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Insulin resistance in early stages of pregnancy?

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rhubardandcustard1983

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Type 1
Hi all, I'm new on here but could do with a bit of help! I've had type 1 for almost 26 years and have just found out I'm pregnant for the 4th time. I miscarried in October so I'm very, very nervous this time. HbA1c prior to conception was 40mmol/mol so I'm ok in that respect but I've become very resistant. I'm on a pump and have had to increase my basal rates to 130%. I am only 4 weeks pregnant so can't remember if this is normal for this early on? I remember being very sensitive at the start before! Is it normal to be resistant and then very sensitive a little later on?
 
Hi @rhubardandcustard1983 I don't know if it's normal, but that's what happened to me :)

I had highs in very early pregnancy then the lows kicked in. I don't remember exactly when the highs stopped but I didn't have them for weeks or anything. They were short lived.

Keep testing to keep an eye on things in case you need to make adjustments. My highs seemed to go away quite quickly, as I remember - that is, they didn't gradually fade, they just seemed to stop.
 
I had highs at the start of my pregnancy then they just disappeared the same as @azure
I did have terrible morning sickness though which started at around 7 weeks (I'm 35 weeks now and still being sick!) so I'm not sure if that contributed to the hypos, I would probably have been higher than I was if I wasn't so poorly.

I found that the further along I got the more insulin I needed and am still increasing it every week now.

As azure said, keep testing and make the necessary adjustments.

Best of luck!
Claire x
 
Personally I had overnight increases in the early weeks - I found out at five weeks, and had been working on fixing them before then so they didn't last long after I knew I was pregnant. I believe sensitivity starts from around 7-8 weeks, and then the increased resistance from about 18 but it varies for everyone. I'd assumed that my initial highs were just part of my regular routine as I have to adjust my dosages fairly regularly anyway, and I haven't read anything about resistance early on but I guess it could be that you're adjusting to all those new hormones! I've just posted separately about a blog I've written, charting the weeks of my pregnancy, so feel free to take a look as it might be of some help. Best of luck!
 
Hi! This happened me in early pregnancy too. I remember being surprised as at the pre pregnancy clinic they had talked about lows in the first trimester, which of course there is too but I also had to put my insulin up early on and I hadn't been expecting that. Just keep testing your sugars, there's no such thing as too much testing in pregnancy! And congrats :)
 
Thanks all so much! You've really reassured me. I think resistance is settling a bit now but I've also come down with a stinking cold which may have contributed. I'm almost 5 weeks so we'll see what happens! Forums like this are so helpful.
 
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