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

Type 1 and Trying To Conceive..

RhiRhi

RhiRhi

Member
Messages
8
Hi, I am 24 years old & been a Type 1 a little over a year.
Me and my partner of 4 years have been trying for a baby for over 2 years & so far had no luck :(
My sugars are high & have been for a while but thankfully that's being treated now.
I was supposed to be referred to a consultant months ago but my doctor seems to have forgotten about it but my DSN sent him a letter & as if by magic I have now been referred.
Does anyone have any experience of the Pre Conception clinic? I just want to know what to expect when my appointment comes through :)
Thankyou in advance for any advice.
 
Hi @RhiRhi

I haven't been to a pre-conception clinic. I just spoke to my diabetes consultant. But, as you probably know, it's crucial to get your HbA1C at a good level before trying to conceive. It's also important to take a high dose of folic acid (not like the ones in the shops - it has to be prescribed).

When you say you've now been referred to a consultant, do you mean a diabetes consultant or a fertility consultant? Although your problems conceiving may be connected to high blood sugars, people with diabetes can have 'normal' fertility problems too, as can their partners, of course. If you haven't had any checks if that kind, then you may want to ask your doctor about that. Sometimes when you have diabetes or another health condition, everything is blamed on that when there could be other causes.

Good luck :)
 
Hi Rhirhi

I have been to pre conception clinic twice for both my pregnancies. I have just recently had my twins 6weeks ago.
They basically tell you the blood sugar ranges you need to be in pre and post food-which are tighter than normal. They will check your hba1c before and should be as near to 6 as possible sorry can't remember what that is in new terms 40ish I think.
Although when you get pregnant it's your readings that are important.
They will tell you the risks of poor control etc.
They will put you on folic acid.
Do you know what all your ratios are now? Is your basal rate right? If you haven't got good control they will recommend waiting.
Pregnancy really impacts diabetes so it's vital you have good control especially in the early weeks when the baby forms and develops.

There is a pregnancy thread on here so might be worth posting on that.
Good luck


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
Hi Sarah, thankyou for replying :)
Congratulations on your twins :D
My numbers are very high at the moment, i'm averaging 15. But my DSN has told me to up my insulin so hopefully that will improve.
I was taking 5mg Folic Acid prescribed by my doctor but that ran out & I never got any more.
I'll take a look at thread thankyou :)


Sent from the Diabetes Forum App[/QUOTE]
 
Hi Azure :)
Thankyou for your reply..
My numbers are averaging 15 at the moment but my insulin has now been upped. To be honest i've been struggling to come to terms with my diabetes. I was diagnosed last year and it hit me hard- i'm rarely ill and being rushed in to hospital in an ambulance and then staying for 3 days knocked me for 6. I've now come to realise i've got it for life so I need to sort myself out :)
I've been referred to a Diabetes Consultant. Apparrently I should've been referred in January but my GP failed to do so. :/
I visited my Practice Nurse last week & i'm having a blood test on Tuesday to check my hormone levels and things.
I'm thinking all sorts so I want to know if it is to do with my Diabetes or not. I asked if high blood sugars have an affect on fertility and was told no, so to hear it could eases my mind a bit in a strange way!
Thankyou again for your advice :)
 
Yes, a diabetes diagnosis is always a huge shock. I remember being both angry and upset for months. What helped me was thinking that I wasn't going to let it beat me and I was going to push it down by keeping good control of my sugars. Once you improve your control, you may find you feel better about the diabetes ( as much as you can - obviously it's always going to be a nuisance).

If you haven't already read it, Think Like A Pancreas is a good book to help get your head round diabetes. Also, if you're not already, carb counting and adjusting insulin REALLY helps get control. You could ask your consultant about that.

I hope your blood tests go ok. Not being able to conceive when you hope to is very stressful, but remember most people do succeed :) In the meantime, getting good control of your diabetes will be great practice for pregnancy :)
 
That's what i'm starting to think- I Googled life expectancy for a T1D at one point and got myself all worked up but that's all stopped now :)
I have started logging my sugars 4 times a day now to see if there's a pattern etc :)
I've never heard of that book, i've got a Kindle so i'll see if it's available on that- thanks :D
I really don't have a clue if I can take more insulin after taking a dose I.E if I have 6 units with my tea then have a piece of fruit or chocolate bar afterwards can I inject again or do I have to wait a certain amount of time. At the moment i'm taking insulin at say 5pm, having a piece of fruit around 2 hours after but not taking more insulin until 4 hours has passed. Is this right or can I inject some more?
It's really starting to get me down not being pregnant yet, I bought an ovulation test electronic thing today so when I get the go ahead from my consultant i'm going to use that in case i'm timing everything wrong or something :)
Thankyou :) I'm really trying to sort them out so I hope to see a difference soon.
Sorry for the rant, I can't talk about this with anyone else- i'm the only T1 Diabetic I know! Haha. :)
 
I can't give you medical advice about when to take insulin - if in any doubt always check with your team.

I can tell you what I do. Yes, I do have injections of insulin closer than four hours apart (I'm on a pump so I can dial up more precise doses) eg if I was at a buffet and had some insulin for, say, a piece of quiche, and then a bit later decided I was still hungry and wanted a scone I'd have some more. BUT it's very important not to let insulin stack up - that is, doing more than one injection close together and not bearing in mind that when you have that second injection there'll still be some insulin from the first injection working in your body. It's important to test your blood sugar frequently to make sure it's not dropping, and to always remember there'll be insulin from before still active. I suggest you talk to yoyr team if you're at all unsure. It's also important to count your carbs carefully.

With insulin, the rule is If in any doubt ask, and always proceed with caution. Experience will give you a better idea of how your body reacts. Test, test and test. You mention testing 4 times a day. I'd try testing more eg after meaks so you get a fuller picture if what your blood sugar is doing.

For the trying to conceive thing, first if all try to relax and keep calm. I know that's easier said than done, but I think stress can affect your body negatively. If you want to chart things, I used a really good fertility chart/predictor from Fertility Friends - an online one. I'm so sorry, but I can't remember its name, but lots of women use it. It has an app version too. I found it very useful.

You're doing great :) Never underestimate how much of a life change getting Type 1 is. Feel free to rant and moan - we all know what it's like.
 
Hi I went for pre-conception clinic with my first and never bothered after that. They told me the hba1c requirements for my hospital (7 and below) which I knew already from my consultant, told me a bit about how the pg would end at 39 weeks and the extra care I'd get. My hba1c was already in the 6s so I used it more for asking about appointments and important questions to me like can I drink diet coke! (Answer a can a day is fine). They also told me to take 5mg folic acid and to get it from the gp on prescription. Also how to notify them if I was pregnant (call up the diabetic consultant's secretary).

It sounds like you have an awful lot to deal with given your recent diagnosis (I've had it for 32 years now and this appointment was 9 years ago). It's hard to come to terms with and harder to get on top of as there are a lot of variables to calculate. I'd recommend you have a look around these boards because everyone has different methods of dealing with it. I use animal insulin and was on a system considered antiquated by many here but it works for me. When I want very tight control I go for low carb diets as it is easier for my body to handle. I'm now on a pump as I got unexpectedly pregnant and couldn't face what the tight control involves while getting my head around another baby. In some ways I find it easier in other ways a lot harder. Nothing's perfect I'm afraid it's just a question of finding what works best for you.

Also as soon as you get your blood sugars sorted out do consider pushing for fertility investigations if things aren't happening. With my 2nd pregnancy I got referred via my diabetic consultant and it works a lot faster if you're referred in the hospital than from a gp.

Good luck!
 
Back
Top