he saw anything in the ultrasounds. My regular OB has not worked with many type 1s and kept saying things that would worry my husband but I knew it was not right (they were comparing me with a type 2 and gestational) let me know if this happens to you. It can get very frusterating. At one point during the end of my PERFECTLY healthy pregnancy they started talking about wanting to do an amnio centesis (since I had, had a few high blood sugars altho my a1c was 6.1) I called my HIGH RISK and told them and he said "NO WAY" and called them and told them that was not necessary. I was freaked out. That is when they take a bid long needle into your belly and hope they don't hit the baby! Anyways, once again. Just be healthy. Eat good nutricious foods like I did ( McDonalds, pizzza, spaghetti :) all with a side of veggies and fruits of course!) take your prenatal (prescription strenght not over the counter. YOu need the highest FOLIC ACID you can get. And treat your highs immediatly and try not to over treat your lows. How far a long are you? At a certain point the baby's pancrease starts to work and then you can take another deep breath!
I am 5 1/2 months pregnant right now and when I first found out, actually they day I found out my blood sugar was 330 and my a1c was 8.9. I tried to keep myself as calm as possible, although it was extremely difficult. I emailed my endo the night I found out and we started figuring things out right away. In the very beginning I had more highs until I got my basals/bolusing better. My endo told me to correct at two hours if I was high and after two months I went from 8.9 to 7.2. In three months I was already down to 6.1.
I check every two hours and if I am higher than 120ish during the day I correct. At night I don't do that because I tend to go low if I correct before bed, so i let the basal take over. My husband sets an alarm for 3am and checks me. If I am higher than 150 he will wake me up and tell me to correct and if I am low he gets me glucose.
Something I realized right away was that when my husband started helping me with the diabetes part I didn't feel as overwhelmed with all of the checking and things started feeling easier. Although, at times he can be a bit overbearing with the diabetes police thing. I am not sure if you are married or not but, to ease some of the anxiety let your significant other help you. I am telling you it was the best thing I have ever done and I am not one to let others into my diabetes care but, boy did it relieve some stress. Especially in the middle of the night.
If you learn to correct right away you will notice a huge difference at your next a1c because you aren't staying high for a long period of time.
Oh one other thing that I want to mention is that at I think about 7-8 weeks I started getting morning sickness, uncontrollable throwing up. If you do (which I hope you don't) get morning sickness it lasts ALL DAY and they have meds that are safe for you to take. Call your OB right away because becoming dehydrated can cause you to go into DKA. I couldn't eat or even drink anything at all without the meds. Prenatals can also cause nausea and if you feel that they are making you sick to your stomach tell your doctor.
I am taking one a day gummies and they seem to be working and a prescription folic acid pill. I also drink V8 low sodium once a day, and ensure at breakfast. I felt like I wasn't getting enough nutrients because I really don't feel that hungry during the day which is why I started drinking the nutrients.
The baby has been doing well and growing normally. The diabetes has actually gotten much easier and I don't know why I had so much trouble getting my a1c down before getting pregnant!
If you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to ask!!
I am currently 13.5 weeks pregnant with my 2nd child. I developed gestational diabetes with my first, and was diagnosed with T1 at my 6 week check up after I had her. I found out I was pregnant at 5 weeks and was able to see my endo shortly thereafter. I have had CRAZY highs(1-2 around 400, 10 or so around or over 300, and too many 200s to count) and LOTS of lows(20-30!!) My endo said not to worry too much about the lows (as far as the baby is concerned) bc the baby will pull glucose from you, and not to worry about the highs unless they stay high for a few hours. So far, if my bs is high, I correct and it comes right back down, as usual. I am concerned about insulin resistence in the 3rd trimester, BUT, it's all going to be worth it in the end :) GOOD LUCK!!
Congrats on being pregnant! I was the exact same way when I found out: completely nervous and terrified, especially because I kept getting unexplained highs. I was measuring and weighing every piece of carbohydrate I put in my mouth and nothing was working. It was like none of the settings on my pump were right--and really, they weren't. Being pregnant changes EVERYTHING you ever knew about your diabetes. I was fortunate that my high risk OB knew to recommend a program through a company called Alere that my husband's insurance covers. I was assigned a nurse who has made adjustments to my basal and bolus rates all throughout my pregnancy. Your endo should be able to do the same thing for you. One of the BEST pieces of advice my nurse gave me is to AVOID MILK AND FRUIT at breakfast and right before bed. She also advised not to exceed 20 grams of carbohydrate at breakfast. Doing those two things completely helped me regain control and I've been able to avoid the ripple effect that being high after breakfast was causing me for the rest of the day. I'm now 37 weeks along and doing great. I hope that helps! Best of luck to you! :)
How are you doing? How is it going? Are you more relaxed now? You know your emotions can also make your sugars spike b/c of a hormone that releases. Update on how your doing.
I am a month behind you! About 4-5 weeks along now. (this is my first, and we had almost identical A1Cs 6.9 was my last)
I feel your panic. Usually when I test and I'm 200 I feel defeated, like stepping on the scale and finding out I've gained a few pounds. Now when I check and I'm creeping up I go into panic mode, checking constantly to the point of over correction! I've been catching them before they get too high, 212 is my highest so far, but they seem to be spiking for no reason. This morning I ate so carefully, took exactly what I should, and then an hour later was 180 :( Feels like I have a long rocky road ahead of me.
I am right there with you. I know this was written several months ago, but I am about 5 weeks along and my blood sugars have been erratic at best! I want so badly for everything to be perfect and healthy, but I cant help having the same anxiety as you and feeling like I'm doing irreversible damage to my little peanut of a baby! I have found encouragement on this site, but I feel like everyone has much better control than I do! I'm praying for you! I hope all is well with you and your baby now!