Pregnant and Hospital are being a nightmare!!

[Danlie]

Hi, I am new to this forum site, but I feel lost and thought that someone on here might be able to make me feel more at ease.

Basically i am nearly 6 weeks pregnant, it was a shock, but my partner and I are both very happy. I have been diabetic since I was 7 and like a few of you on here, I have never really had good control over it, through no fault of my own, it just never stays the same, i could eat and do the same thing every day for a week and it would never stay in control! I have always suffered with lots of hypos especially during the night. I got put on a continuous blood monitor for 4 days/nights and it brought up that I was dropping at low as 2.1 during the night without waking, causing a rebound in the morning making me have levels in the teens!!

Since falling pregnant my sugars have been pretty well controlled, but I seem to be dropping into the 3's an hour and half after each meal, as I am trying so hard to have my levels between 5 and 6 before my meals and no higher than 7.8 after a meal - its proving even harder with lows! I eat well for example, porridge for breakfast, wholemeal sandwich and pack of crisps at lunch and then a proper dinner, for example last night i had wholemeal spaghetti bolognaise! my bloods were 8.2 before my porridge (a little high i know) then an hour later they were 7.8 but within 40 minutes of them being 7.8 they drop to 3.3!! But where i am getting confused is, if i did less insulin the result after an hour would be above 8, but then surely it would stop the hypo of 3.3 40 minute on?? I have been in touch with my diabetes nurses/dieticians, but i feel like because they are annoyed that i fell pregnant with a HbA1c of 9.8 they are in a "mood" with me about it and are very off towards me with regards to me needing help to control it! i feel like i am drinking lucozade and eating toast every 1.5 hours of the day!! I'm going to huge regardless of a baby bump!! I feel like they won't listen to me!! is anyone else experiencing so many lows approx 2 hours after their meals as they are having to keep their bloods below 7.8 an hour after meals!? Please help, I'm so scared that I may be damaging our baby and I really really don't want that!! I'm trying so hard to stay in control!

sorry for rambling but I feel i can't get help anywhere at the moment! I'm feeling very stressed which i also know is not good for the baby! X

 

[weeezer]

Oh I really feel for you. Pregnancy and type 1 is a full time occupation!

I really identify with the fear that you get about damaging baby...the first 8 weeks when the organs are developing are v stressful. All the hard work you're putting in now will be worth it.

i know the aim is to be 7.8 or below after one hour, but that is difficult to achieve without hypos isn't it!? I dont want to sway you from this goal, but I grew my 2 (2002 & 2009) without such strict requirements and just want to say they're both perfect & healthy. I still had to aim for strict control, but didnt have the goal of under 7.8 at one hour, it was slightly higher and two hours. I did fall pregnant last year, was shocked by the new 'rules' of pregnancy, and found it hard (unfortunately this pregnancy didnt continue, but something wasnt quite right from the start, so don't think my control played a part) I would feel v stressed if bg went above 8 but it did with my other pregnancies and nothing bad happened.

I know the goals have changed for god reason, but the stress this causes isn't healthy at all in my opinion.

As for weight gain, I put 5 stone on with each pregnancy, dodging all the hypos. But lost it with persistence & hard work after! (Only just completed the task recently and my little 'baby' is 3!!)

You should be getting full support from the hospital antenatal team, the fact that your a1c was not ideal is past history now...and they should be looking at the current picture. (All this extra work you're putting in will mean your next hba1c will be much better!) there are a few forum members who have fallen pregnant with higher a1c's...who have had healthy babies after hard work with controlling bg.

Ask to see a dietician for extra support. Please don't let the feeling that they are judging you put you off talking to them...you have another little life to worry about now, and that is where their priority should be also, rise above it!

Good luck on the journey, it's a tough one! But worth it! Any questions about anything do ask...there are lots of us who've also been on this journey and some will be along with their advice I expect...and some who are pregnant right now too! Take care of yourself xx


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[weeezer]

And...completely identify with the super low bg during night. My pregnancy in 2009 was full of hypos, really bad ones in the first trimester, I'd never required help from anyone else before, but needed it a few times then, make sure you have a glucagon shot in the fridge and a spare for backup. Make sure your partner is aware of what to do should you be so low you can't drink.

