Pregnant and Hospital are being a nightmare!!

kt78

Well-Known Member
Messages
145
Nixie - that does sound crazy! Of course, I am not a doctor and haven't had a baby either but everything I've read says that's nuts. Do you have anyone else who can support you - even a good book on diabetes and pregnancy? x
 

nixiepixie

Member
Messages
14
I bought "think like a pancreas" last week and i have read it cover to cover! some really good tips and interesting things that i have never known, despite living with diabetes for 24 years now!

Have spoken to the midwife to clarify what she meant. Yes the consultant has said NO correcting doses. i also got told off for testing too much! first time that has EVER happened i can tell you! She said it seemed like i was letting diabetes take over my life, well yes for the last couple of weeks since finding out i'm pregnant yes it has! because i'm trying my hardest to get it under control. I said how can i leave my sugar high, when everything i read says that's dangerous for the baby?? i'm so scared of hurting the baby :(

she said to combat my highs i need more insulin, but i now seem to be in a pattern more like Danlie where my levels are good after eating, but an hour or so after that i'm going low, and then after that going high (probably rebounding i guess) so doing extra insulin is not going to help!

i have taken her point on board, i know i have been micromanaging and testing and correcting every 5 minutes. basically i have to only test before and after meals, and if my sugar is high before meals just adjust the insulin then. I just really really don't want to start getting lots of high readings again as that's exactly what i've been trying to avoid!

Wondering if i've gone over the 6 week threshold in the last couple of days, as all of a sudden i seem to be running quite low, whereas last week my sugar seemed to be constantly trying to go up.

very confusing and difficult time!!!! :crazy:
 

sarahwdl

Newbie
Messages
1
I'm type 2 and pregnant and having a complete nightmare with my sugars.
For the 1st 20 weeks I kept them under control by using metformin and just eating melon and yogurt for breakfast every day. The problem was I was having a hard time as I was feeling hungry within an hour of breakfast. At 20 weeks my DSN advised me to start novorapid only with breakfast and to have cereal. I was having either 2 shredded wheat, 2 weetabix or porridge every day with 10 units novorapid. It barely kept my sugars in range 1.5 hours after eating but within 3 hours I was having hypos of 2.5-2.9 and feeling terrible. I was advised to stop the novorapid and to start insulatard in the evening. This did the job most days but still occasionally I was high after breakfast despite eating the same every day! I've now been advised to take insulatard at night and novorapid with breakfast. I did this for the 1st time this morning and again it was high after breakfast at 8.0 but I had a hypo by lunch despite having 2 hobnobs between breakfast and lunch. I'm absolutely demented as I'm 23 weeks now and the baby is obviously coming up to growth spurts and I'm so scared that I'm doing it harm. My DSN is trying to be helpful but I feel like such a pest, she gave me her mobile number and I must text her at least twice a week to find out what to do. I can basically eat whatever the hell I like at lunch and teatime and my sugar is rarely over 6.5 then so I'm at a complete loss as to what to do with breakfast - if I go back to eating just fruit and yogurt I'll have wasted away by the time little pebble is born!!
 

kt78

Well-Known Member
Messages
145
Hey Nixie!

Poor you - it must be really stressful! At least you know now what your nurse meant, you do have to be careful you don't end up 'chasing your tail' with over correcting.

I will PM you a message I sent to Danlie about a thing called the "Rule of 18ths". It's a way of dividing up your carbohydrates throughout the day during pregnancy to coincide with insulin sensitivity, help keep levels stable and give baby enough energy (it's a bit mathy - but easier than it looks to work out, honest!) If anyone else wants it just post or PM me, I would feel a bit bad just sticking up loads of numbers in case someone added up wrong - I'd feel responsible for anything bad!

Hello sarahwdl!

Again - I'm not a doctor and everyone is different!...

