Planning

[Kateyo]

Hi ladies! I hope everyone is doing well with their pregnancies/newborns and those ttc are doing well with their pregnancy targets!
I am starting to think about planning for another little bundle of gorgeousness and, as some of you may know from previous posts, I unfortunately received a letter this year to say early changes had been found in my left eye it has taken a long time for me to get my head around this and it has kind of ruined my plans for the large family I had always wanted. I wanted to ask whether anyone had been through pregnancy with background retinopathy and how they found it - did it progress during or after? I got my letter after my pregnancy so not sure whether it developed during or whether it was there before but hadn't been communicated (as I think they changed the grading structure over the last year or two). Anyway if anyone would like to share their experience id really appreciate it

 

[Sarahstar82]

Hi @ Kateyo I've been diagnosed with background retinopathy in both eyes during my pregnancy. When I went for my first eye screening at about 12 weeks there was no signs of retinopathy. During the second trimester it showed up as having background retinopathy in both eyes. I'm due to have another eye screening in a couple of weeks. My hba1c was about 6.5 when I fell pregnant and through my pregnancy has fallen to 5.3. My daily blood sugars are good 90% of the time. I have had background retinopathy before, the first time was because my blood sugars weren't great, luckily I didn't need any treatment and it seemed to rectify itself and for years after stayed clear even though I still didn't have great control. The second time was not long after being on a pump, my control was so tight that within a month my hba1c went from around 10 to 6.9. I always believed that uncontrolled blood sugars caused it but apparently sudden changes and other factors can have an impact no matter how well controlled you are.

 

[Pitsgate]

I've had extensive laser in both eyes due to retinopathy, brought on by years of bad control, very fast improvement in control and pregnancy.
I had a few sessions before the pregnancy, and the eyes were fairly stable when I got pregnant. In the 3rd trimester they flared up (their terminology...) and I had more laser while pregnant.

After the birth, they kept a close look and tho the eyes did calm down after about 6 months, I still had laser quite a few times - last session earlier this year, almost 2 years after the pregnancy. Now again stable but with little room for further lasering and with some swelling (not sure if that is retinopathy related, maybe it is the next stage of it).

Obviously I feared this would rule another child out, but the consultant was pretty positive and said to go ahead. While simultaneously pointing out that of course they can never predict what the eyes will do...
Currently about 12 weeks pregnant with the 2nd and so far so good.

Sorry - bit of a long winded way of putting it, but if my totally cauterised eyes can take it you should be ok. Best thing is to get in touch with your eye team & speak with them (or do it via your endo).
And then make sure you attend the eye check ups during pregnancy, you should have 1 every trimester.

 

[Sarahstar82]

Congratulations @Pitsgate, this is my second pregnancy too! Currently 34 weeks. I never had eye screening with my first so did not know that pregnancy could affect the eyes.

 

[Kateyo]

Thank you both so much for taking the time to reply @Sarahstar82 @Pitsgate and congratulation on your pregnancies I just never expected that letter yet especially as my control has always been good but maybe it was the extra pressure placed on the eyes during pregnancy that was all it took, I'll probably never know! I'm planning on speaking to a specialist to get some advice so that I can make an informed decision although I know that ultimately I'm the only one can decide and no Dr is going to tell me all will be ok. I'm having a nightmare of a time at the minute with spikes and feel like everything is just out of my control as I'm used to being well controlled and spikes kept to a minimum! Anyway enough about that, I hope that both your pregnancies go well and you're enjoying it despite the annoyance of diabetes to manage on top of it! I really enjoyed being pregnant, hope I can experience it again! Thanks ladies!

 

[Pitsgate]

Congratulations to you too @Sarahstar82. Hope your birth plan is getting there with the pump etc. choices. Good luck!
I had much the same drop in levels when I got on the pump btw.
And good luck with the eyes @Kateyo, am sure you will be fine. It seems being well prepared will help to avoid any major issues so do make sure your eye team are looking after you! Oh, one more thing I was told: good levels are the main thing but trying to avoid spikes is important too as they will also aggrevate the eyes. So a great hba1c with constant yo-yoing is bad.