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Trying for a baby...

Ellie_Wilko

Ellie_Wilko

Well-Known Member
Messages
130
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I was diagnosed with type 1 in 2014 aged 21. Albeit a hard adjustment, my younger sister had been diagnosed 6 years prior so I knew what to expect. Anyway, fast forward 2 years and I was in a real loop of not controlling my bloods as it was great I wasn't putting any weight back on. I got married in January and wanted to start a family asap so went for my regular 6 month check in November and spoke to my nurse about this. My hba1c at the time was 10.4 so after getting a few home truths I really cracked down and a couple of weeks ago after getting my hba1c down to 6.9 in just 12 weeks, they gave us the go ahead to start trying!

Everything I've read about having a baby whilst diabetic is so scary and negative so I wantto hear some real life, positive but truthful experiences from other diabetics rather than nurses.

Any information would be so helpful and reassuring!

(I would also like to point out my nurses said ideally they would like me at 6.5 but as this jump was in such a short amount of time and my bloods are still continuing to stabilise and go down, they thought my next hba1c would be around this if not lower!)
 
The scary things you read and hear do exist. I think doctors emphasise those bad things because they want women to understand that pregnancy requires very tight control. So they assume every woman needs that drummed into them.

If you click through the pages here in the Pregnancy section, you'll get a feel for it, and also see many women having similar concerns to you.

I have 3 children, and although I sometimes wished my diabetes would just disappear as pregnancy would be a lot easier without it, I didn't find pregnancy too hard. I think ALL women worry, whether they have diabetes or not.

I found having a special team looking after me very reassuring. I also enjoyed the extra scans.

For me, the worst thing was having to be induced. I hated that.

You've done an amazing job getting your HbA1C down. If you can keep up that tight control, then that'd be a fantastic start for conception :)

Have you been prescribed the high dose folic acid?
 
azure said:
The scary things you read and hear do exist. I think doctors emphasise those bad things because they want women to understand that pregnancy requires very tight control. So they assume every woman needs that drummed into them.

If you click through the pages here in the Pregnancy section, you'll get a feel for it, and also see many women having similar concerns to you.

I have 3 children, and although I sometimes wished my diabetes would just disappear as pregnancy would be a lot easier without it, I didn't find pregnancy too hard. I think ALL women worry, whether they have diabetes or not.

I found having a special team looking after me very reassuring. I also enjoyed the extra scans.

For me, the worst thing was having to be induced. I hated that.

You've done an amazing job getting your HbA1C down. If you can keep up that tight control, then that'd be a fantastic start for conception :)

Have you been prescribed the high dose folic acid?
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Thanks for the reply!! I guess it is the same thing for all diabetics being worried when looking to start trying for a baby so it will be good to have a read through the other posts.

I've been on 5mg folic acid for a few weeks and if I'm correct, I have to take it every day until I'm 12 weeks pregnant?
 
Ellie_Wilko said:
Thanks for the reply!! I guess it is the same thing for all diabetics being worried when looking to start trying for a baby so it will be good to have a read through the other posts.

I've been on 5mg folic acid for a few weeks and if I'm correct, I have to take it every day until I'm 12 weeks pregnant?
Click to expand...

Yes, follow your consultant's instructions regarding the folic acid. I tok mine for 16 weeks, I think (memory has gone since giving birth!) then just took the normal pregnancy vits and minerals, and also the low dose aspirin I was prescribed when I got pregnant.

Remember most women with diabetes give birth to healthy children
 
I can vouch for a healthy birth, I was diagnosed with gestational at 23 weeks, (I developed type 1 about 3 years later) diabetes was new and quite worrying for me at the time, I was put straight onto insulin and then induced at 37 weeks, my daughter was born a very healthy 9lb 4ozs at 37 weeks ! Try to relax as much as is physically possible and more importantly enjoy the experience, it is amazing ;)
 
It's great to hear from other people that have gone through it and is really reassuring! Fingers crossed everything goes to plan and all my hard work has paid off :)
 
WhiteleyGirl said:
Hi I'm currently going through prepregnancy how did you get hba1c low so quick? Any advice would be appreciated. X
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To be honest with you, before hand I wasn't really taking diabetes seriously as had only recently been diagnosed and was using it as a way to control my weight.

I've always wanted a family so when the docs told me I wouldn't be able to if I carried on doing what I was doing, it gave me the kick up the **** to change my ways!

I made sure that I religiously did all my injections, corrected every time it was necessary, was in constant contact with my team about changing dosages here and there if I spotted a pattern of high/low readings and tested my blood what seemed a million times a day!

It obviously worked as I'm now 34 weeks pregnant with a stable hba1c of 5.7 throughout my pregnancy and am booked in for an induction in 3 weeks it's been worth every injection, finger prick and hypo and I can't wait to meet my little boy!

Good luck xx
 
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