any one with type 1 diabeties and pg

[dottiemad79]

hi ive got type 1 diabeties and take insulin, i was diagnosed in 2003 with it, and been on insulin from the start, during my pg with my son whos now 4yrs old i never had any problems and he was born at 38wks weighing 7lbs 11 oz, no problems after either, now im currently pg with #3 and finding it very hard going this time, always tired and my blood sugars keep dropping all over the place at the min im testing my bloods before meals and 1 hr after and during the night as well, im on 26 units of novarapid in the morning with 28 units of lantus as well. then lunch time 28units of novarapid then teatime 28units of nova rapid and 30units of lantus, im eating regularly as well and with a snack before bed of a bisuct to make sure i dont get hypos during the night, but im feeling the effects of the pg this time as im so tired during the day and cant really do anything much, ive been getting some lows of around 2/3s and ive now started feeling them coming with sweats, shakes and tingley lips, but my diabetes team for pg have told me no treats until after 16wks im finding it really hard as i have a sweet tooth but i know ive gotta do this for the health of the baby,
i was wondering if there is anyone else out there with the same situation as me
thanks donna

 

[EmyDra]

Wow! Being pregnant and having Diabetes is a big challenge - although I don't have it myself (but no one has replied and I think you deserve a reply!) I've grown up with my Nana having type 1 and so I am very familar with the disease.

Hopefully there is someone in the same posistion - if you have good management and do lots of regular checks then you should be grand (well, you already have a LO so you know this) but otherwise I know there can be lots of strange complications.

Well I think you are very brave so congrats and well done!

 

[Tanikit]

Hi, I have diabetes type 1 and have for 19 years now and am pregnant with my 2nd child. I am also finding it harder than the first time - mainly cause the lows are affecting my toddler as I have been low a few times that I passed out sometimes for hours at a time. I think the exhaustion I have been feeling is partly from the pregnancy and partly from the hypoglycaemia.

I am on 24 units of Protophane at night (was switched from Lantus - not sure why) and 12 units Novorapid in the morning, 13 at lunch and 10 at night - I have the 10 with the protophane which is why it seems low even to me. I am very very sensitive to even tiny changes (1 unit) in this amount which is why my sugars can go from high to low so fast.
I am unsure why they say no treats - I have literally survived the first trimester by eating about a packet of sweets a day just to keep my levels up. Now that I am heading into the second trimester I will have to curb the sweets as my sugars are starting to rise up again now, but I have literally been hypoglycaemic 3-4 times daily for the past 3-4 weeks. (I found weeks 9-12 the worst with both pregnancies)

Had my 12 week scan today and everything looked perfect for this stage so I am feeling very relieved today as early on in pregnancy I was told: Hypoglycaemia can kill a baby. Mine seems to have thrived on it somehow.

Last baby was born at 38 weeks and weighed 8 pounds 3 ounces which is a little big, but not too bad. This one is only 52g so far

 

[dottiemad79]

hi tanikit yeah im totally shattered im having to have a few hours kip during the day as its taking everything out of me, ive got another appoinment at the hospital tomorrow to see how blood sugars are doing and hopefully they will reduce my insulin even more,

with my son i cant ever remeber being this tired its just taking everything out of me and i feel guilty as i cant do anything with the kids as they are on school holidays, but lucky enough the girls are keeping their selfs amused by going and playing with friends its just keep in my son occuiped,

i know about hypos i get about 2-3 a day at the moment and im hating it as when i have something for them it seems to bump up my levels really high and then i get told off for doing so from the doctors so its a no win stituation

my son kaiden was born at 38wks as well but they kept sayig he was goin to be about 10lbs but when he made his enterance he was tiny so im hoping this one is going to be average size as well

 

[tabbicles]

Can I join in?! I'm Type 1 too and this is my first baby after a m/c last year. I am now 30 weeks so feeling a lot more relaxed. I am also on Lantus and Novorapid and find my blood sugars constantly changing! Luckily they have now got more predictable (though i'm sure that will change soon) and therefore easier to control. Its really encouraging to see you are both on your 2nd babies so cant be that bad if you have come back for more!

 

[dottiemad79]

hi tabbicles
my blood sugars are still over the place as well, just cant seem to keep them under control, ive even cut out all treats and just sticking to my 3 meals a day but its so hard, im on my third baby but my second having diabetes, my oldest is 11 and starting high school this sept and also my son whos 4 starts infant school sept as well but during the pregnacy with him i didnt really have any problems they only thing i found was the constict hospital visits to monitor how everything was but it always ended up being the same questions asked

 

[tabbicles]

I remember being low all the time early on so was constantly eating treats! but yes its the surge afterwards that was difficult to control. Now I find it all relatively ok but have to eat loads mid morning to avoid going low by lunchtime. Supposed to have a snack mid afternoon too as I tend to go low before dinner but I find i'm a lot less hungry and as i'm at work forget! I find it hard to get the blood sugars lower just an hour after a meal aswell, they correct themselves quickly (in fact go low!) but it is a very hard balancing act! Still on the whole I feel I'm well controlled but find it hard get my head round that a BS of 8 or 9 is considered high! esp after eating!! The hospital visits are good but now I am on my fortnightly scans I have to see 3 seperate people (scan, diabetic nurse and consultant).

