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Conception

When's the best time to get pregnant? Use our interactive ovulation calculator to work out when you're most fertile and most likely to conceive.

Original poster

Any Type 1 Diabetics out there also TTC....?

88 replies

confusedforever · 08/03/2011 20:22

Hello, I am diabetic this type and am on the first month of TTC. I have good blood sugar control etc but, and this is also apparently due to my age, been told that being diabetic can be a bit of a hindrance. Is there anyone else out there in the same boat? (I know there are lots of type 2's or people with gestational diabetes but not so many type one's) If there is, I'd like to hear how you are all going about things while having a fairly normal / relaxed life at the same time...

OP posts:
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Original poster
confusedforever · 21/05/2011 17:49

Hedgesparrow - did you get your BFP? I have just re read my previous posts about not having much chance to do it at the right time last month but, shockingly, we managed it and I got a BFP on Sunday! Was more than gobsmacked, I have to say!
Now have very sore boobs and sugar that seems to leap upwards over the slightest thing (don't normally.) Have mentioned this to midwife, my first appt is meant to be 6th June, and she didn't seem too fussed which I thought was weird. Going to call again on Monday and stress I want to speak to someone (am on a 3rd more insulin than normal already) as it strikes me as a bit odd.

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HedgeSparrow · 15/04/2011 13:24

I have to say temping does appeal to my inner 'project manager' LOL!

Original poster
confusedforever · 14/04/2011 23:21

Oooh, Hedgesparrow, do keep us posted!
I think I do want to do a bit of plotting. Even though it's only the third month the extra careful control business is wearing a bit thin. I think it would wear even thinner if I am still doing it (or meant to be doing it!) in six months time! While I realise that these things often take far longer than one would hope, I would like to try and help things along if I could!

Cloclo - I don't think your DH's sperm count would be affected, tbh. Not if he was generally okay I wouldn't have thought. I am not basing this on anything, by the way, but reckon it ought to be fine.

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HedgeSparrow · 12/04/2011 16:31

Haha, confused, we did take advantage! I'm now 4 days post ovulation and just waiting to see. I can actually say that with confidence now I have been plotting my temps on fertility friend. I'd recommend doing this stuff if you want a bit of control back (I got fed up of vaguely wondering and hoping) but if you're feeling happy enough with things i'd just enjoy ttc for a while. Though I sympathise with timing issues and it was definitely galvanising seeing the +ve ;-)

Hi Cloclo, I'm afraid I don't really know the answer to your question. I have a male Type 1 acquaintaince who has 3 kids (non-scientific anecdote allert!) I guess that's one for his next diabetic check-up appointment (though men can be cagey about that sort of thing!) There might be some info on the Diabetes UK website?

Cloclo15 · 12/04/2011 15:29

Don't want to hijack thread as a slightly different question, but my dh is a type 1 diabetic and I wondered if any of you know whether this can have an impact on ttc? He is healthy, 31, landscape gardener, tends to run low if anything though recently been a bit high at night.

Can his diabetes have an effect on sperm etc?

Original poster
confusedforever · 12/04/2011 13:50

Ooooh, just having a look on my phone and saw recent updates. Hope you managed to do the deed Hedgesparrow! Am wondering about OPK sticks myself although its only month 3 of trying. And both working silly hours so VERY unlikely to have worked this month. Close to nil in fact, and parents and in-laws about at the right time next month so can't see much shagging happening then either!

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HedgeSparrow · 06/04/2011 13:55

Hi confused, just checking in now. How are you?

Still no BFP for me, but I'm feeling more positive this month as have been doing OPKs and temping for the first time and got a smiley face this morning Smile. Hopefully we can take advantage of this, and at the very least it's eased my paranoia that things are NOT WORKING.

Original poster
confusedforever · 02/04/2011 23:30

Hi all, is anyone still reading this thread...?

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Ilovekittyelise · 18/03/2011 15:56

oblomov, no, never use bolus wizard. i just find that with different food types and so on, and when i know im going to be swimming an hour later or whatever i end up flexing things anyway for factors the pump doesnt understand and prefer doing the sums in my head; it also makes it easier to do stuff like superbolus when im insulin resistant and large carby meals which my body seems to take eons to deal with these days (pregnancy is so fun)

tiggersreturn · 18/03/2011 13:35

I know about exchanges too oblomov.

Original poster
confusedforever · 18/03/2011 10:48

Thanks for answering my questions, both of you.

Like TTCing, it's a whole new thing for me (the idea of a pump.) So, to get this straight, it gives you the same as you would have to inject but works it out for you depending on your carbohydrate and also the current blood sugar reading? I do this myself easily enough, so why is pumping easier? (Am asking as I want to know rather than with scepicism!)

Until very recently I have always not cared where I have a jab, and can do it very quickly and easily but have got a bit more hesitant in recent years as I hate the associations with Type 2 (and we all seem to agree on that one!) I did a quick Google last night and I saw that somke pumps also appear to have a glucose monitor attached - is this the case?

