Anyone diabetic before pregnacy

[JoLM]

Hi 080509

Just thought it may help to let you know my experience of looking into getting an insulin pump.

It was before I was pregnant but mentioned my interest in getting one at my diabetic appointment, and in Hampshire they require you to complete a carbon counting course then once that done they would have considered giving me a pump.

The course dates came through really quickly but personally decided not to go ahead. I'm unable to inject into my stomach without feeling really ill, goes back to when I was originally diagnoised but hope it helps. xx

 

[LouisaC]

080509 - I hope you manage to have a better night tonight and get some much needed rest!

JolM - They can't use the DAFNE course (the carb counting one) against you in the decision of whether to give you a pump or not - it used to be the way a lot of authorities got out of providing efficient treatment - to only put on one or two a year - it doesn't work now as ppl got wise to it.

I actually find it easier to use the pump - the infusion set is a little bit like the softclix, but for your insulin - you press a button and the needle hoots into your skin and leaves the little tube that is connected to the pump cartridge behind - so its just like being on a drip, but a lot more transportable!

I can understand finding it hard to get along with, I occasionally have to take an hours off or so and detach myself!

Kellyrae - how are you? Not heard from you in a while - I hope everything is going well!

 

[080509]

Thanks both of you xx
I did do the carb counting course when i was 12 weeks along, even though i get told off for carb counting, they tell me "carb counting won't work i will just get frustrated" despite them saying that i do carb count and aim for less than 30g at breakfast, 30 at lunch and 30 at dinner, i do snack to prevent hypos so i probably have around 130g carbs a day (unless i've had the hypo monster) lol but pre pregnancy i was on less than 60g a day of carbs and needing tiny amounts of insulin, but due to the starvation ketones i had to stop the low carbing once i got pregnant. Sorry thats a ramble!

What i'm wondering is they say to do a basal test on the diabetes forums (though not for pregnancy) but i did that the other day, i was 8.5 in the morning fasting, and then at 3 oclock in the afternoon i'd dropped to 3.8! So to me it seems the pump would be handy as my requirements change alot depending on the time of day, i know its that damn dawn phenomenon shoving mine up, but i can't see any way around it unless i have the pump. Tomorrows phone call should be interesting! Also i've got a telling off for rearranging my eye appointment next week! They did it for the 16th which is my LO's first birthday! So i told my DSN i've rearranged it for July (there weren't any available appointments until then) and she gave me a lecture on the risks of this and that with my eyes, i told her i'm aware of that but up until pregnancy my control had been great and we had plans for my LO's birthday and i'm not cancelling them just to go to a check up which i'l be sat around 2 hours waiting as usual! Plus those eye drops make me feel ill/shattered for the rest of the day which will ruin things, i know thats minor compared to what the retinopathy can do but still that annoyed me they should be more understanding. How are you both? And also not heard off kellyrae or kmichelle for a little while, i hope they are okay and just busy prepping for their babies xxxx

 

[CelticNiamh]

Hey every one
just a quick question I hope not a stupid one LOL
but I cut my heel on wednesday a tiny cut so did not think much of it, but yesterday it was really sore, this morning it is worse and you can see puss, my foot is very swollen but that could be normal swelling I have been getting any way! but what do you normally do, should I worry

 

[kellyrae]

Hi Ladies, sorry not been on in a while, my little one had a bug and of course its done the rounds of our home so been a little under the weather....all good now though.

Bloods have been fine although I have had to increase my bolus to 3 units/10grams carbs!!!

Turning into a right insulin monster now haha......good news from the eye clinic yesterday, he's happy to leave the laser now, but wants to have one last look a week before I'm due to have section just incase

36 week scan on Tuesday and clinic, I started the colostrum expressing this week too....keeping my fingers crossed her sugars don't drop so low this time though....best to be prepared for it, although only one seems to be working so far????