 

[blue32]

I'm only pre-diabetic when not pregnant, but had to start insulin as soon as I got pregnant. I've grown up with a few diabetics in my family, but now have a whole new respect for the discipline involved in managing diabetes.Weeks 8-11 were horrible for me. I was have 3-4 hypos a day and was told not to do sweets. My hypos were in the high 30's (around 2). I would get tingly lips and feel like my throat was closing up. Now, I'm almost 17 weeks. The last few weeks have been much better, and I'm sure that'll be true for you, too. I'm just now starting to get highs again, but I'll take that over hypos anytime!!

It'll all be worth it in the end!

 

[Tanikit]

I also tend to overtreat the lows and end up high. I find Novorapid does not work like the Apidra I was on and so I tend to go a bit high directly after meals and then low before the next meal - maybe I need to eat smaller amounts more often to get this right.

The lows are slowly decreasing though they dropped to 1.9 today at work and I almost didn't pick it up - was very surprised to see it was quite that low so maybe I have got used to lows. I also didn't use to feel highs til I was over 12 and now can tell at about 9-10, so things have changed. I have had to increase the insulin in the last week though not by much - I suspect it will rise rapidly now from week to week as I have started putting on weight now and hadn't up til this past week.

Tabbicles good luck with the third trimester. Sounds like you are doing well - after birth it is another balancing act especially if you breastfeed long term - I found after being a little high and on masses of insulin I was suddenly back to eating loads of sweets to keep my sugars up and the drop in insulin at the birth was amazing - I think I used a sliding scale for a while to figure it out cause the change was so drastic.

 

[welshmummy2be]

hi im also type one on same insulin, although im only in my first trimester (i find the carb counting helps greatly other than routine injections 3 times a day then slow insulin at night) would like to try and keep in touch with the ladies on here as i've had 2 previous MC and very scared about a third also im confussed if some syptoms are pregnancy or diabetes related

 

[tabbicles]

hi ya and welcome Welsh Mummy!
Yes it is constantly a balancing act but just had my 32 wek check up and they are happy. Its belly is on teh larger side of average but nothing ridiculous.
Welsh Mummy I also had a miscarriage last year so understand all your concerns. Untill this one is here I wont quite beleive it but it is reassuring getting kicks now I often find the diabetes causes more symptoms. For example my changing blood sugars were one of the givaways that I was pregnant!

 

[tabbicles]

ps try a website called diabetessupport.co.uk and go to the pregnancy section. It is fantastic as lots of diabetic ladies on hand to talk about their pregnancies/experiences and answer any worries you have!

 

[charliephoebe]

Heya, i have been diabetic for 16 years and found in my pregnancy my sugar levels were dropping very low. my consultant told me most diabetics go low during the first two trimesters then go high on the last, which is is when the baby grows more and why diabtetcs tend to have bigger babies. I had my daughter at 36 weeks beacuase my sugar levels kept dropping til i was still hypoing with only 10 units of lantus and 4 units of novorapid. to stop the night time hypos i moved my lantus to before bed time, that seemed to help. During labour the sliding scale was fantatsic my sugar levels varied from 1.8 to 16! just keep eating regularily and testing loads and hoopefully all will be well, all the best xxx

 

[jmbbf]

hey ladies i was diagnosed 15 years ago with T1, im 22 weeks pg with my first and my bs are all over the place but are getting better now im finally within range with the odd few hypo's mainly at night about 2 hours post dinner. i can sympathise with the highs after the lo's they're just pants!!!! i got changed over at about 12 weeks from novo rapid to humalog doing 12 units breakfast 15 lunch and 15 dinner but am finding im needing less at dinner as i think im having an overload of insulin during the day. then 32 units of lantus at night. im sitting here typing in the middle of a hypo too my bs was 2.0 but im not feeling them as much as i was before which is slighly worrying now, ive got new symptoms of hypo's since becoming pregnant. my eyes go sensitive to light now and i have a numb tongue and throat for about half an hour after treating a hypo and this is the only time i get the metalic taste in my mouth.
my 12 week scan showed baby was within normal growth limits and ive got my anomaly scan in 2 days when il be 22 + 3 so hopefully bubs will co-operate and fingers crossed everything will be fine and bubs wont have grown too big.
hope all your pregnancies are going well and look forward to hearing more stories and support from us diabetics x

 

[Bubby]

I only just saw this thread but I'm also T1 and I'm nearly 38w pregnant with my first. I was diagnosed as diabetic 3.5 years ago but I had no idea how much harder it would be to control my sugars while pregnant! Its also a pain dragging yourself to the hospital every other week!

I really struggled in the first tri as I had awful morning sickness - I'd eat and take my novorapid, then after a bit I might bring my breakfast back up again, though obviously the novorapid was ploughing on regardless! I felt like I was permanently eating!

My 12 and 20w scans were both spot on growth wise but baby has got really big during 3rd tri so I'm being induced on friday evening (38+1). My HbA1Cs have been good and the consultants were pleased (6.2-6.4) but it doesnt seem to have stopped baby turning into a babyzilla!

Its reassuring to hear about ladies on their 2nd and 3rd babies as I have to admit, this diabetic pregnancy lark isn't any fun!

 

[Tanikit]

Welcome to all the diabetic Moms to be. I am now 15 weeks pregnant and suffering slightly fewer lows now. DH had to call the paramedics out a little while back cause I went so low and that was rather unpleasant. My sugars are now increasing quite rapidly and I will again have to change my insulin - at the moment it is pretty low but they are worrying that I am no longer realising when I am low. Sugars have been everything from 1.2 to 21 though more on the low side than high.

12 week scan was fine and I am having a gender scan in a weeks time. Baby appears to be doing fine, though I also will feel better after the 20 week scan.