Any pregnant Type 1 diabetics?

[dieciocho]

Hi,
I'm looking for other pregnant Type 1 diabetics in London, just to have someone to keep in contact with and share advice/horror stories/support each other etc.
I don't actually know anyone at all with Type 1, despite having had it myself since 1989

I had a KFC. My mum had tested my sugar level and it was 27 but they didn't want me in until the next day

Puds, remind us how pregnant you are.
It's just I had days like that earlier on in my pregnancy. I felt it was because I wasn't accurate enough with my breakfast Novorapid dose.

Re: time of diagnosis - I'm glad I was diagnosed pre-adolescence (9) as it meant I was still obedient enough to follow the advice of nurses and parents in order to manage my diabetes relatively well. If I had been a rebellious teenager, I would have been a very different story!

Me too Spotty :-(

Right I'm going to channel you today Spotty and try harder!! I can't imagine what it must have been like for you being diagnosed at 12 but perhaps you are more 'at one' with it than me as every hypo still strikes the fear of God into my heart!

Hi diec - I'm 12 + 4. So even if breakfast post meal test okay breakfast bolus could still affect lunch post meal?

I bet it was def easier to comply at 9 - if it'd had a got me at say 15 I'd have been a bloody nightmare!!!!

I am terrible to live with at mo as when my levels spend any 'additional' time out of range I get so frustrated and upset. I don't think I'll calm down until the heart test is out the way. I honestly think a diabetic pregnancy is so stressful! Do others feel this way too?

Hmph, seems I'm spiking after breakfast. Upped my units by 2 for breakfast (now on 16 two slices of toast) and reading was 9.0. Stupid morning hormone surges, never get this when not pregnant!

Oh I was a nightmare teenager, spent a week in hospital after getting drunk and not doing my injections! In fact I spent many a weekend throwing up green bile all night because I was too embarrassed to do my injections I think I'm probably lucky to be alive!

"So even if breakfast post meal test okay breakfast bolus could still affect lunch post meal?" Puds, I'd say it could possibly. Then again, it could be hormones. Have you considered the effect of Dawn Phenomenon? Depends what time you're seeing 10-11 readings.
That 12-16 week time was pretty up and down for me (maybe not helped by the fact that we were on our summer holiday in France eating tonnes of croissants!)

I'm assuming diabetic pregnancy is more stressful than "normal" pregnancy, but I'll never know! Yeah, I'm not convinced I will want to do this a second time round - despite our wanting to have two children.

I still remember my first ever hypo really vividly - I was frightening; I was pulled out of whole-school assembly because I'd gone white as a sheet.

Now I'm quite far into the pregnancy I've stopped getting hypo warnings, had a 1.9 and didn't feel low at all!

This pregnancy was a 'surprise' and so I think it was a bit meant to be. If it hadn't have happened I'd have put serious thought into going through it all again. DH considering getting the snip after this one!!

I would have been the same as a teen. I was terrible. Talking about alcohol when you lot aren't preggers how far do you go? My limit is about 3/4 bottle of wine at absolute most as otherwise I face a day of quite serious hypos. I wouldn't mind having a glass or two whilst pregnant but I've really not fancied it.

Spotty I know 9 isn't the target but if I miss the 7.8 an hour and a half after my next aim is 9 two hours after. If I don't hit that then I get upset! In my first pregnancy targets varied hospital to hospital and I changed hospitals half way through. I remember being totally flabbergasted as I'd been asked to hit 7.8 within two hours after eating (which for me was a push) and then suddenly asked to do it in an hour and a half - that being when my levels normally peaked at that point after a meal! All was ok. It just shows you that there is a gold standard but not achieving that doesn't spell disaster, although it doesn't stop us worrying.

I lost all my hypo awareness last time Spotty. Had a few hairy 1.9ers only picked up by a random test. Scary!!

Diec you've made me feel better :-) I eat what I fancy really and so when I don't hit target I have a bit of a self blame thing going on - thinking I could survive off meat/veg/egg/salad and I'm just being selfish eating what I want. Of course that's not sustainable but it's the guilt that gets me!

Well I've just tested again and it's 6.8 so I'm thinking of doing my breakfast novo rapid an hour before eating tomorrow. This pregnancy was a surprise too, I had a coil in! My hospital likes you to be 7.8 an hour after eating

I'm really not a big drinker tbh, we go out for 'special occasions' ones every few months maybe and then I get drunk and thoroughly regret it the next day!