However... Most people are least sensitive to insulin in the morning and then more sensitive by lunchtime - this may be why you're high and then low, novorapid peaks after 1.5-2 hours and keeps working for 3-4 hours in total. If you ate less carbohydrate for breakfast and mid-morning you would need less short-acting insulin so perhaps wouldn't crash at lunchtime. Assuming you're eating around 2600 calories a day you would be advised to eat 29g at breakfast and 14g for a mid-morning snack and then 72g for lunch (if you let me know your calorie intake I can give you an exact number for you). If you were able to walk for 15-20 minutes after your breakfast you would reduce how much novorapid you need too, so may avoid a hypo at lunch.

Phew!

Hope that has helped :crazy: :lol: :***: x

Oh, and if you can handle them - eggs / omlettes and fillings and granary toast could be your breakfast best friend (Hovis Wholemeal Seven Seeds in the brown and yellow pack is 13.8g a slice - some are 22g!) Just a thought!
 

Hellbunny

Well-Known Member
Messages
240
Type of diabetes
Type 1
diabetes DOES tend to take over in pregnancy, i would tell your consultant to pee off about testing, i get through 100 strips a week, i'm always correcting, i've told mine well i'm not just about to sit and let it stay at a reading of 16mmol am i? I tend to often correct after my evening meals most nights as i can't get my ratio/carb thing right, i've lowered carbs in the evening and tend to stick with sandwiches now, boring buts its more predictable with my yoyo levels. Sorry to butt into the thread, it annoys me when we are told we test too much, i've googled testing in pregnancy and on lots of forums it comes up with people testing around 15x a day, i feel better pricking my fingers if it means less highs.. and less lows as i'm not always aware of it dropping x
 

taffy_63

Member
Messages
11
I just wanted to say 'congratulations' to all you pregnant diabetics on the forum. Hang in there. My 2 babies are 19 and 24 now and I'm a grandmother too! All those years ago I worried about highs and hypos and I went back to pork insulin because I lost hypo awareness during pregnancy. I also told my consultant obstetrician on baby number 2 that he wasn't paid £60,00 a year to do what was easier for him - he was supposed to be doing what was best for my baby and me (this was after I had bent over backwards, turned somersaults and done everything they asked and more on my first and they still weren't satisfied!!) I know things have moved on, but babies haven't and neither has diabetes! I have been pumping for 18 months now and although the main advantage is that I have 19 different hourly basal rates in 24 hours, which can be increased and decreased on demand for set periods of exercise or illness, the other thing that I haven't seen anyone mention is the extended and multi-wave bolus'. Basically what this means is that the bolus can be evenly spread over a set period (extended), or for example 30% bolus is delivered immediately and the balance is delivered over a set period (multi wave). The latter is useful when bolusing in excess of 10 units. I did wonder if splitting the bolus doses over a 30 min or 60 min period would help, but again, that involves more blood tests. I also wondered if your correction doses needed to be looked at?? I've had so many thought going round in my head thinking about you all struggling with this and I really feel for you. The last thing I have to say is that my diabetes consultant told me on my 10th birthday that he knew more about diabetes in general, but I knew more about my own diabetes!! Wise words. Make your specialists listen to your fears and your problems and actually help you - and DON'T take no for an answer! Enjoy your pregnancies coz they really don't last long (thank goodness lol).
 

nixiepixie

Member
Messages
14
Hi Taffy, thanks for your message :)

I had my scan yesterday and it showed up as being 6 weeks and 4 days along! So still a few more weeks before i can tell people (although i think a lot of people have already guessed!) They said everything looks fine, could see baby's heart fluttering on the screen and the sonographer seemed really happy.

Saw the consultant afterwards and he was lovely, no hassle about high hba1c etc. He did talk about all the complications and the importance of keeping blood sugar as near normal as possible, but in general he seemed quite happy with what i've been doing. He has now put me on Levemir instead of Glargine, as he said it's better during pregnacy? I normally take 18 units of glargine at night, so he suggested doing 6 units of levemir last night and 12 this morning. Well ever since last night i've been running high and feeling really REALLY sick! don't know if this is just a pregnancy/hormones blip or whether it's to do with the new insulin! Going to persevere and probably increase both levemir doses a little bit if i stay high all day today.

