Any T1s got pregnant with retinopathy?

[the_anticarb]

Hi, I have already had one baby and had mild - moderate retinopathy but it got worse during the pregnancy and I had laser at 37 weeks. Since then I haven't needed any more laser but I'm thinking of getting pregnant again and very worried this will be bad for my retinopathy and make it worse. Have any T1s out there got pregnant with retinopathy and how did you fare? Last time I decreased my hba1c very suddenly as pregnancy unplanned, but this time round we are planning it and my hba1c already below 7 so that shouldn't be an issue.
I am really worried that if I have the baby it will make my retinopathy worse, but I don't want to not have a baby based on something which may not happen. I don't know what to do.

 

[Livelifefornow]

Hello I'm a type one diabetic with retinopathy
My control wasn't very good although I didn't have retinopathy when it was bad I didn't have any damage but didn't have an eye check until I was pregnant and then it showed some damage so not sure if it was the pregnancy or the fact I brought my sugar levels down from 20s to around 5 very quickly
The risk is from the extra blood flow and changing sugar levels I believe your a1c should be ideally below 6 before ttc (don't quote me on this) so best to bring sugars down slowly
I I think as long as you go to all your appointments, get blood pressure checked regularly it shouldn't damage your eyes further
I live in the uk and during pregnancy they should check your eyes every trimester of pregnancy

 

[Bombshell13]

Hi I'm also type 1 and had retinopathy during my first pregnancy with quite a lot of laser treatment. I had no problems during my second pregnancy, I think as long as its stable before pregnancy and you have good bglevels you should be ok xxx


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[the_anticarb]

Update, I am now 13 weeks into my second pregnancy and so far my eyes are fine! My hba1c was around 7 when I conceived, which is just about ok, i've got it down to 6 now. I had my eyes checked yesterday and no sign of any changes. The consultant thinks this is because I had so much laser last year, I even had top up laser to protect me in a further pregnancy which I paid for privately so as to avoid any chance of it getting worse as I would not have got this on the NHS (they do not laser unless it is essential). Plus the fact that my hba1c was lowish before I conceived. I really believe that the hba1c drop is a major factor causing retinopathy problems for a lot of people particularly those in pregnancy when the drop can be really sudden and severe if the pregnancy is unplanned - I can't be the only diabetic to have an unplanned pregnancy!

 

[Bombshell13]

I planned both my pregnancies but without the help of the diabetic team ( they were useless until I actually was pregnant) so basically the hospital classed the first as unplanned as my control wasn't as good as it was with the second. However apart from the retinopathy everything else was fine. Also like you it was caused by the sudden increase in control. This was because they frightened the life out of me telling me the danger my baby could be in etc etc. all you can do is your best and don't let anyone else tell you that your not!!!!! X


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[the_anticarb]

What were your hba1cs when you conceived with both Bombshell? I still worry that dropping it from 7 to 6 in the first few weeks of my latest pregnancy may set it off again, hopefully all the laser will stop it getting worse though.