I was diagnosed when I was 5 and lived in the middle east - the care I got there was absolutely brilliant (it was British staff but a private and brand new hospital). They taught me about carb counting (exchanges and carbohydates, did you learn that here...?) I used to have a little book where I drew pics of what I had eaten and what it amounted to (pls note, I was 5!) The reason I asked to be put onto Humalog when it came out, or when I heard about it, was because before I was on a 30/70 mix which wasn't great for tight-ish control (especially when going out on the piss!) The Levemir / Humalog combo I am on now works really well and has done for ages, although there is always going to be a degree of room for improvement unless, and I would be more so if I was pg, I was fanatical.

BTW I was on Insultard before but was told by the diabetic nurse (the good one, the one at the hospital) that there was a very small chance that it was associated with cancer in the babies of diabetic patients, hence I changed over to Levemire (much to the GP's disgust as apparently it costs more.)

As re your birth drama's Ilovekitty I too would not want to be induced etc etc just as I am diabetic. If there was a genuine medical reason, then of course I would, but I would question every suggestion. This is why I am adverse to the drips in the hand scenario. I can see why it works quicker, the glucose and the insulin, when via a vein but it's not like either the Humalog or the glucose takes a long time when either injected or taken orally. I also think that perhaps being attached to machines and less able to move around would make the process more drawn out and therefore be counter-productive. If there was a genuine medical reason, then fair enough, not I am not wholly convinced there always is. I think I have had too many negative experiences with 'health-care professionals' to simply accept what they have to say and yes, I sometimes so also suspect that having diabetes also means you are dead from the neck up with some docs!

Will stop before I too get on a rant (am also typing sneakily at work and this may be a bit disjointed - that's my disclaimer anyway!)

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Oblomov · 18/03/2011 09:30

Well, I've never been on a daphne course. I think because my diabetes shows that I know exactly what carb counting is. How do they think I've managed for the last 37 years ??? My previous diabetic pump nurse said I could probably teach them a thing or two !!
Kitty, do you not use the bolus wizard then ?

they set your carb ratios for breakfsat, lunch and dinner. say they think you need 1.4 units per 1 carb ( when i say i car, 1 = 10 grams of carb, like the old fashioned 'portion' - god, I'm really showing my age here. so i digestive biscuit = 1, 1 potato = 1.

so it you did a blood test, say 11.3, and then put in 2, for the fact you were about to have 2 carbs, it would automatically give you say 3 units. this is becasue it give you the 2.8 for 2 carbs, 1.4 for each. but it also gives you the extra 0.2 for being a bit high in the first place. the whole operation takes about 5 button presses and its done. fab.

who was it earlier in the thread who said their pump wasn't very discreet ? I too have just got funding for the VEO, and am waiting to get one. quite excited. but worried about it being heavy and non-discreet.

Ilovekittyelise · 18/03/2011 08:34

PS i forgot to say, i managed to avoid the carb counting course.

Ilovekittyelise · 18/03/2011 08:33

Hi confused,

Pump works using novorapid (or other rapid acting insulin) only; so you set it to pump x amount per hour, either evenly spread or according to your body's needs. on the bolus side yup you just press the button instead of take your shot. there are functions whereby you can have carb ratios in the memory as well as correction factors so that you can test, input the number and it will tell you how much to bolus, but to be honest i never use those features, carb ratio is more the starting point with everything else that goes on in life that affects my doses!

i got a couple of books from amazon (recommended by people in the US where they actually do diabetes properly...) which are honestly the best purchases i ever made and of far more use in my diabetes career than anything anyone in the NHS has ever said; at about a tenner each 'think like a pancreas' by gary scheiner and 'pumping insulin' by john walsh. both of these were invaluable pumping or not, even when you are experienced and know what you are doing.

re the NICE guidelines they are basically a bit stupid (and i believe my consultant is getting involved in whatever committee is involved to get these changed). you can look them up on google they basically talk about suitability being based on failure to achieve good control on injections. seeing as you still have to do all the work yourself (and much more if you want to really have the most from a pump) i dont see how someone who is incapable of testing and taking the right amount of insulin is suddenly going to be any better on a pump, other than a child who might have injection phobia or whatever. you have got me started on the rules LOL. i actually have a friend who is a dietician who works with pumpers and despairs at these types of pump patients, they fail with the pump just as they did with injections and yet the NHS keeps throwing money at it (pumps cost about 3k then a about 1k a year for supplies).

in our area its standard practice to make someone go on a carb counting course before pump (for which there is a year waiting listing or something - ridiculous). like you i thought what a waste of time and said so. the response was 'but you need to count carbs for the pump' and my response was 'how do you think i have the control i have now without counting carbs'; response 'how do you know how to count carbs' i was glazed over by then; if you are interested in pump i would address that issue now about the course and prepare your argument as to why its un-necessary and a waste of resources (it may seem like common sense to you and i but apparently the number of people who have had type 1 for years and are baffled by the concept of carb counting is quite surprising)do you ever get the feeling they assume that diabetes means brain dead as well?! so ridiculous.

Good old rant. can you tell how frustrating i find the whole thing?!

