I've basically copied in an email I've sent to my cousin. Obviously, some of the bit will be irrelevant to most of you since you have diabetes and don't need things explained, but I wanted to share my experience with others who might be in my situation!
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I had a Preconception Diabetic clinic appointment today...and I loved it. My nurse? Amazing. She's humorous and easy to talk to and is willing to answer every question I could possibly have...
....and she wants to take a photo of me and frame it with my weight loss chart with a sign under it that says "this is the right way to do this" *blush*
So what did she tell me?
Tim and I can try to get pregnant whenever we are ready. She said I could call her up next week to tell her I was pregnant and it would be fine...but in the meantime, try to lose more weight (though she did NOT put a number to the weight loss) and keep my blood glucose levels good.
NO daily testing
NO Metformin*
She said I fall into a really weird category of Diabetics because my overall HbA1c has actually never been firmly in the diabetic zone (and my initial diagnosis level of 50 was wrong. It was 46 according to the computer. Don't know why I was told it was 50), but it was the glucose tolerance test that really put me over the line. Back in 2010 when the quack dermatologist had me do a blood glucose test, the nurse (Janice) said I should have been put into the pre-diabetic category. She doesn't know why I wasn't (probably b/c of that quack dermatologist not giving my GP the blood test results**!), but it doesn't matter now. I get to be in that weird category of diabetics who have normal HbA1c levels. IF my levels stay normal at every single test for 5 years (so that would be June 2017), then they would class me as "cured", or at least, no longer a diabetic. However, being pregnant will probably cause my HbA1c to go a bit higher (she thinks I might even develop Gestational Diabetes), so she thinks that it is unlikely I will get deemed "cured"...BUT, the low HbA1c levels now create a legacy (I didn't really understand this part), that basically mean I shouldn't have a lot of complications due to Diabetes as I age. WOW. That is utterly amazing.
I also found out that NHS Lincolnshire offers 12 weeks of Weight Watchers for FREE (16 weeks online), and Janice suggested it might be something to look into, particularly if I start to plateau with weight loss. She thinks I should take the 12-weeks, get all the information, and then leave it. LOL. LOVE this nurse. She also explained that the point system is a lot simpler now and it won't make me eat gabs of carbs if I don't want to.
When I get pregnant, she said she should be one of the first five people I tell, right behind Tim (LOL), our families, and my current GP. I will have to be seen ONCE by the community midwife, which is apparently only to get my name into the system and so the hospital knows I am pregnant. Then, everything else will be done through Janice and the doctors at the hospital. It is very unlikely that I will have a midwife at all. I was told I would have more frequent HbA1c tests (1-2 month intervals), probably have to start testing daily with a meter, and if I wasn't already, probably get put on Metformin at that time. BUT, after I give birth, provided things re-stabilize, I should be able to stop daily testing and medication. Woo.
Overall, this was a really positive meeting, and I feel really good about it. I see her again in November, mostly because my period still hasn't sorted itself out entirely from the birth control (see * below), and to see what my HbA1c level is, and to see if I've lost any more weight/inches.
* Metformin is probably going to happen in November because I most likely have PCOS, though being put on it won't really have anything to do with my diabetes!
**don't get me started. She never sent my blood test results to my GP and his secretary was never able to track them down since they had been done at hospital and not through him.
--
I had a Preconception Diabetic clinic appointment today...and I loved it. My nurse? Amazing. She's humorous and easy to talk to and is willing to answer every question I could possibly have...
....and she wants to take a photo of me and frame it with my weight loss chart with a sign under it that says "this is the right way to do this" *blush*
So what did she tell me?
Tim and I can try to get pregnant whenever we are ready. She said I could call her up next week to tell her I was pregnant and it would be fine...but in the meantime, try to lose more weight (though she did NOT put a number to the weight loss) and keep my blood glucose levels good.
NO daily testing
NO Metformin*
She said I fall into a really weird category of Diabetics because my overall HbA1c has actually never been firmly in the diabetic zone (and my initial diagnosis level of 50 was wrong. It was 46 according to the computer. Don't know why I was told it was 50), but it was the glucose tolerance test that really put me over the line. Back in 2010 when the quack dermatologist had me do a blood glucose test, the nurse (Janice) said I should have been put into the pre-diabetic category. She doesn't know why I wasn't (probably b/c of that quack dermatologist not giving my GP the blood test results**!), but it doesn't matter now. I get to be in that weird category of diabetics who have normal HbA1c levels. IF my levels stay normal at every single test for 5 years (so that would be June 2017), then they would class me as "cured", or at least, no longer a diabetic. However, being pregnant will probably cause my HbA1c to go a bit higher (she thinks I might even develop Gestational Diabetes), so she thinks that it is unlikely I will get deemed "cured"...BUT, the low HbA1c levels now create a legacy (I didn't really understand this part), that basically mean I shouldn't have a lot of complications due to Diabetes as I age. WOW. That is utterly amazing.
I also found out that NHS Lincolnshire offers 12 weeks of Weight Watchers for FREE (16 weeks online), and Janice suggested it might be something to look into, particularly if I start to plateau with weight loss. She thinks I should take the 12-weeks, get all the information, and then leave it. LOL. LOVE this nurse. She also explained that the point system is a lot simpler now and it won't make me eat gabs of carbs if I don't want to.
When I get pregnant, she said she should be one of the first five people I tell, right behind Tim (LOL), our families, and my current GP. I will have to be seen ONCE by the community midwife, which is apparently only to get my name into the system and so the hospital knows I am pregnant. Then, everything else will be done through Janice and the doctors at the hospital. It is very unlikely that I will have a midwife at all. I was told I would have more frequent HbA1c tests (1-2 month intervals), probably have to start testing daily with a meter, and if I wasn't already, probably get put on Metformin at that time. BUT, after I give birth, provided things re-stabilize, I should be able to stop daily testing and medication. Woo.
Overall, this was a really positive meeting, and I feel really good about it. I see her again in November, mostly because my period still hasn't sorted itself out entirely from the birth control (see * below), and to see what my HbA1c level is, and to see if I've lost any more weight/inches.
* Metformin is probably going to happen in November because I most likely have PCOS, though being put on it won't really have anything to do with my diabetes!
**don't get me started. She never sent my blood test results to my GP and his secretary was never able to track them down since they had been done at hospital and not through him.