Still surfed hypo's all the way thru, but the worse ones were in the first few months.

Hope this isn't worrying you too much but forewarned is forearmed!!!! I didn't experience such a bad time with severe hypos (apart from a whopper during labour) the first time round so wasn't prepared for how quickly things could go wrong. Lucozade was my best friend in 2009!


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[weeezer]

P.S. sounds like you're doing a GREAT job, you should b me proud of yourself xxx


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[Danlie]

I was on the pill Superchip!!!!!!!! So there is no "get real" about it!!

Thank you so much for your kind words weeezer!! That has made me feel a lot better about things! I can't believe the person above being so rude!

Lucozade does seem to be my best friend and like you say, its very hard to have levels at 7.8 just an hour after eating and then not fall low another hour on from that. whereas if my bloods are only a little higher at 8.8 to 9.2, i don't seem to have the hypos! It is definitely hard work, but i will keep you posted on how things progress! thanks for the encouragement! x

 

[hanadr]

Dr Lois jovanovic is a world leading expert on the care of pregnant women with diabetes. Try getting some of her writing and Ithink you'll find it helpful.
Good luck to you and your baby
Hana

 

[Danlie]

Thank you hanadr! Anything is worth a go!

 

[Moaney]

Good luck...I'm trying for a baby but still no sign...I agree that u shldn't feel judged, my hb1c is 7.8 but it doesn't put me off trying, while I'm trying for a baby I'm also concentrating on getting good levels!! Also....falling pregnant whether on contraception or not....can b a shock to the system indeed!!! Do'h!!


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[Moaney]

Danlie,

I find Low Cal Lucazade does the trick if ur worrying about the 230 odd calories there is a one bottle!!!


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[Danlie]

Thanks Moaney!! Does it work as quickly as the normal lucozade? it's becoming such a money grabber too, having to buy all this lucozade all of the time! lol!! My baby will be orange colour at the rate i'm drinking it! lol

 

[Moaney]

Yea it does, teamed with a couple digestives or a banana. A bottle of full fat Juice as well....it's just as effective and half the calories!! Although, sorting out the hypos in the long run is more ideal! When I hypo I eat anything in sight until the feeling lifts and my waist line is starting to feel the effect!!


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[Hellbunny]

Hi I am type 1 and on baby number 3!
As we are aiming for 7.8 or below at 1hour, this often means a big drop (i usually find the drop happens at the 1hour 15minute mark after eating, so i will check at 1hour, be around 7, 15 minutes later down to 3-4, i haven't yet found any way around it other than either aiming for a higher 1hour reading, or drinking a mountful of lucozade at the 1hour mark to stop the drop, then having a banana or some toast, not exactly ideal!
I'm 22 weeks along now, and have daily hypos, i'm struggling with night times mostly, i am told to snack before bed (which will push me up to 11mmol or so) by the morning i am around a 6 which isn't good enough for them, it seems pointless to have to go to bed high, i'd rather go to bed on a 7, inject less and wake up with a 7 personally! Less high and low swings.

Sorry i don't have much advice, only i'm in the same boat and it seems i'm either running high to avoid hypos, or running too low so i lose my hypo awareness, or constantly snacking x

 

[Mr Happy]

As a man, my main experience of pregnancy was standing in the hospital with a hangover whilst the wife did the work.

But for the OP, surely your health professional should only be concerned with what's best for you. We all have a tendency to tell half truths or say what we think they want to hear. Speak openly and honestly to your nurse and tell them if you don't think you're getting the support.

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[nixiepixie]

Hi Danlie, congratulations on your pregnancy, how is everything going?

I am in a similar position to you, have recently discovered that i'm pregnant but i am very worried as my control has never been great. Like you said in your OP, i find I can do the same things day after day and yet get completely different results! I suppose i've never really tried hard enough (have been diabetic since i was 4, so struggling with this for 24 years now!) Now i know i am pregnant I am determined to really get on top of things, but these strict guidelines are REALLY hard to stick to! I'm basically having to test my sugar every hour or 2 to keep an eye on it and eat more or do a little more insulin to adjust it. I'm really hoping that this will get easier in time!!

