Type 1 diabetic mums & mums to be damn that dawn phenomenon!

[SpottyTeacakes]

New thread ladies

[SpottyTeacakes]

Congratulations Bona!! So pleased for you and a perfect weight too!

[SpottyTeacakes]

Argh went to bed at 6 and woke up at 13 going to up my levemir 1 or 2u?

[BonaDea]

Thanks spotty! Am so thrilled!

I'd go with 2u, I always do with levemir. Then add a 2am test the first night (if you are not already up peeing) to check its not too much!!

[dieciocho]

A million congratulations bona, I really hope the caesarean was ok for you.
What a good weight and a fab bg reading!

[RueDeWakening]

Congratulations Bona fab weight, I hope the BG readings are all good.

[Hopingforno2]

Aww congratulations bona what a nice weight too

[BonaDea]

So lucky - his last three readings have been 3.4 so they are really stable and everyone is happy! Not sure he is on top of breast feeding just yet but as he's less than 12 hours old 'ill let him off.

[Hopingforno2]

Aww bona thats great! Glad he is doing so well

[SpottyTeacakes]

That's really good news Bona. Is he quite sleepy? I think no matter the baby/mum bf is always hard until your boobs have settled down a bit. Hope you're feeling ok?

[Hopingforno2]

Just noticed ur post puds yep not long at all! Are u going in at 37 or 38 weeks?

[dieciocho]

Good to see you again puds, was wondering if you were in the same situation as bona...

[Hopingforno2]

rue i had been meaning to ask i said that they had changed my eye results to say i had to see opthamology to see of i need treatment or not its playing on my mind a bit tbh the woman i spoke to seemed to think it was just a very cautious doctor and i would be unlikely to need treatment but also that i should mention when i do get an appt that i just had a baby (she said it would take 2-3 months for appt!) in your experience if it was bad would they have me in sooner? Also did your eyes improve postnatal?

[RueDeWakening]

Eyes are normally a bit bonkers during PG and immediately postnatal - takes a little while for them to settle down (this applies to everyone eg prescription changes etc not just us lucky diabetic types!). If it's background changes then 2-3 months is unlikely to make much difference I think though, and they might choose a wait and see approach rather than aggressively treating, as stuff can resolve by itself and the treatment (laser) creates scar tissue on the edge of your retina which is a risk and can cause issues with vessels catching on the scar and that causing bleeding, also retinal tears/detachment (highly unlikely so don't worry about that one really!).

That's my non-medical understanding of how it works, anyway. I was actually at the Moorfields clinic yesterday (as well as antenatal, busy day for medical stuff) and am going back in about 6 weeks for the 3rd trimester check, so far things this time are remarkably stable which is a massive relief considering my past history.

[Mylittlepuds]

Ahhhh!!! Congrats Mr and Mrs Bona! Welcome to motherhood - tis quite a journey! How are you feeling?

[Hopingforno2]

Well they said initially i had only one more micro bleed an that my result was pretty much the same however they have now said that after my pictures were looked at a 2nd time they want to check me as it might be closer to my central vision its on the 'borderline' when i said what does that mean she said she measures it as being ok but the doctor measures differently and made the final decision. The woman i spoke to seemed ok with it even said it may have healed by the time im seen postnatally but Im a worrier so concerned this means im on a downhill slope and even tho the sensible part of my brain says if it was urgent they would have u in by now and there is a long long path before my vision would be affected i keep worrying about being blind and not seeing my dc grow up. Stupid i know and hormones are not helping. Sorry i keep repeating myself but my oh and family dont really get how much it worries me

[RueDeWakening]

I was blind for ~6 months when DD was little, it's scary but there are things out there that help. EG the hospital referred me to adult social services who provided stuff that helped day to day, and also gave me access to support groups (didn;t use them due to tiny baby in tow!) and offered to take me out around my local area to teach me how to get around.

Also, don't forget that a) there are treatments (vitrectomy) even when you've lost vision and b) often eyes are not affected at the same time so you would likely be able to see out of one eye for most/all of the duration of treatment. And to give you an idea, it was about 4 years between initial changes/laser treatment and the massive bleed I ended up with (and mine was caused by going on the pump and having a massively improved HbA1c in too quick a timescale - gradual changes in HbA1c and staying relatively stable control-wise should mitigate that risk).

[Hopingforno2]

God rue that must have been soo scary! Im not sure id cope if im totally honest it scares me to death. Sorry if this is too intrusive but did u lose ur vision then get it back again? Ive not been a good patients diabetes wise with exception to my 1st pregnancy i feel so stupid now and wish id been more careful, im still not great patient i eat things i shouldnt but my bg levels seem ok as i allow for it in insulin doses and my hba1c is around 5% Also 4 years would normally seem a long time but in this respect doesnt feel long at all. Also im worried that my control will be worse for a bit postnatal and this will worsen things too def no more babies for me. Is what they said even likely? Could things improve and return to normal?

[RueDeWakening]

Yes, I had a vitrectomy in one eye when dd was 6 months old, which fixed that eye and restored vision. Then one on the other eye when DS was 1 yr old which fixed the other - and eg I have my driving licence back which obv I'd had to surrender.

I honestly think you'd surprise yourself if it came to it - you don't have much choice but to cope, it just becomes normal life for a bit. I was fortunate because we live in London so public transport is good and I got a freedom pass off the council (free z1-6 travel card) so could still get around.

[Hopingforno2]

Thanks rue cant seem to drive it from my mind just now i think its the thought of not being able to see at all that has me panicky more i guess if one eye was functional i would get by, where i live would be a challenge and have most likely irrational thoughts that my dc would need someone else to look after them. The most annoying thing is this is the best my control has ever been and during the 'couldnt care less' years my eyes were always perfect! Even through the rapid hba1c improvement of preg with ds. Im 30 this year is that young to have changes or not? God the person i see when i do get my appointment is gonna hate me when i hit them with sooo many questions. Im just really hoping they say its fine or stable anyway and you dont need treatment. I only remebered last night as i was tossing and turning that she said they were prob just checking there was no fluid leaking?

[dieciocho]

rue, hoping l was told at eye appt. last week that l now have a small amount of plasma leakage - is that the same as a bleed? Dr said it'd clear up when l stopped bf-ing and got my sugars under control again.

[dieciocho]

Btw rue thanks for sharing your eye story - goodness me, what an experience .

[Hopingforno2]

diec im not sure but i think thats what they have reffered me to opthamology to check, did i have background changes previously? Does bf affect ur eyes as well then?

[Hopingforno2]

That was meant to say did u have changes prev too diec

[dieciocho]

No, no changes for about...2 years hoping.
The only way bf-ing might affect your eyes is that it causes big changes in your sugars and your general control - well, it has done for me anyway .

[RueDeWakening]

Hoping what they don't tell you is that you don't necessarily lose your sight completely - it's not like being in pitch dark. There's swirly blood in your vision, but as you move your eye around it moves too, and it's often possible to either kind of look out of the corner of your eye (peripheral vision), or look one way then back in the other direction quickly, it takes a moment for the blood to swirl back into view so you can see for a bit.

I was 29 when I first had a bleed (in one eye, which cleared all by itself), and I was 36 when I had the 2nd vitrectomy. It's more to do with how long you've had diabetes - I was dx in 1984 so a fair while! Rapid changes in HbA1c are one of the biggest risk factors - even if that change is an improvement. Eyes like the status quo, they're not fans of change.

Will be back in a bit, got a preschool run to do now! :o