Can't wait to switch my pump back to pre pregnancy rates!!!
Not long to go now LouisaC

Hope everyone is doing ok.....I read through the pump discussion threads quickly, dunno if this helps anyone but I have only had mine for a year in june....it was my diabetic team that suggested I tried one because my hba1c was constantly at around the 8mmols mark, and due to hypos during the night, and he also mentioned that I have had diabetes for such a long time, but he said I ticked some of the boes to be put forward for one, then I had to wait for the funding to be approved which took about a month then had to go on a days course to be shown how to use it.
Tey also wanted me to go on the dafne course before I started the pump but was never able to make them, and still haven't been on it, but my dsn said she isnt too concerned as i have always carb counted since being diagnosed 26 years ago :s

I have the accuchek combo pump, I found it hard to get to grips with after having injections for so long, infact I was on the verge of giving it them back as I just couldnt get to grips with constantly being attached to something all the time but I can honestly say I would be completely lost without it now, push them for one if you think you can benefit from it, I personally think everyone on insulin should start on one or get one, and I don't agree with this postcode lottery, they could prevent so many problems for children with diabetes in years to come for them, lifestyles could be made easier and could save the nhs alot of money considering how much diabetes and its complications alone cost them now already.....xxx

 

[kellyrae]

Hey every one
just a quick question I hope not a stupid one LOL
but I cut my heel on wednesday a tiny cut so did not think much of it, but yesterday it was really sore, this morning it is worse and you can see puss, my foot is very swollen but that could be normal swelling I have been getting any way! but what do you normally do, should I worry

Hey there, I fell through my daughters plastic toilet step a couple of days ago and cut all my foot too

I just made sure its clean all the time so it doesnt get infected, but if I was getting puss and its swollen I would go to the doctors just to be safe, an infected foot doesn't usually go down too good with diabetes, they will help it heal better xx

 

[CelticNiamh]

Hey every one
just a quick question I hope not a stupid one LOL
but I cut my heel on wednesday a tiny cut so did not think much of it, but yesterday it was really sore, this morning it is worse and you can see puss, my foot is very swollen but that could be normal swelling I have been getting any way! but what do you normally do, should I worry

Hey there, I fell through my daughters plastic toilet step a couple of days ago and cut all my foot too

I just made sure its clean all the time so it doesnt get infected, but if I was getting puss and its swollen I would go to the doctors just to be safe, an infected foot doesn't usually go down too good with diabetes, they will help it heal better xx

Thanks I can not believe how quick it got infected I will have to go to the doctor later and see what they say! it is driving me nuts

 

[kellyrae]

Hey every one
just a quick question I hope not a stupid one LOL
but I cut my heel on wednesday a tiny cut so did not think much of it, but yesterday it was really sore, this morning it is worse and you can see puss, my foot is very swollen but that could be normal swelling I have been getting any way! but what do you normally do, should I worry

Hey there, I fell through my daughters plastic toilet step a couple of days ago and cut all my foot too

I just made sure its clean all the time so it doesnt get infected, but if I was getting puss and its swollen I would go to the doctors just to be safe, an infected foot doesn't usually go down too good with diabetes, they will help it heal better xx

Thanks I can not believe how quick it got infected I will have to go to the doctor later and see what they say! it is driving me nuts

Its a pain!!! They will just prob give it a good clean and maybe give you something to clear it up

 

[CelticNiamh]

Hey every one
just a quick question I hope not a stupid one LOL
but I cut my heel on wednesday a tiny cut so did not think much of it, but yesterday it was really sore, this morning it is worse and you can see puss, my foot is very swollen but that could be normal swelling I have been getting any way! but what do you normally do, should I worry

Hey there, I fell through my daughters plastic toilet step a couple of days ago and cut all my foot too

I just made sure its clean all the time so it doesnt get infected, but if I was getting puss and its swollen I would go to the doctors just to be safe, an infected foot doesn't usually go down too good with diabetes, they will help it heal better xx

Thanks I can not believe how quick it got infected I will have to go to the doctor later and see what they say! it is driving me nuts

Its a pain!!! They will just prob give it a good clean and maybe give you something to clear it up

oh hope they do not squeeze it!!!! ouch

 

[080509]

Phoned this morning and basically got no where in terms of the pump, i was told it wouldn't be beneficial in terms of anxiety and hypos, i was in tears so i couldn't argue the point in what the NICE criteria say, i thought one of the reasons was if your life is severely interupted then the pump is the way forward. I said i can't keep the <7.8 one hour post meals and its more realistic to keep it less than 6mmol two hours after, so she agreed. I've got an appointment with the DSN next week so at least that brings it forward 5 weeks! But i doubt we will get anywhere.
Woke up this morning and bloods were 10mmol so having to increase the levemir even though i will go hypo over night, it gets to be depressing when you hope you will wake up when you go to bed doesn't it? I'm not coping with this at all, i was asked if i wanted to see a psychologist or to spend a couple of days in a ward to control my sugars, i declined both.

