Not the perfect diabetic

ljwhite1983

Member
Messages
6
Hi everyone

I've bee reading loads and loads of posts in this forum and find it really inspiring all the woman who are really focused on getting their blood sugars spot on before they conceive. So so many good news stories. :) :)

Question is.....is there anyone who's blood sugar wasn't perfect at the start or pregnancy wasn't planned and could you share your story please?

Thank you xxx
 
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Scandichic

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,708
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
Dislikes
Michael Gove and his insane educational? policies!
Am sure there will be. Am bumping your post, hoping someone will respond!
 

Bethgabs

Well-Known Member
Messages
48
Hi there on my first pregnancy wasnt planned and i wasn't ever really looking after my diabetics properly when i fell out i changed my life around and made sure they were tightly controlled.
But they still were up and down due to hormones.
I hear stories about people not knowing they were pregant and not tightly controlled b/s xx
 
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
My a1c was >14% when I found out I was pregnant, however there were complications therefore have not had a successful pregnancy. In a way I appreciate the second chance to get my BGs down. x
 

xsedgex

Newbie
Messages
3
Currently 6 weeks pregnant, wasn't planned as my overall diabetes control has not been great! In July my hba1c was 13% plus! Had bloods done last week and I've managed to drop down to 9% and conceive!

Now just to focus on getting my bloods down more for the baby and me! I'm really worried but have been told to relax a little so I'm just hopping all runs ok
 

Natalia76

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi,have just joined this site as have found out this week that I am pregnant. It is a lovely and extremely welcome surprise but have managed to get myself into a right tizz. I was wondering if anyone could offer advice. I am a type 1 diagnosed in 1981 and am currently on an insulin pump but have got uncontrolled blood sugars up until this week. I admit I am or at least I was a very lazy bad diabetic. I am expecting my Hba1c to be around 10 and I am terrified that I will get told that I have damaged the pregancy and it is not viable. Since I found out I am pregnant I have been doing blood sugars like no ones business but am scared the damage has been done. Everything I have read is so critical and negative that I am scaring myself. I have yet to hear of any success stories so was wondering if there were any people on here who have experienced anything similar. Sorry if this is wrong forum for this. Thank you so much.
 

JessP

Well-Known Member
Messages
139
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
HI Natalia,
first thing - massive congratulations on your pregnancy! Please don't panic.
Yes the risks are slightly higher if your BMs are not well controlled but equally a lot of women who have slightly less well controlled diabetes have completely normal pregnancies and healthy babies. You have done exactly the right thing by starting to test more frequently....what are your BMs ranging between? The most important ones to get under control is your 1 or2hr post-prandial levels. If you have a look on the NICE website they have the cutoffs that you should b aiming for. Be careful though, you don;t want to go to the other extreme and have dangerous hypos!
Have you gotten in touch with your DSNs/diabetes team? They should see you asap and be able to help with getting things sorted.
Are you on folic acid? As diabetics we need to take 5mg daily (non diabetic women are on 400micrograms) which needs to be prescribed by the GP so get that asap if you can.
If you have any questions I found this forum really useful with a lot of the girls having some great ways of managing things.
Good luck getting things under control, let us know how you get on!
BW
Jess
 

Just_me

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Hello everyone! I just wanted to stop by and say you are not alone! I am 11 weeks pregnant and my controls haven't been great, unexpected pregnancy and now I have sleepless nights thinking I have caused irreversible damage. My last hab1c last year was 7.7 but they were only repeated 2 weeks ago so I am waiting for the results. I do know that they will be no where near as good but i haven't been as strict in recent months which I am really regretting now. I am completely fear stricken and just don't know what i would do if this pregnancy doesn't go well. I am trying to think positively and test my levels all the time. Just worried its too late!

Wishing you all the best. Please keep me posted!
 
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Madelinelowery

Well-Known Member
Messages
135
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi, I have recently found out I am pregnant this week!! It was a shock but me and my partner have been planning to conceive early next year so it's wonderful news! My average blood sugar is 7.8% so it's not horrendous but I am still worried!
I'm constantly checking my sugars and ever since I found out I'm eating the right foods but my sugars are all over the place, any advice would be brilliant at this stage, I think I'm 5 weeks pregnant!
X
 

sarahleslie

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Very new to this...but whittling on my own was doing no good!
Would love to start a family very soon, never had good control & find the whole thing soooo hard :-( I have spoken to my diabetic nurse and she has said no trying till my hba1c is 7.3% :-( The last one was 10% and this is the lowest it has been in 5 years.
I am so scared about it all but really want a baby :-/ I feel jealous of everyone else who can have nice normal pregnancies and don't have to worry about getting pregnant :-(
#weighlifted #diabeticlife
 

Just_me

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Very new to this...but whittling on my own was doing no good!
Would love to start a family very soon, never had good control & find the whole thing soooo hard :-( I have spoken to my diabetic nurse and she has said no trying till my hba1c is 7.3% :-( The last one was 10% and this is the lowest it has been in 5 years.
I am so scared about it all but really want a baby :-/ I feel jealous of everyone else who can have nice normal pregnancies and don't have to worry about getting pregnant :-(
#weighlifted #diabeticlife

Hi Sarah!

