Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kim Nater on May 5, 2012 at 4:09am

I'm sorry you are having so many lows! Please don't worry though. I'm 26 weeks along and have been tot he high-risk doctor several times for ultrasounds. They said my baby is very healthy, perfect heart, and everything is totally fine. I have A LOT of lows. I dropped to the 30s twice last week. I drop into the 50s at least twice twice during the day. They checked her, and she is fine. It just stinks for us! Your baby is probably eating up a lot of your sugar for you! :) I hope you feel better!

Permalink Reply by Diana on May 7, 2012 at 7:32am

Thank you and congratulations!

Permalink Reply by kestrel on May 5, 2012 at 2:37pm

OK, I'm no doctor, BUT:

1) Everything *I've* been told is that lows are not a very big deal (unless, of course, you pass out or something.) And definitely remember that non-diabetic pregnant women often run in the 50s and 60s in between meals. My endo told me that, and I stopped treating the 60s as low if I was planning to eat soon anyway. I've been low a LOT, in the beginning and again now at the end (I'm 38 weeks). My baby clearly does not like it if I am low -- she flips around like crazy -- but everything is fine with my pregnancy as far as my high-risk OB can tell.

2) It's HIGH blood sugars that can seriously harm your baby. They carry an increased risk of miscarriage and birth defects early on, and, later, of your baby getting too big. But don't freak out when you do go high; just test a lot and bring it down quickly. The occasional high doesn't matter so much, I don't think; it's running high regularly. Definitely get your fasting numbers down below 90, or even lower. That buys you hours of good blood sugar control while you're asleep.

3) Low blood sugars are normal at 8 weeks. Everyone's doctor tells them to expect lows, and then people get on the forum and say, "but wait, I'm running high!!" As far as I can tell, it's because the lows kick in around 8 weeks, which is when your doctor first sees you. But *earlier than that* many of us run high (I certainly followed that pattern, and know from this board that I'm not alone.)

Permalink Reply by Sarah Kay on May 29, 2012 at 8:44pm

Yes everything she said... Except I went low and stayed low since baby implanted... Good thing I craved pineapple the first few weeks!

Do your best to stay on top of the lows... I had to eat something small with no bolus every 2 hours to avoid going low.

I had a slight increase in basals since then, but weeks 19 and 20 I saw a lot of weird lows come up. Do your best to stay positive and eat often :)

Permalink Reply by mhynes on May 5, 2012 at 3:35pm

From everything I have been told highs are worse than lows. I suggest you consider setting a temporary basal until monday. That and test a lot.

Permalink Reply by Diana on May 6, 2012 at 5:36am

Thank you both. I'm checking my sugar every hour until Monday. I got approved for a cgms and that should help a lot.

Permalink Reply by Kristin on May 7, 2012 at 4:15pm

Woah, every hour! That's a lot! Do you mean during the night too? I think that you will need more sleep then! I remember being SOOOO tired around week 8.

Permalink Reply by Kristin on May 7, 2012 at 4:14pm

I agree with the others -- you don't want to have lots of lows, but you should not be overly concerned about the effects on the baby. Sustained highs are what we really need to avoid. You aren't staying low for long.

I had A LOT of lows starting at week 9 and we were decreasing my basals every week until week 19, I think. In the process of figuring out when to lower your basals, you will have lows.

You are doing everything you can (checking often and correcting). Be sure to check at least once during the night to catch lows then too. I always had to pee during the night (at least once) during the entire pregnancy. So that was never a problem!

I remember being worried about EVERYTHING related to diabetes during pregnancy. Now I look at my amazing, healthy (almost) 11 month old and I already forgot that I held all those worries.

Permalink Reply by Diana on May 8, 2012 at 8:58am

Hi Kristin,

I was getting consistent lows from 9pm-3am so I checked every hour over the weekend, popping glucose tabs like candy. I definitely felt like a pin cushion lol. I didn't get super low but I was between 60-75. I like my bgs in that perfect 90-120 range :) Yesterday, the nurse called me with good news my a1c is 6.2 and my thyroid and kidney function are normal so I feel better about being pregnant. I know I have a long emotional road ahead but it's nice to know I have support.
I'm going to see the ob/gyn soon and wanted to know what kind of questions to ask her? I was trying to find some questions online but haven't had any luck. Thanks again for your support.

Permalink Reply by kestrel on May 8, 2012 at 1:35pm

During pregnancy, 90-120 *isn't perfect*. It should never go above 120 (ha ha ha yeah right -- but ideally not), and that only 1 hour after meals. Really you should be aiming at lower than what you're calling "perfect". Both my endo and my high-risk OB agree on this... your fasting numbers and between meal numbers SHOULD be like low 70s. I think you should readjust what you're thinking of as "low"! Seriously.

Permalink Reply by Diana on May 8, 2012 at 4:00pm

I'll ask my endo but she thought those numbers were low. I wont meet my OB for a little bit longer. I think sometimes doctors and patients are just playing one big guessing game ;)

Permalink Reply by Kristin on May 8, 2012 at 4:04pm

I tried to stay around 100 as often as possible as well ... but my endo did "re-adjust" what low was and I only treated below 65. This was because pregnant women tend to have lower numbers anyway. I actually got to the point where I felt fine at 65. If hypo unawareness is a concern then that is a good reason to keep things a bit higher.

My endo really avoided lows as well, but I decided that during the next pregnancy, I am going to aim for more fasting numbers under 80. If that can be done without more lows. Ugh!! Such a balancing act!!

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