 

[080509]

I'm not depressed outside of pregnancy/diabetes, but its getting to the point where i'm randomly bursting into tears like a mad woman because all i can think of is diabetes diabetes diabetes, all day/night long, i'm fed up of seeing high levels all the time, and equally fed up of being panicky about hypos. My family know nothing about diabetes (except OH but i bet he's sick of me droning on) they just think people get diabetes if they've had too much sugar and all it means is you can't have cake, so i have nobody to talk to apart from OH.

 

[JoLM]

Thank you for the further info about Insulin Pumps may have a reconsideration once baby born. Have to admit very nervous about being on my own with the little munchkin in case I go into a hypo.

080509-I really hope your diabetic team reconsider your request.

 

[CelticNiamh]

I'm not depressed outside of pregnancy/diabetes, but its getting to the point where i'm randomly bursting into tears like a mad woman because all i can think of is diabetes diabetes diabetes, all day/night long, i'm fed up of seeing high levels all the time, and equally fed up of being panicky about hypos. My family know nothing about diabetes (except OH but i bet he's sick of me droning on) they just think people get diabetes if they've had too much sugar and all it means is you can't have cake, so i have nobody to talk to apart from OH.

Big HUGS hun did you change what time your taking your levimar to a later time so you wont go low around 3am may be that might help even a little

hope your ok


I am happy to report my foot is much better infection is going all ready cream working a treat

 

[kellyrae]

Thank you for the further info about Insulin Pumps may have a reconsideration once baby born. Have to admit very nervous about being on my own with the little munchkin in case I go into a hypo.

080509-I really hope your diabetic team reconsider your request.

I felt like that with my first.....I remeber the hypos from breast feeding and there was a couple of times it got scary, she 2yrs old now and she knows where "mummys juice" is kept if I ask her to get it me (lucozade) and she knows how to do my blood sugars with my machine, luckily I have never had to use this method with her but sh sort of took it on herself to want to help, as little girls do

I know its different to having a newborn by yourself but you sort of go into a certain mode when your by yourself, call it an extra motherly instinct for diabetics that we get

 

[080509]

Thanks ladies, bit better day today, doing the 2 hour check is proving better for me (though i know i should really keep to 1hour but i can't function) my 2 hour readings have been in the 4's and 5's so i'm happy with that, if anythings its making me eat better too, with me checking at 1 hour i was often eating alot of rubbish (chocolate/crisps) because i could over-use insulin if that makes sense, where as today i've eaten proper food as i want to keep the 2 hour reading as good as possible.
I would love a pump one day, but i can see why they prioritise others first as i haven't had type 1 for very long (3 years in total (they thought it was GD in my first pregnancy but sadly not lol) so i'm happy if they put people who have had this for years first and also children/babies too! I will just try and keep tweaking it for now and hopefully be okay.
I went to bed on an 8.6 last night and woke at 7.4, checked at 4am and it was 7mmol so although still out of target its much better than waking in the 10's and 11's, i'm thinking of going to bed around 7mmol tonight and seeing if the amount of levemir i'm on is right by hopefully waking below 6, hopefully not too low though haha!
Typical as i was feeling better today in myself, its rained all day! Where as last week we had 2 hot days and i was so unwell with panic attacks/anxiety we stayed in

Its my little boys birthday next week, 1 already! Can't believe it, so i'm not sure what we have planned but it will either be eating out or the farm depending on sunny england's weather lol

 

[080509]

Me again lol, what does everyone here do? Stick to 1 hour targets or 2 hour? and if you stick to 1 hour how do you avoid going hypo? i checked at 1 hour and it was 10.3, and 2 hours it was 5.1, but i can't help feeling like the 1 hour should be lower, but when its normal at the 1hour mark, i end up hypo unless i drink lucozade then, things like fruit/biscuit doesn't prevent it x

 

[kellyrae]

When I was on ionjections and pregnant with my first I always had to have my insulin at least 20-30 mins before I ate to get my bloods to be half decent 1hr after food, don't know if that helps rather than having insulin when you eat or like some people after, maybe have a play around with when you inject?? Xx

 

[080509]

Thankyou i will give this a go tomorrow, high after evening meal again, i'm getting stuck for ideas in terms of what to have which will agree, it seems salad is about the only thing which works! Or a sandwich xx

 

[JoLM]

I'm the same as Kellyrae and tend to do my injection 30 minutes before food time but I also do not check sugars until 2 hrs after food, little munchkin seems to get very active when my sugars start dropping which does helps. Looks like i'm getting Mummy hypo training in early with him.

Hopefully will be getting my delivery date booked in tomorrow. xxx

 

[Xanth]

I also have my insulin around 30 mins before meals.