I am currently 16 weeks pregnant, my pre-pregnancy hab1c was 7.3 but I've read that the ideal is actually 6. Before I was pregnant I was on metformin and injected insulin once a day, my levels were ok but overall my doctor was pleased with my progress as I was slowly getting them down.

Now that I am pregnant I am been finding it extremely hard to get my levels in the normal pregnancy range. It used to be no more than 9 after meals but now my aim is no more than 7.8 - it's been really stressful and worrying. I've now had to increase to taking 2 shots of long acting insulin to twice a day and added another fast acting insulin for meal times, so thats now 5 injections a day plus my usual metformin.

I also have PCOS as well as diabetes, I'm 29 years old, this is my first pregnancy and I never thought I could conceive naturally, let alone even get pregnant.

Sorry for such a long post, I just wanted to let you know that being pregnant and diabetic is not easy, I'm worried all the time and often up at night because I can't sleep from the stress but with a good medical team behind you, you can do it!

If you really want to start conceiving, I would recommend you speaking to your doctor as there are some medications that you shouldn't take when trying to conceive. It's definitely an emotional rollercoaster but if you could seriously try and get your hab1c down, it'll be an amazing feeling and a great achievement and it'll help your mental wellbeing. I often worry about what my high sugar levels are doing to my unborn child but I've tried to remain positive. It is daunting when my monitor gives me a high reading and I'm often in tears at the doctors because I am honestly doing everything I should.

It took me nearly 4 years to get my levels down to an acceptable range but still not perfect! I completely understand how you feel, I sometimes feel alone because noone around me knows what its like to have diabetes, especially now that I am pregnant.

Please feel free to private message me. Maybe we can help encourage each other :)

Wish you all the best on your path to motherhood!
 
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Just_me

Member
Messages
15
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Insulin
Hi, I have recently found out I am pregnant this week!! It was a shock but me and my partner have been planning to conceive early next year so it's wonderful news! My average blood sugar is 7.8% so it's not horrendous but I am still worried!
I'm constantly checking my sugars and ever since I found out I'm eating the right foods but my sugars are all over the place, any advice would be brilliant at this stage, I think I'm 5 weeks pregnant!
X

Hi!

Big congratulations on your pregnancy!! Please visit your GP asap so you can get referred to the diabetic antenatal clinic. Baby is going to make it harder to control your levels, no matter how good you are so you'll probably have to review your medications frequently throughout your pregnancy to help keep you in range. Currently I speak to the diabetic specialist every 2 days so please don't be alarmed if you're finding it hard to get in range.

Best of luck in your pregnancy :)
 

anna29

Well-Known Member
Retired Moderator
Messages
4,789
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Insulin
Dislikes
Cruelty to Animals/Children
Liars/Manipulators/Bullying
Lovely thread here :)
All you mums to be - helping and supporting each other so well .

Heart warming posts to read and can really feel the friendly
positive vibes of support here . :playful:

Am proud of you all - please do let us all know your new baby news too .
We would love to hear these . x
 

kirstfinley

Well-Known Member
Messages
116
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Very new to this...but whittling on my own was doing no good!
Would love to start a family very soon, never had good control & find the whole thing soooo hard :-( I have spoken to my diabetic nurse and she has said no trying till my hba1c is 7.3% :-( The last one was 10% and this is the lowest it has been in 5 years.
I am so scared about it all but really want a baby :-/ I feel jealous of everyone else who can have nice normal pregnancies and don't have to worry about getting pregnant :-(
#weighlifted #diabeticlife

hi Sarah,

Im in the exactly Sam position as you, I rebelled a lot in my teens and did not control my diabetes in a manageable way. I am now 23 and cannot wait to have a family BUT I would strongly recommend controlling your diabetes before hand!! My hb levels are on there way down, it's hard work but if you put the time and effort in you will be fine!

Xxxx
 

sarahleslie

Member
Messages
9
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Insulin
Need to be brave & have another hba1c done and see where I'm at:-/
What makes it worse is that I am a Sonographer working in antenatal so I do the ultrasound scans...& well too much knowledge and all that Jazz...#scared
 

nuttyloop52

Newbie
Messages
1
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
I had a 7.7 at conception ( 6weeks first scan) ( was 9.8 prior to that not sure how it got to 7.7). Uneventful pregnancy. No morning sickness. Few highs, loads of hypos. Just kept upping insulin when I needed to. Gorgeous little boy 6 lb11oz at 39 weeks. Forceps. Doctor wanted hba1c of 6. Must say pregnancy is the biggest motivation in a diabetic's life to sort their sugars out. Got mine to 5.9 but doc said too low and made me bring it up to around 6.3-6.5. Good luck everyone. Wishing you happy and healthy pregnancies.
Also just for information. Prior to pregnancy I was on Lantus and Humalog a total of 60 units a day, at the end of my pregnancy I was on over 4 times that!
 

the_anticarb

Well-Known Member
Messages
1,045
Dislikes
Spiders, winter, bills, ignorance, prejudice
I was not well controlled when I fell pregnant with my son, my hba1c was apx 10. I was petrified I'd damaged the baby but he was perfect! I read that the chances of a miscarriage are about 1 in 9 with a hba1c at that level, so there is an 8/9 chance the baby will be ok. It's high, but still means there is much more chance the baby will be ok. I worried myself sick all pregnancy and it did ruin the experience a little. with my daughter I planned it and was apx 7 before getting pregnant so a lot better.
 
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