• Guest - w'd love to know what you think about the forum! Take the 2025 Survey »

Early pregnancy, insulin needs and high BG

Nemrac

Member
Messages
5
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Treatment type
Pump
Hi everyone!

I'm new to the forum, type 1 diabetic and trying to get pregnant.
My diabetes is very well controlled and my blood glucose levels are very stable, however, I've been struggling with higher than usual readings the past week. It almost seems as if no amount of insulin can get my levels down enough. It's not extremely high, but higher than what I'm used to with no apparent reason.

So, basically, I want to know how does type 1's insulin needs change in early pregnancy? Do we need more insulin or less insulin?
Would my levels go up or down during the first weeks of pregnancy?
 
This study talks about the changes in the 1st trimester:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11423491

My doctor told me that I would be lower in the 1st trimester, and slowly start to increase in the 2nd, and increase a lot in the 3rd.

My actual experience has been that I ran higher until 7-8 weeks, then dropped my rates and aside from a few minor adjustments, they stayed fairly steady until about 23 weeks. I'm 26 weeks now and they're increasing quite a bit and also swinging around a lot.

Otherwise it seems like everyone is a little bit different and while trends exist, lots of peoples bodies seem to do their own thing.
 
This study talks about the changes in the 1st trimester:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11423491

My doctor told me that I would be lower in the 1st trimester, and slowly start to increase in the 2nd, and increase a lot in the 3rd.

My actual experience has been that I ran higher until 7-8 weeks, then dropped my rates and aside from a few minor adjustments, they stayed fairly steady until about 23 weeks. I'm 26 weeks now and they're increasing quite a bit and also swinging around a lot.

Otherwise it seems like everyone is a little bit different and while trends exist, lots of peoples bodies seem to do their own thing.

Thanks so much! This helps me a lot!
Praying that it is indeed pregnancy messing up my levels at this moment :-)
 
Hey,

My BG was higher in first weeks. Very similar experience as sleepyheadzzz. I started getting hypos at around 8 weeks.
 
Hey,

My BG was higher in first weeks. Very similar experience as sleepyheadzzz. I started getting hypos at around 8 weeks.


Thank you for your reply! This helps me a lot.
Another question... isn't higher levels during the first few weeks risky for the baby? Mine feels as if it's totally out of my control at the moment and that freaks me out!
 
Hi :)

Yes, it's advisable to keep tight control in pregnancy to reduce any risks to baby or you.

Have you done a pregnancy test yet or had the pregnancy confirmed by anyone? I'm not sure how far along you'd be if you were pregnant, but remember that many ladies don't realise for a while so their control might not be perfect very early on.
 
Hi :)

Yes, it's advisable to keep tight control in pregnancy to reduce any risks to baby or you.

Have you done a pregnancy test yet or had the pregnancy confirmed by anyone? I'm not sure how far along you'd be if you were pregnant, but remember that many ladies don't realise for a while so their control might not be perfect very early on.

Hi Azure :)

Not yet...I did insemination and I'll be able to test in a few says time. That means that I won't be very far along if positive, 3-4 weeks max. My control is extremely good because we have been trying for over two years now and because I did the insemination, I've been extra strict with my levels, especially around the insemination date.
So, that's why I'm freaking out because I know I've been so strict but still my levels just went haywire for the whole week after insemination...

How risky is higher levels when conception occurs, as well as the week after that?
 
I'm not a doctor so I can't give medical info, but I did IVF and I can promise you my levels weren't perfect every hour of the day. I gave birth to my son recently and he is fine :)

Keep as strict control as you can, do correction doses if necessary (if you're confident in doing so) and rest and relax. I know how stressful trying to get pregnant is, but remember how many diabetic women go through this with good results. A week with some highs amongst a period of very good control is unlikely to cause any problems :)

Look after yourself - and best of luck :)
 
I'm not a doctor so I can't give medical info, but I did IVF and I can promise you my levels weren't perfect every hour of the day. I gave birth to my son recently and he is fine :)

Keep as strict control as you can, do correction doses if necessary (if you're confident in doing so) and rest and relax. I know how stressful trying to get pregnant is, but remember how many diabetic women go through this with good results. A week with some highs amongst a period of very good control is unlikely to cause any problems :)

Look after yourself - and best of luck :)


Thanks so much Azure, this makes me feel a whole lot less paranoid and worried :)
Now I just need to get through the next few days until I can test, without driving myself crazy :)
 
Back
Top