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Newly pregnant - complications?

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Newpregnancy

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Hi everyone, I am new to diabetes.co.uk and would just like some advice really!

I am 28 and have wanted a baby for quite a while. Before conception I had a hbA1C of 9.1. I have had a pump for about 2 years and have been trying to get my bloods down. I am now 5 weeks pregnant (found out about a week ago!) and was really happy. I have recently been to my GP to talk about pregnancy and what next and he was very very negative and spent spent a long time going over the complications that were likely to arise. I have really been trying to get tighter control but I am now so so worried about baby's development. Has anyone got any reassurances for me? Similar stories?
Thanks
 
Congratulations!

Yes, your HbA1C is higher than recommended, but it's early days and you can work to get it lower. Also, in the first half of pregnancy (very roughly) people's blood sugar tends to go low, so that should help you improve your results too.

I think doctors stress the possible complications for baby as they assume people may be a bit dim so if they stress it the same to everyone they can be certain that the message has got across. Most people, like yourself, I'm sure, know how,important is it to have strict control, but doctors have to assume the patient doesn't so really push the message across.

Have you phoned your consultant at the hospital? If you're in the UK, you should see a diabetic pregnancy team throughout your pregnancy. They'll be a great help and really look after you and baby and support you in maintaining good control. If you haven't spoken to them yet, please do as they can help you adjust your insulin to control your sugars. My DSN was great and really helped.

Also, are you taking 5mg of folic acid? It's a larger dose than non-diabetic women take, but it helps the baby develop well.

Don't panic - you can get your sugars good and get any risks right down. The fact you have a pump is a good start.
 
Thanks. Yes I am seeing my consultant next week, but I'm just so worried! And yes taking 5 of folic acid.
I can't get a diabetic antenatal appointment until I'm 9 weeks! So that is stressing me out even more. Just want someone to say what I'm thinking "I'm doing my best and that's all I xsn do!". I keep googling complications and imagining the worst!
 
A diabetic pregnancy is hard work because you'll be testing a lot and over the weeks you'll have to adjust your basal rates and carb to insulin ratios, but lots of ladies go through it every year. Have a look at the threads here. You'll see we're not perfect and we've probably all had high sugars at some time in pregnancy. You'll never get every single result in the range, but getting as many as you can is what you have to do. You may have to correct more often than normal to keep your sugars down. I did that quite a lot to make sure my control was tight.

I know the complications are scary. I imagined all kinds of things going wrong. I kept thinking I'm wasn't doing well enough and worrying about baby a lot. But I gave birth in May and have a beautiful son. It's normal to be anxious - even if you're not diabetic. That shows you care about your baby :)

I had my team's numbers in my mobile and phoned them for support when I needed it. They really put my mind at rest and I appreciated all the extra care I had. They'll look after you both :)
 
Newpregnancy said:
Thanks. Yes I am seeing my consultant next week, but I'm just so worried! And yes taking 5 of folic acid.
I can't get a diabetic antenatal appointment until I'm 9 weeks! So that is stressing me out even more. Just want someone to say what I'm thinking "I'm doing my best and that's all I xsn do!". I keep googling complications and imagining the worst!
Click to expand...

We can all only do our best {{hug}} Don't dwell on what the doctor said. In the past, diabetic ladies didn't have all the tools and technology we have now, and they still had healthy babies. Youre so early that you can really influence your pregnancy. Have a look at the JDRF 'sticky' at the top of this forum. That has good info.

You're having to wait quite a while for your diabetic antenatal appointment. I'm pretty sure I was seen a bit sooner than that, but could you phone your DSN if you need advice before then? When you see the consultant, make good use of that appointment. Take a list of questions or concerns maybe? Check what the consultant wants your sugars to be and work towards that. I keep saying it, but the fact you're so early on is good because you can get your HbA1C down. Im sure other ladies have started pregnancy with a high HbA1C. Im sur you'll get it down :)

And stay away from Dr Google! Googling health things can drive you mad! Just know you're doing your best and concentrate on your sugars :)
 
Hi congratulations, that's very exciting news I am so pleased for you. In the 21st century and the care before birth and after is much better than decades ago, with the all the new technology as well. Try not to dwell on the negatives, because I had my daughter 14 years ago and she is a fine , healthy teenager, and I was 42 1/2 years old :-D Which was my best ever diabetes achievement.:joyful: There are few members who have recently had babies and with great success stories too. Just keep testing and trying to get good stable control.
Good luck and wishing you all the very best, RRB x :)
 
Congratulations on your pregnancy!