I went to the Dr on Monday and i'm now waiting for the midwife team to get in touch. Does anyone know how long that will take? I am hoping they will get involved quickly as i think i'm going to need a lot of help and monitoring. i'm worried they are going to be angry with me as my hba1c is too high to get pregnant really (we weren't trying yet but we've just come back from our Honeymoon so i think that's when it must have happened)

anyway it would be really nice to hear from anyone who has been through this, i have no idea what to expect and i am feeling extra anxious as the last thing i want to do is put my baby at risk :-(

 

[Danlie]

Hi Hellbunny and Nixiepixie... congratulations on both of your pregnancies!!

It's nice to know that others are in the same position with the hypos like i am! i feel like I'm gaining so much weight as like you say hellbunny, bloods drop about 1 hour 15 after a meal, i check mine after a meal and they will be around 6 or 7 but then within the next 30 minutes they are at 3 and i find that i am drinking lucozade and having a snack!! I'm not even hungry and feel i am eating unnecessarily! Lucozade is the only thing that brings me around quick enough, the low cal one doesn't seem to work for me, like some have suggested.

It's my nightime ones which are really annoying me, i have my levemir at 10.30pm then at about 4am my bloods will be at about 8 or 9, if i don't do an injection by the time i wake up at 7am they will be at about 16 which is no good! but if i do just one more unit of levemir i end up having a hypo at about 2am!! I'm really stuck, so at the minute im having to inject 2 units at 4am all the time, which is now causing me to have a very interrupted sleeping pattern!! i just don't know what to do and the hospital do not seem to have a clue!!!!! between the diabetic nurse specialist, the dietician and the doctor, they all say different things!! hopeless!!

I had my early 7 week scan last week to check that the hear was beating and that was growing at a steady pace and everything was perfect, was so happy! now can't wait for my 12 week scan in June!! I am due on 25th december of all days!!!! I am trying to focus on the more positive things, but i am already showing and its hard to cover up from ppl at work, but just 4 and half more weeks and hopefully i can reveal all!

i am awaiting to see my new hba1c level as i am hoping it has come down somewhat since the one when i discovered i was first pregnant. i just don't want to do anything to harm my baby.

keep me up to date with how you are both doing throughout

 

[nixiepixie]

So pleased to hear your early scan was all ok!

I was contacted by the diabetic midwife yesterday (only 2 days after going to the Dr) So it seems like they are going to jump on this quickly, which i'm very happy and relieved about! I explained to her that i'm worried as my control has never been brilliant and my hba1c has always always been too high, but she was very reassuring. I have to keep track of all my results and food for a week and then call her to discuss. having a bad day today as started this morning at 15.6! and struggling to get it to come down, whilst trying to aviod giving too much insulin and ending up in a hypo. but heyho, will keep plodding on! never done so many blood tests in my life!

Just received my copy of "Think Like a Pancreas" which i'm very interested to start reading! Really hope it has some useful tips

Nixie xx

PS Danlie I think we are going to end up being due within a week or 2 of each other!!

 

[nixiepixie]

also Danlie must be soooo frustrating with your night jabs, knowing that one unit either way will result in a hypo, or high BG readings. I cannot think of anything to help, other than what you are already doing (which is not ideal!) Have you tried doing the extra unit but then eating something before you go to bed, wolud that perhaps stop you having a hypo?

Since i have been dieting and trying to eat less junk i have found my Glargine requirements have dropped dramatically, and even though it is supposed to be slow acting it seems to drop my blood sugar like a stone! So previously i've been purposely going to be a bit high, knowing that the Glargine will drop it. but obv now i don't want to be doing that. in the last 3 days i've done the same amount of glargine and in the mornings i have 1 hypo, one result of 7.7, and then this morning 15.6! :crazy:

 

[Danlie]

Hi Nixie!

i woke up at 4am with bloods of 9.2, had to do 2 units of novorapid, but then woke up at 3.3 by 6.15am had some lucozade then they were at 12.1, for breakfast i had porridge oats (at 8am) bloods were 8.2 at (9am) but then by 9.45am they were at 4.9 so had a cereal bar as a snack and now at 11.45am they are at 3.9!!!! even with having that cereal bar!! nightmare!! I'm sure this baby is going to be a whopper if it constantly wants all this food and energy! haha!