Going on a hen weekend tomorrow and i'm totally dreading it. Don't know how i'm going to manage my sugars, and at the same time keep this a secret. we're going to a spa, but i can't do any of it. going to be estimating carbs all weekend as i won't be preparing food myself. it's really making me not even want to go, but i would hate to let my friend down. I really don't want to let diabetes take over my whole life, but it really seems impossible not to :(
 

Danlie

Member
Messages
13
hey everyone, just thought i would come back on here, as haven't been on for a little while! I went for my 12 and half week scan last Thursday and found out i was actually 14 weeks along! little bubba was there and all seemed well, was so magical to see my baby at long last! legs, arms, head etc and a tubby little belly already! hehe! I can't wait for my next scan on 1st August to find out the sex of the baby, although anyone who knows thinks girl and i have thought girl from about 5 weeks onwards! i don't mind though as long as baby is healthy when born!

my sugars are slowly starting to settle down, I seem to still get a low at about 11am and i also get a low about 2 hours after my evening meal, but its better than when i was having lows every 1.5 hours before! lucozade is still my best friend at times though! my HbA1c was 6.7!! Best it has ever been in my whole diabetic life which i have had for 20 years! so i must be doing something right!

i just wanted to see how you were all getting on and how your scan went nixie as i'm sure you said we were due similar dates? first they thought my date was 26 december then 25 december, but now its 19 december! whatever, its going to be an xmas baby!

hope everyone is doing ok xx :D
 

Moaney

Well-Known Member
Messages
71
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Sounds like ur on the right path to a healthy pregnancy and baby (couple of hiccups with the lows but still fantastic) ur HB1C is fab!! My partner and I r still trying, had a glimmer of hope last week as my period is always bang on time and came a week early, was hopeful it was implantation bleeding, but happened Thursday and still going strong so it can't be. This trying for a baby nonsense is so hard, here was me thinking it would be a walk in the park!! Still, marching on until Dec then will seek advice if still nothing!!
Keep us updated with ur health and scans if u have time, all the advise I can take on pregnancy and diabetes will help while I soldier on!!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

Moaney

Well-Known Member
Messages
71
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Sounds like ur on the right path to a healthy pregnancy and baby (couple of hiccups with the lows but still fantastic) ur HB1C is fab!! My partner and I r still trying, had a glimmer of hope last week as my period is always bang on time and came a week early, was hopeful it was implantation bleeding, but happened Thursday and still going strong so it can't be. This trying for a baby nonsense is so hard, here was me thinking it would be a walk in the park!! Still, marching on until Dec then will seek advice if still nothing!!
Keep us updated with ur health and scans if u have time, all the advise I can take on pregnancy and diabetes will help while I soldier on!!


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

Danlie

Member
Messages
13
Hi Moaney, sorry to hear that it hasn't happened this time for you :( but keep positive and hopefully it will happen soon :) the only advice i could is to try not to think about it too much and hopefully it will just happen!

thanks for your positive feedback on my comment though! i will keep you posted on my progress though. sorry, you may have mentioned before, but how long have you been trying for? they say it can take up to 2 years don't they if you have been on the pill etc beforehand? x
 

sharonValerie

Active Member
Messages
25
Hi there, listen this is soooooo important, the reason you are hypoing is because your baby is taking everything from you and then some more. I am also a type 1 diabetic and have had three babies, that said the pregnancies were hell on earth, my blood sugar would drop from around 18.6 to 1.2 in two hours and I had the added complication of no warning signs. It is important to have good control during your pregnancy, but you must go back to the hospital and tell them you need help. That said, you could lower your basal insulin a bit and watch how it goes the next day, if you are still dropping too low, then you must lower the fast insulin before meals, even if only by a fraction. It's literally playing with the doses to get it right. Personally the hospital should be helping you with this especially as they will know that you can have severe hypos. It's a waste of time them being stroppy because they don't think you should have got pregnant because it won't change anything. Please try and talk to them and stress how you want to have a healthy baby and manage the diabetes so that you can avoid the hypo's, especially as they know you are going low at night. Like I said my pregnancies were hell and the hypos lasted the whole time, but generally it's only the first trimester that is bad. Don't feel bad because you're pregnant. You should enjoy it and look forward to being a family. Good luck, I hope you get the help you need. :clap: