Diabetes and Pregnancy

Forum Post: Re: How many U/S did you get?

Gina — Thu, 09 May 2013 02:37:00 GMT

At my OB, I had an U/S every two weeks from day 1. Then when I was at biweekly appts I had them 1x a week till birth. I think it really depends on your doctor. My doctors weren't high risk but, I felt like they were with how much they took care of me!

Forum Post: Re: How Many Weeks Did You Make It Before Delivery/C-Section???

jennagrant — Tue, 07 May 2013 17:56:00 GMT

I was also induced at 39 weeks, even though my baby was healthy and my pregnancy had been non-eventful. My body just wasn't ready though (baby hadn't dropped, cervix not dialated). Wish I had waited until 40 weeks when the induction may have been more successful.

Forum Post: Re: 2nd trimester?

Jessicamanning — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:03:00 GMT

That's so good to hear! I'll be 17 weeks tomorrow, and was wondering when the appetite/cravings would kick in. I guess maybe some women just don't experience that? I had a really bad low last night, but for the most part, my numbers have stabilized, with a few more highs than I would like :/

Forum Post: Re: Lupus Anticoagulant (LA) positive

toomshum — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:42:00 GMT

Thanks Gina,

I went to my doctor yesterday and she referred me to a haematologist.

I was asked to take an APLA in which only the LA (Lupus Anticoagulant) test came positive. He said APLA are immune protiens formed by immune systems and it is not clear why some people produce more, but it can result in clotting of blood which can lead to miscarriages in the second or third trimester of pregnancy. There are a variety of APLA protiens produced by the blood and LA ratio is only one of them which has come higher than normal for me.

He said that the APLA have to be clearly elevated and be repeatedly positive (preferably 2 or more months apart) before it is considered to be relevant and significant.

He told me all the problems associated with it, but also told me that one test cannot confirm anything as in some it can fluctuate for no reason and it is not a perfect biochemical test like blood sugar which can be arrived to a conclusion instantly. All tests conducted with it and all other factors should be seen before concluding that it is indeed LA. THen future course of action can be decided.

Thanks for replying Gina. I was really worried that day.

Forum Post: Re: Working While T1 and pregnant

caitlin5661 — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:40:00 GMT

Thanks for the input everyone. I'm trying to be more zen about it and figure I will keep working like usual unless it becomes a problem. Like I said, it's just hard to imagine since I'm already a bit worried about keeping such tight control (as I'm sure most people are). I used to have a desk job where it was no problem at all for me to test, eat, even change an infusion site pretty much anytime I needed to, but now that I have a client sitting in front of me 90% of the time, it's not exactly very professional to stop a therapy session to take care of my diabetes :). But that's nothing compared to being a paramedic, t1 and pregnant! Thank you all again, I'm sure I'll be on this board a lot when we actually take the leap and do it (probably this fall assuming okays from all the docs!).

Forum Post: Re: Pregnant and SCARED!!!

AMPG2013 — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:42:00 GMT

I have read the comments and they are all wonderful advice. I was having a hard time in my morinings, between high sugars and getting sick it was hard to control. I was told by my diabetic nutritionist to stay away from cereal, fruit, and milk in the morning. I have been eating one egg (scrambled) and a piece of wheat toast (10 carbs) I will either eat it with a little butter or peanut butter, with a glass of water. I then eat a snack about an hour and a half later. That is usually something that I can count easily, like a granola bar or peanuts, apple sauce (the individual cups). I will be 12 weeks this saturday, and I can say that my carb ratios have changed almost daily. The trick is to continued checking. I was also told about the Dexcom (spelling???). I am hoping to have this put on me this monday. It allows you to set your limits on a machine and through a wireless connection it will alert you when you go below your lowest limit (mine is 60) and above your highest (mine is 140). Then you can follow up with a check yourself. After talking to the Diabetic educator about this I truely hope I am allowed to have it and that it works. I am not able to have an insulin pump because my body swells around the port. Therefore it doesnt work after a few hours. I am hoping my boby will take to this.

The most important thing to remember is you are doing the best you can! Every day will be different. But the closer you can stay to eating the same thing throughout the day, and write it down to track yourself, the easier it will be.