I have been keeping a food diary and checking my bloods literally every hour, my fingers look like they are full of holes and are starting to get really sore, but the diabetic team i'm finding are rubbish, they seem to be stuck on the fact that my hba1c was too high to be getting pregnant (which admittedly it was) BUT it's happened, so why can't they focus on trying to help me now not dwell on what my hba1c was when i fell pregnant! really annoys me!

this book you are on about sounds very interesting, might have to invest!

My midwife hasn't even got in touch with me yet, think i am going to have to make contact with her!!

It is very frustrating having to jab at 4am all the time, but i can't think of any other way around it, i have tried eating before bed like you say, but then if i don't do any novorapid, my bloods go high, but if i do then they drop! so I'm kind of in a pickle! but you can't ever sleep properly knowing that you have to wake every night at 4am (although i guess it will be preparing me for the midnight feeds when the baby comes along haha!)

I think im fretting about weight gain, as just before i fell pregnant i joined weight watchers and managed to drop to 9stone which i was really happy about but I'm on 7 and half weeks pregnant and already at 10 stone!!! i was 10.4 before i lost the weight, i'm dreading the size of myself by the time i'm ready to drop! i used to be on glargine but they put me on levemir which i have found is slightly better as i used to have at least 2 hypos during the night with glargine. i was taking 6 units of levemir in the morning and 7 at night, but we have cut out the morning levemir which has stopped some of the hypos during the day, but not all of them! phew it's hard work! hopefully all be worth it in the end!

Are you going to find out the sex of your baby or keep it as a surprise? I am in two minds about it! xx

 

[vans]

Hi All,
I'm in a similar boat - 12 weeks pregnant and finding those targets really hard to stick to!

A couple of things strike me Danlie
1) Have you thought about reducing your insulin to carb ratio? If you're injecting 1 unit for 10g of carbs, perhaps 1 unit for 11g or 12g would do the trick and stop the post meal hypos?
2) Your midwives really need to get over your higher hba1c at conception - like you say, it's done now so they need to help you moving forward. I'd consider putting in a complaint or at least threatening to if they don't desist in going on about it!

Don't have much to advise about the nighttime basal - I'm on a pump and it's so much easier to control cos I can have it changing from one hour to the next as required. Have you thought about asking for a pump whilst pregnant? Probably a long shot but might work?

I've been having lots of hypos too and was advised today to stop driving until my awareness improves but I was reassured that it would do after first trimester. I think in trying to keep that tight control, it means increased hypos but to be honest, my view on hypos is...as long as they're not severe and you can treat them yourself, I'd rather be low than high. This is true with my approach to my diabetes anyway but definitely during pregnancy cos it's the highs that will do harm...not the lows.

Anyway, it's all very exciting - don't worry too much about the weight gain - I've put on about 2 stone too and have a big bump despite only being 12 weeks! I think most of it is made of cake though

 

[LemonTree]

Hi Danlie

I'm currently trying to sort out my glucose levels prior to getting pregnant (if I can). Believe me, I know it's not easy and from what I've read, as soon as you are pregnant your levels shoot all over the place. Talk about moving the goal posts CONSTANTLY. I think any woman who can undertake this successfully needs a medal. Personally, I'm really nervous about it and reading all that I have - there's a lot of things to overcome/look forward to :crazy:

Anyway, that's not why I'm replying. I was thinking about your dips in glucose not too long after a meal. Could it be that what you are eating is digesting slower than you expect/normal? If you're not eating all the 'bad' stuff like white bread and things like that and trying to cut down on carbs, you could be digesting slower which would mean your insulin is working more quickly than your body is turning the food into sugar. If that is the case, rather than something like Lucazade (how do you spell it?!), perhaps you could try drinking a small glass of milk an hour or so after eating. There is some natural sugars in it but not too fattening (helps keep the weight off). If I have a mild hypo in the night I tend to drink some milk and it brings my sugar level up just enough without taking it soaring. You could also try the same with bananas. It could be that you will need to eat less at mealtimes but eat more often.

It's all such a fine balance. Keep us posted.