I am 22 years old. I have been type 1 diabetic since I was 10. This morning I found out I was pregnant. My diabetes control is no where near where it should be. I was working on getting myself some health insurance, but being diabetic that was nearly impossible, and now that I am pregnant, I fear it's not doable at all. I am probably going to lose my job because my type of work is very unique. I will probably have to get on medicaid, but I'm worried that I will be limited to the doctors that the health department has, and I NEED to see specialists. My last two AIC's were 7.5, and most recent, 7.7. I am absolutely terrified for myself and my unborn baby. ANY advice or suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.
Hi Megan.
First, congratulations on the coming baby! I know you're very worried, but pregnancy and babies are such a blessing, so take some time to let yourself be excited about this too!
Second, I would think Medicaid would cover Endocrinologists, but even if they don't, many obstetricians want to handle your diabetes while you're pregnant anyway.
Also, if Medicaid isn't working for you, you may be able to negotiate with an endocrinologist, obstetrician, and hospital to bring down costs paid in cash, and/or get on a payment plan. You can also ask your family to help pitch in, once you know the costs, or a church near you.
And just to let you know, I started off my pregnancy with a 7.6 A1C and (after bringing it down to 5.9 and 6.2 for the rest of the pregnancy) had a beautiful, perfectly normal and healthy baby girl, 2 days early, 7 lbs. 20 inches. Not too big, not too small, and never had problems with her blood sugars. So even though your A1Cs are not perfect, they are probably not too high to have done real damage to the baby.
Finally, be sure to talk to a LOT of people in your area about your situation and needs. Even if they don't understand diabetes, they may know someone who knows someone who can help.
Out of curiosity, how did you keep your A1C's even that low with no health insurance for insulin?
Good luck! Work hard to find the care you and your baby needs, and to bring down your A1C, and it will all pay off in the end with a beautiful, healthy baby! You can do it!
Thanks for the reply! Many times, if I ran out of insulin, I would just go to the ER, to ask for a prescription or samples. Last year I started going to a Free clinic, but they don't handle pregnancies. I'm hoping that I qualify for medicaid, although, I don't see why I wouldn't! I have been checking my blood sugar several times a day, and making sure it stays where it needs to! It's funny how fast I got myself together when I found out there was a little one inside of me! Very excited and nervous! And of course emotional. Lol Thanks so much for the input! It made me feel quite a bit better!
Most medicaid plans have special programs just for pregnant women and even for diabetic pregnant women. I'm not sure what state you live in, but look into it. They also cover endo appts and obgyn appts plus all the extra visits you're going to need due to the Diabetes. When I found out I was pregnant, I also had to get on medicaid b/c I had a small part time job and no health insurance. The programs they had were great and my pregnancy was HEALTHY and my son was born at 39 weeks 2 days, natural birth and perfectly healthy. Look into the programs you're state offers with the medicaid plans. I know in NJ, you choose an HMO plan with the medicaid & thats where I got the special programs. Congrats on your pregnancy! As long as you monitor frequently, take your insulin and see your obgyn and endo regularly, your pregnancy should go smoothly! Best of luck!
I am currently pregnant and have type 1 diabetes and when I found out that I was pregnant, I knew I had to get on medicaid because of the situation I was in. It isn't a long process and you can go online to fill out the appropriate forms for it. After they have received them, they will call and set up a meeting and will ask you to bring certain forms like birth certificate and social security info, pay stubs, bank statements.. things like that. It took me a week or maybe just a few days more to be approved and I have been successful through the pregnancy. And as stated earlier they typically will just do the ob doc to handle the diabetes as well. And when I found out of my pregnancy my a1c was an 8, it is now at 5.5 and the baby has had no problems as far as the tests. I hope that helps and good luck!