Forum Post: RE: Overwhelmed at the thought...

jennagrant — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:26:00 GMT

[quote user="Jessicamanning"]Hi, I'm a pretty new type 1, will be a year in June, so this forum is really helpful - I've learned more here than any session with my endo. When u day test and correct, do you mean correct a high BS on the spot? Do u immediately give yourself more insulin to correct a high reading? I'm not on the pump and have only been injecting prior meals. If I have a high post meal in the future I just give myself more insulin if I find the carb ratio high in my next meal. Should I be correcting on the spot? I feel at an endo appt I was told not to do this, but I'm currently in the middle of switching endos and don't see my new one until this coming Monday. So just curious to see if I should have been correcting sooner![/quote]

Your doctor should have given you a correction factor, which is a formula that tells how much insulin to take to correct a high. Ask him about this if you don't know what yours is.

With a pump it's easy to give correction doses at any time because it can calculate insulin on board, plus pumps only use short acting insulin so it's less complicated. You can calculate your own insulin on board with shots. Look at John Walsh's book "Using Insulin" for a good explanation and the formulas.

Feel like I should be getting a kickback from John Walsh for recommending his books. =) But they're just good and sometimes available at the public library.

Forum Post: Re: Share your T1D pregnancy success stories!?

Jess — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:32:00 GMT

Thank you all so much for sharing your stories. It's interesting and informative to hear what other diabetics have done and gone through.

I'm currently on insulin injections. I was on the pump for awhile, but I'm so slender, I just had too many issues with infusions sets not working where ever I put them. I got so frustrated I went back to injections. My doctor encouraged me to go back on the pump while pregnant but I just really dont feel comfortable with it. I take Novolog for meals and corrections and Lantus once a day. She also said there was not alot of studies on women taking Lantus insulin during pregnancy, but again I had bad experiences with the other long-lasting insulin and it was my choice.

I guess from reading everyones stories though, I think it's best to do what you feel most comfortable with as long as your baby is staying healthy. I really have to work on my blood sugars, thinking of trying out a CGM now! And although I really do not want a c-section and would like to deliver naturally, I'll just have to see how it all plays out and just prepare myself for whatever may need to happen. Whatever is best for me and baby! :)

Forum Post: Re: early preg lows?

jennagrant — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:43:00 GMT

I had lows in the first trimester but I also had bad nausea in the evenings and rarely ate dinner. Hard to know what caused the insulin decrease.

Forum Post: Re: 3rd time is a charm???

Jess — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 04:50:00 GMT

So sorry to hear about your miscarriages. I would absolutely do as the doctor suggests even if your glucose levels have been good lately. You can always try an at-home A1C test if your extra anxious, but that will reflect numbers from the past 3 months. My advice is to just be patient. If you can keep your blood glucose levels at a normal level for the next 3 months, then you know for sure you're ready to ttc again.

Focus on getting into the routine of staying in good control! You'll need the strict routine once you become pregnant, as bg tend to go crazy.

Good luck :)

Forum Post: Re: When did you have your baby?

jennagrant — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:07:00 GMT

Induction at 39 weeks, which was unsuccessful so then I had a cesarean. Wish I had trusted my instincts and waited until the 40th week. My pregnancy was completely healthy and there was no medical reason to induct early, other than that as a mom with diabetes I was seen as high risk.

Forum Post: Re: Things my doctor is concerned about

jennagrant — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 17:01:00 GMT

You're not a bad mom. You're not helpless. Every pregnancy is different and every expectant parent has different things to worry about. Just take decent care of your diabetes and deal with issues as they arise.

I had high fluid levels with my pregnancy and knew nothing about it until my water broke and one of the labor & delivery nurses said, "Wow, that's a lot of amniotic fluid," and another nurse said it was common in diabetic pregnancies.

As long as there's no health risk, the extra fluid is actually great. It gives your baby more room to move around so he/she isn't constantly in your ribs or on your bladder. I felt my son move in vitro, but it was never uncomfortable like some moms experience.

Forum Post: Re: 7 Weeks pregnant and a type 1 for less than a year... nervous!

Jessicamanning — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 20:11:00 GMT

Thanks so much! Yes, i was initially diagnosed as a type 2 too! It's nice to hear that other mothers were able to function throughout their pregnancies without using a pump. i agree, I can't say i'll never get one, but for now, it's not right for me.