A distant relative, on my husband's side, was told she should never have become pregnant due to her high blood sugars. (She has never taken good care of herself and has been in hospital several times since she was a teenager.) She tried to control her diabetes better than usual during her pregnancy and gave birth to a healthy little boy.

So don't be negative about your pregnancy, enjoy it!
 
Congratulations! Sorry to hear your GP is not very supportive. It seems like some people think by scaring us that'll bring about change faster - in reality I think most of us just want some reassurance that we're doing our best and a few practical tips. You can do that without scaring and berating patients.

I found my first 8 weeks to be really stressful and sort of felt like being re-diagnosed. I'm almost 20 weeks now and feel much better and I'm trying not to beat myself about the occasional highs - yesterday I thought I had bolused for lunch but I guess I never pressed enter so 2 hours later I was at 17mmol - not fun, but I just corrected and moved on.

I know a number of type 1's who had their babies 30+ years ago before all the fancy technology we have now and they all ended up with healthy babies.

I'm Canadian so the appointments are quite different for me, but my endocrinologist didn't see me until I was 6 weeks and I didn't have my first pre-natal appointment until 10 weeks. They also don't do ultrasound scans here until week 18-20, so I only had my first one on Monday (perfectly healthy baby boy in there!). Others have offered good advice - if you're really stressing it's probably a good idea to call and see if you can talk to someone a bit earlier for the re-assurance, but it sounds like you're doing what you can so far. :)
 
Thanks a lot everyone! Feeling a bit better now. That's exactly what I needed to hear from my GP!
Has anyone got any suggestions for no/low carb snacks? Thought of eggs and some fruit but would like something a bit more filling!
 
Congratulations
I'm 5 weeks today so not far behind you
The doctor you saw sounds horrible
I have had a unplanned pregnancy and saw my DNS on Thursday who adjusted my insulin to go with my levels etc and explained that in her 26 years of caring for diabetic woman only one handful have ever had problems so chances are very very slim , she said if you have good sugar control etc then it will be fine
Good luck x
 
Newpregnancy said:
Thanks a lot everyone! Feeling a bit better now. That's exactly what I needed to hear from my GP!
Has anyone got any suggestions for no/low carb snacks? Thought of eggs and some fruit but would like something a bit more filling!
Click to expand...

Cottage cheese and fruit (I personally don't like this combo, but I do like cottage cheese)
Cheese
almonds
jerky/garlic sausage with the above
carrots/snap peas/other veggies and hummus
olives
different kinds of salads with tuna, chicken, etc

Not a very exhaustive list but some of the things I've been snacking on lately.
 
frittata with vegetables - make a large one and freeze in pieces.
Cottage cheese and celery/carrot
pickled cucumbers
diabetic boiled sweets (check carbs carefully) - quite good against morning sickness
guacamole
frozen raspberries
 
Hi congratulations!
Cheese (the ones you are allowed) - especially cottage cheese and salad sticks like carrot, celery, peppers, cucumber etc.

So it sounds like your GP just telling you to be careful.

Have you done your fasting blood sugars first of all and woke yourself up a couple of times in the night to check what you are? Through the whole of my first pregnancy I set my alarm once or twice a night to see what my levels were and because my dd is still up once or twice a night I am able to test this time without setting the alarm!

My pump insulin goes up significantly from about midnight to 8am (I'm a big sufferer of dawn phenomenon) and it's been on the increase quite a lot ever since I was about 20ish weeks- nearly double what I was on before.

Do you get hypo symptoms as you could always try giving yourself maybe a couple of extra units than you would have done and seeing if that keeps you level? It's amazing what you can do knowing that there is a little baby growing in there (or in my case 2!).

My first pregnancy hba1c I was about 7 to start and got it down to 6 in the end. This time I started at 5.5 and it has gone up a bit to 6 as having to deal with sickness etc been hard.

Test a lot and you might need to change the timing of your insulin at meals like take it a bit before or do a dual programme.

It is a long pregnancy being diabetic but it is honestly all worth it!!
 
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