Original poster
confusedforever · 17/03/2011 22:29

I may look into it. Am hoping I get a half decent doc when I move and will discuss options. I currently know nothing about pumps other than what the crap nurse told me so these recent posts have been a bit of a revelation! You both seem very clued up, which gives me confidence as well as curiosity to explore into it more.
I use fast acting insulin before every meal - do you pump in the appropriate amount instead? What about background insulins? Why are they offered to people with crap control rather than good? What is the attachment like - this makes me a bit squeamish but, from what I can gather, you did two and realise its all fine.
Will google answers too but sometimes its better to ask someone who uses one (bit like the diabetic birth stuff!)
The crap nurse is ALWAYS trying to push me onto one of those DAFNE courses. I have said no repeatedly as I have been adjusting my doses to my food since I asked to go onto Humalog in 1997,and have the blood sugar readings to prove I know what I am doing. Would I have to go on one of these courses if I asked for a pump?
Sorry about all the questions! Am typing again on my phone so hope its not too disjointed! Bit weird hearing your viewpoints on pumps as it is a total contrast to what I have been told, as well as assumed (due to what I've been told!)

OP posts:
Oblomov · 17/03/2011 20:22

similar. mine goes from 0.5 to 1.1, and then to 0.7.

Ilovekittyelise · 17/03/2011 20:09

oblomov i was the same - i was so worried about attachment and it was such a non issue! my DP is mega too! i increase my rate incrementally from midnight to about 6 am from about 1.2 to 2.0 (and during the day its mostly 1 or less!)

Oblomov · 17/03/2011 19:47

Just to add, that like kitty, i didn't like the attachment thing of the pump. having something attached 24/7, i didn't like the idea of. but once I got one, I got over that SOOO quickly. and now its liberating. I have a huge dawn phenomenen, apparently and a pump is one of the best things for that.

Ilovekittyelise · 17/03/2011 19:46

the standard thing in the UK is to reward people for poor control with a pump; totally ridiculous waste of resources, if they cant be bothered to get half decent control on injections god help them on a pump.

im lucky enough to have a consultant who thinks the NICE guidelines are a pile of crap and allocates pumps to people that put the effort in and will use it to fine tune things and because they are really into sport.

typical ignorant attitude from your nurse, they are a wonderful tool for the highly motivated to achieve normality.

Original poster
confusedforever · 17/03/2011 19:31

Am replying on my phone but will post properly later too.
My nurse at the GP's gave me the impression that a pump is for people who cannot cope with injecting, or organise themselves sufficiently with their food / injections. She said "don't worry about that, you're waaaay off needing one of those!' However, I presume from your post that this is not the case at all...?!
Will write later re Ilovekitty's pregnancy post - I am envisaging very similar scenarios and am not even pg yet!

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HedgeSparrow · 17/03/2011 19:18

LOL at mars bar on a station platform! I know exactly what you mean though.

No wonder you want to be released from the tedium of all those appointments when you have been successfully managing such a complex exercise/insulin regime for so long. Good for you! My exercise regime is considerably less energetic Blush. I feel happy on injections but sometimes wonder if I am missing out by not being on the pump.

Congratulations on your pregnancy btw Grin

Ilovekittyelise · 17/03/2011 18:39

Hi Sparrow (lol!)

To be honest the main reason I started pumping was because i need SO much more insulin at night/in the small hours and do a lot of sport (well i did anyway, open water swimming comps are now more like a plod up and down my local pool a few times a week, thats pregnancy for you!). I keep my control about the same as it is now on injections; however, in order to do that I woke myself twice during the night to take novorapid to supplement the lantus, and obviously had to take a shot every time i snacked meaning up to 10 or 12 injections a day sometimes (now its the press of a button!); I never really had hypos, as i set my basals to take care of the lower insulin requiring parts of the day and supplemented at other times (for example i took 12 units of lantus and then about 4 or 5 of novorapid to cover the night/early hours, whereas if i used the lantus to hold steady overnight i would have haad to take 24 units or so, eat all afternoon and my swim training would have been a mess).

pump is what you put into it; you can work as hard as you like but it pays off; i LOVE it. i have about 8 different basal settings over the day and night (from about 0.6u/hr to about 2.0u/hr at moment) and can turn down a couple of hours before exercise and avoid sugary drinks etc, it is absolutely brilliant and totally liberating. the 'attachment' thing is a non issue when you realise how easy life can be; like standing on a train platform thinking 'hmmmm i fancy a mars bar but where am i going to inject' becomes a thing of the past!

did i mention i love my pump?

HedgeSparrow · 17/03/2011 13:56

I wonder if the pump makes it easier to get good control without hypos. Did you find that Kittyelise (lovely name btw)? I'm on Levemir and Humalog at the moment but could go onto a pump if I asked I suppose. I just don;t really like the idea of it!

Ilovekittyelise · 17/03/2011 08:37

ps i hope my first paragraph didnt sound arrogant and boastful, i just wanted to lay out the facts because they are important for the context of my post. other than where the diabetes police are concerned im honestly quite an ok person, they just make me MAD!!!!!

Ilovekittyelise · 17/03/2011 08:35

Hi Ladies

Glad to find this thread is still going. I have been fighting the NHS to get discharged from consultant led care this week (Im type 1 also).

I have excellent control (HbA1C