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

God I've truly done battle with the old diabetes today. I've been injecting next to nothing as have been low carbing, panicking at seeing a 5 an about and a half after, treating it as if it was a hypo, going through the roof, going on a walk to get it down, levels falling too quick - yada yada yada. You get the picture. A real rollercoaster day which feels like a slap in the face when I'm trying my very, very best. Any tips from those of you who low carb? I think because usually if I clock a 5 an hour and a half after eating I really am knocking at the door of major hypo town. But obviously this is different as I'm only taking 2u - 4u with a meal rather than 8/9u? Help!

Also thanks for the tip Bona - it's having the determination to concentrate at that time in the morning and not roll over!

Puds why not tomorrow test an hour after eating then another hour later see what happens. If you're low carbing and not eating a massive plate of fat then I would expect it stay fairly level? Obviously it's different for each of us! Are you at home? I always find it easier when I'm at home rather than working as I don't pay as much attention!

Thanks Spotty - I can def give it try.

I've lost hypo awareness in both PGs and expect to lose it this time too at some point. My consultant said its v common during pg and to get it back, I had to run my levels at around 8mmol for approx 2 months, then bring it back down gradually. Was hard work, but helped a lot!

Yes, I agree with Spotty - 5 is good, perfect even, so don't adjust for it. If it were me and I expected a hypo, I'd be testing again 30 mins later just to check.

I did the same as Rue a couple of years back - ran higher than normal as instructed in order to regain my hypo awareness. Only then I got HbA1C readings of 8 and my consultants told me off!
Why can't we ever win???!!!

And I didn't notice any improvement in my awareness.

4.2 this morning. Was 5.6 before bed but then ate a 4 chocolate digestives. Should reduce evening levemir shouldn't I because without those biscuits I definitely would have had a hypo....

Yes Spotty, you should, but slowly, slowly.

Right then - thanks for the advice. It's obviously a transitional period. I'm going to try and not get down about yesterday's rollercoaster! I was clearly treating hypos that weren't there!

I've been reading up about the Paeleo (sp?) diet - and a few T1s even reckon they've come of insulin entirely. Not sure how responsible it is to tout that kind of thing but it is interesting that the 'diet advice' for us seems to be in direct contrast (eg. Carbs are good). There was also a proper medical study done where the participants just reduced carbs to 'moderate' (which I think I'm more comfortable with) and their HBA1cs improved massively.

puds - as the others have said, don't treat a 5 as a hypo because it isn't.

The beauty of eating low carb is that just because you are 5 after an hour it just doesn't follow that you will keep dropping... Whereas if you'd had a big plate of carbs, you would have had a massive spike after eating and a 5 after an hour would probably indicate you were about to crash into a hypo.

But the point of eating low carb is that it keeps you on a much more even keel - you just don't get the massive spikes and dips, you just bob along at around the same level.

I'm still having a bad time with levels. After dinner was about 9.1 after 90 minutes, which was not great but not too bad, and easily corrected with a couple of units, then went to bed an hour later with my new revised dose of Levemir. Woke up feeling hypo in the night - 3.4. The fact that I woke with that level tells me I've been running higher than usual for a few days. I would feel a hypo when awake at that level, but it wouldn't normally wake me up til it was a bit lower. I ate 15g of carbs and rolled over. Woke up 7.8.

I'm pretty sure that the 7.8 was not caused by a liver dump. If that was the case, it would have been higher. I actually think I treated the hypo to, say, 4 or 5 and then just continued to rise. My conclusion is to add another unit to the Levermir, I think, which his consistent with my other recent readings which are indicating a rise rise rise overnight. Thoughts?

Dammit - it was always fasting readings which were my real enemy, but when I got pg they sorted themselved out. I think wriggler must be going through a growth spurt or something!!

Off to clinic this morning, so will get to hear heartbeat which always cheers me up. Better get on with writing up my BG diary...

p.s. should say that I think the hypo was originally caused by the correction dose after dinner - should have stuck to just one unit.

Argh ok so I'm having unexplained hypos (first sign of placenta failing happened with dd). My usual 12u for breakfast put me down to 3.4 ate three chocolate digestives as was running out the door to retinopathy appointment then tested 35 minutes later still 3.4 so had three dextrose tablets and now 7.5. If my insulin requirements keep going down in the next week I'm going to be begging induction....

But Spotty, you're nearly "there" aren't you? Are you 35-36 weeks now?

Bona, I've always been told not to go mad with correction doses, ie. don't give yourself 2-3us, but rather 1u, then test, 1u then test, slowly, slowly, drip, drip - type thing.

I'm 34+4, was about 35 weeks when I started having hypos with dd. I'm just going to have to keep a close eye on it all until my appointment next Wednesday. Your insulin requirements should definitely increase towards the end shouldn't they, I didn't make that up?!

If I correct I do 1u per 2 on glucose readings (can't think of the right wording!) so say my level is 11 and I want to be seven I would give myself 2u

34+5 even...

Thanks for the advice. I don't want to give up as giving myself 1-2u per meal is just sooo much better for me personally. It's just I'm so used to dropping that fast after hitting target that these '5s' 90 min after are a new animal to me!

Bona - what time did you wake up with the 3.4?

If you give your long acting at about 10pm it peaks in effect at about 3am. I can see that this is fed the case every night from my CGM as that's when there tends to be a drop. If it was around then I'd say to reduce your long acting by half a unit rather than increase. But if it was long before that then I reckon it's the correction dose. They always seem to do the trick for me for bringing things in line but then I inevitably go too low if it's more than 1u.

• def the case!

PS. Has anyone list weight during pg? I was by no means overweight when I fell pregnant (I'm tall and was about a size 12 bottoms 10 top). But since being more mindful with eating and exercise I seem to be losing weight! I was about to put some skinny jeans on the loft, tried them on for a laugh and they fit! I was a bit taken aback as I'm 18 weeks now...I don't know if I should be worried or of it's a good thing!

Sorry for continual typos - I have a toddler on me.

I lost weight to start with. Have now put a stone on in total

5.1 at 2am. Had to eat a chunk off cheese at 4am as was super hungry woke up with 4.2. Still given same units as yesterday for breakfast in case it was a one off but expecting to be low pretty soon. Had to have some normal rennies though as run out if sugar free

A wee bit annoyed today - consultant told me at ante-natal clinic this morning that as my control is erratic he'd prefer to induce me at 37 weeks.
I don't think my control IS erratic; it will never be perfect because diabetes isn't like that.
I protested and he admitted that I was the boss and it was my body after all.
I was so annoyed at his undermining of all my hard work that I left my glucose meter in the clinic toilets had got halfway home on the tube before I realised and had to go back!
What a waste of money and time. I'm SO irritated now.

diec that's awful, did you see the OB consultant or Diabetes consultant? What's erratic about your readings? AFAIK they only need to worry if you're getting unexplained hypos, how far gone are you? I never get anything but praise from my team and I know my control is nowhere near as good as yours!

Well my BP is up they were umming and ahhing on a trace but decided not to (mainly because I had another appointment to be at for dd!) so we'll see what happens at my appointment in a week....

I think he's more Diabetic than Obstetric, he's the head of the unit anyway.
My control is so much better than pre-pregnancy - now 1 hypo per week and 1 hyper (12ish) per week.
I just can't see what he means.

I'm 29+5