Forum Post: Re: Pregnancy Toolkit is now live on JDRF.org!!!!

lizluvscats — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 08:57:00 GMT

This is FANTASTIC! I am 10weeks pregnant and a T1 for 22-years. There are so many questions that were answered in the toolkit that I have been searching all over the Internet for weeks to try and find, but wasn't able to in all cases. I feel a lot less anxious now and this will help me prepare as I progress through my HEALTHY diabetic pregnancy.

Forum Post: Re: Nervous! Could use some feedback!

Carrier245 — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:06:00 GMT

I guess you could say they are time consuming tests, and a bit annoying. I had to go twice weekly from 30 weeks on. They check the baby's heart rate with a monitor that is placed on your belly. You sit in a chair for 30 minutes or so. After they give you a sonogram to check your placenta because they always fear it will break down before delivery. You will be asked to go home and daily do a kick count for 30 minutes. They want the baby to kick 10 times in an hour

My recommendation would be that you check out several places now to do them. I was told I could only go to one place, the hospital across the street from where the endo was. I did have more options but it was tough to find a place with openings, who took my insurance, and was close to home.

The woman who conducted the test was a lunatic, to put it nicely

I had to cancel once and attempted to reschedule and she refused to work with me. Sometimes the people who conduct these work with women who are not so cautious so they tend to be control freaks.

Later on my feet and thighs were so swollen from pre-eclampsia that I called when this lady was on vacation and the nurse taking over insisted I had to come in. She called in a resident to look at my swollen ankles. She let me go home. My care was not the best.

I hated going to the non-stress tests. Try to find a place that is not crowded with a nurse that is pleasant. If you are working these will make your life impossible. If you are younger and have nothing other than diabetes you might be able to talk the doctor into letting you go once a week.

Most insurance companies will cover you to go anywhere. Bring a book with you or hearphones. The magazines they have at those places are all promotional, a bit dull.

Forum Post: Re: unexpectedly pregnant, could use some Chicago dr recommendations?

Katie Clark — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 15:26:00 GMT

I'd ask your Endo if you trust them. They must have had previous patients with type 1 who've gone through pregnancy.

Forum Post: RE: About 5 Weeks Pregnant and Need Advice/Guidance Please

Sara K — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 21:11:00 GMT

Thank you ladies!!!

I am very excited.....just want to make sure I do everything right so we have a healthy baby.

I have not seen a dietician...but I am watching my carb intake. My husband and I are measuring our food (like pasta) and we eat very health! (no sat fat, no salt). We have been preparing for this pregnancy for about 3 months so and made adjustments to our diet before we got this amazing news. So now, it all feels very natural.

But, although it feels like i'm doing it all right, i do still get the weird highs.... the one problem is we eat dinner a bit late. We usually eat about 8 pm...and I got to bed at around 10pm. By the time I get home from work its around 5...and between winding down a bit, showering, and making dinner, it seems impossible to get dinner on the table before 8 pm. Not to mention, my pre-bed sugars are usually on target...last night when I got in bed I was at 90 (2hours post meal)....but around 3:30 am my Continuous Glucose Monitor alarmed me telling me I was at 170. So I got up and took a correction bolus. Not sure why there was a spike even though I didn't eat anything before bed.... GRRRRRR!!!!

And I see the OB for the first time on the 20th...I cannot wait! I am not sure if they will do the ultrasound on the spot, but we will see what the OB says.

Forum Post: Re: Travel during the first trimester???

Fouzia Tahir — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 13:12:00 GMT

simply enjoy these moments,, thats all

Forum Post: Re: Hoping to get pregnant for 1st time at 39 years old

Euchavez — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:15:00 GMT

Hi mlibby,

I am 39 years old and 8 weeks pregnant. My endo informed us that he did not recommended me to become pregnant but it happened. I was really scared when I found out, but things happen for a reason. So right now just taking better care about myself and positive thinking all the time. I will keep you posted how my pregnancy is going.

Hope this helps!!!

Forum Post: RE: 32 Weeks and BH Pain?

Gina — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 03:06:00 GMT

crystal,

Something I have noticed with my doctor was that if he was worried then i worried! if they are worried they will send you directly to the hospital.