Mmmm croissants, I'm so hungry all the time for lots and lots of carbs!

I don't see how this isn't more stressful than a 'normal' pregnancy. It just must be. It is so worrying to know that just the simple act of eating something can be damaging your baby and the constant worry of testing, adjusting and calculating must take its toll.

I have 3 and a half weeks until my cardiac scan and just cannot WAIT for that to be over. Hopefully if all looks well at that stage I can relax into it a bit.

My hypo awareness is not great at the best of times; I'm told it's because I've been diabetic for over 20 years, so I'm less sensitive. That's why I'm glued to my monitor and need those 8 boxes of test strips each time I go to the pharmacy!

Re: alcohol, I really fancy a glass of wine these days. I'm looking forward to December when I'm off to a wedding (1 glass of wine allowed, I reckon!) and Christmas lunch (1 glass allowed again, in my opinion.)
When not pregnant, I had around 2 - 3 glasses of wine or 2 - 3 pints on a Saturday night and that was pretty much all.

I had 100ml (and yes, I did measure it!) of wine on Saturday night, but didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Think it was guilt.

Think I will have a couple of glass of champagne over the Christmas period. Hey, if I'm only having one drink per night, better make it something special, right?

I've also been drinking the Becks Blue 0% alcohol beers at home. They taste like real beer and really go well with things like curry when I would have otherwise have had a beer

Yes, I started off on 0% beer, but after about my 8th week the smell/taste of beer really turned my stomach - not that DP gave/gives a damn; still breathed/breathes it all over me. Yuck.
I'm still not interested in drinking beer even now at 24+ weeks.

Probably better not to be craving it as it'll be a while yet.

I actually don't necessarily miss the taste of wine or beer or whatever, but I miss that slight warm buzz on a Friday night after a hard week and a few relaxing glasses....

Yep, I agree BonaDea, that "ah, the weekend" feeling.

Sooo with us all being induced.... is there anyway I can go in a pool next time does anyone know? This is what I would like but I don't want to be laughed at for my naivety

• Pessaries are fine
• ARM as last resort
• NO sytocinon
• Not on sliding scale until in established labour
• Intermittent monitoring, not continual
• Chance to use a pool!!
• Encouraged to be mobile rather than not even allowed up to go to the loo

Umm think that's it, does any of that sound likely?

None of that was possible for me Spotty. BUT I was incredibly naive and took anything I was told as gospel. I had a horrible labour last time. Horrible. I blame it on the induction hormone mostly which led to me taking an awful form of pain relief called pethadine (the hormone makes labour five times as bad pain wise according to my midwife).

I want a wish list like yours this time, have kind of broached it with my team but was quickly told 'you'll want to do what's best for baby, won't you? Would be awful if something happened at that stage.' The top on my list is NOT having the hormone.

I now don't know what to do for the best. I'm glad you brought it up.

Well I had an awful time too which is why I want it to be different! The bastard hormone drip is the devil! I had diamorphine but they were so worried (I think that's the reason) that they only let me push for 30 minutes before getting the forceps out.... Surely with a second baby just the pessary and they'll pop out an hour later?!

Sorry Spotty I'm being an idiot - forgot you'd been through it all before. Hmmm yes that's what I'm hoping too! Actually that's more or less said the same sentence to my mum today :-)

I'd LOVE a water birth :-( there is a woman on the Diabetes UK website who put her foot down and had a home birth! So it is possible, it's just whether or not you are brave enough to stick up to them in the face of quite intense pressure about the safety of the baby. I think I'll crumble.

I will be putting my foot down re. hormone drip though.

Well I'm seeing diabetes nurse tomorrow then specialist mw, who is lovely, so might see what her thoughts are on it and report back. I remember them trying to get that bastard drip in, took the mw, registrar and finally consultant to get it in! And they refused me an epidural....

Please do report back - I'll be very interested in what they tell you! I had an epu last time but far too late after I'd gone through extraordinary pain. This time I'll be insisting on one from the off. They for some reason didn't give me a full block either - again I'll be asking for one. That is if I absolutely need it but I have a sneaking suspicion I bloody well will!!!

Why wouldn't they let you have one Spotty?