Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by LemonTea on June 6, 2011 at 10:51pm

I hope we will be ok and that the placenta will work at least untill 36-37 weeks.
I tell myself that the placenta is working ok now since my insulin needs have increased in the last days and the baby gained weight.

Permalink Reply by LemonTea on June 8, 2011 at 6:05am

So i went to my doctor today. She said i have nothing to worry about, that it is ok for the placenta to age at this point and that she could give me a treatment but it is better to see how things are developing, not put me on pills that will have other effects, since i already have to deal with my diabetes.
My next appointment is next week, when we will probably have another ultrasound and see how the baby's heart is doing.
I am glad that she is on the same side as me considering the natural birth, since my endo said "don't even think about it, go with a c-section at 36-38 weeks", but hasn't given me any strong reason for that.
My ob-gyn hasn't said anything about induction either, but i am sad that she might be out of town when i have my due date.

Permalink Reply by August84 on June 11, 2011 at 12:07am

Hi everyone, just wanted to update my reply from a little while ago. As of right now, my insulin needs haven't decreased anymore but I definitely do have to take less. I had an elective 3D ultrasound and everything looked fine then and I have a growth scan check this coming Monday.

At my last doctors appointment, they decided to start the NSTs a little earlier since my insulin needs dropped and everything checked back normal. Just wanted to also say thanks for all of the input.

I also have a question kind of off topic. Tonight when I was giving myself my nighttime insulin I had a weird thing happen. I went to inject myself and it hurt a little bit at first (which sometimes happens) and when I went to take the needle out, blood came gushing out of the injection site with a lot of force. It squirted out a good 4-5 inches from my side and didn't stop until I put my finger over it.

Have any of you ever had this happen before? It scared me! I've always had this silly fear that I could stab the baby or something, but I know it can't really happen with a diabetic syringe, but needless to say, it definitely came across my mind then. I've never had it happen before and I hope it never happens again!

Permalink Reply by Jenn on June 13, 2011 at 6:17pm

I am 35 weeks and have been experiencing lows for about 2 weeks now. My doctor just decreased my basal rates. I started to experience insulin resistance at about 28 weeks or so, and my basals seemed to need to skyrocket, but now they have come down.
I spent the weekend in the hospital, however, and I am officially on bed rest due to possible preeclampsia. My high risk ob has been doing 24 hour urine tests for protein. The number for protein to be considered preeclamptic is 300 and I am at 268.... also my blood pressure is higher than it usually is.
It looks like the majority of this discussion has been about placenta deterioration, but have any of you been told to watch for signs of preeclampsia? I'm wondering if I should be pressing my doc about deterioration as well?

August- I have had blood gush from an injection sight before... also I have had blood gush from a pump sight when I am changing dressings... i wouldn't stess too much, but mentioning it to ur doc couldn't hurt.

Permalink Reply by LemonTea on June 28, 2011 at 12:51am

Hey Kristin! How are you and your baby? Are things going ok, are you getting along?:)

I wanted to ask you how fast did your insulin needs start to drop?
I am 35w now and for the last 3 days i have experienced some lows and i see a significant drop in my needs, day by day. In my basal and my bolus too.
I have been in the 50-70 range almost all the time these days.
My baby is active.
My next ultrasound is on monday.

Permalink Reply by Kristin on June 28, 2011 at 8:21am

My needs continued to drop until the end. Overall I think that I decreased my insulin by 25%. When I kept having more and more lows, the doctor said it was a sign that the baby needed to be born, but she definitely wanted to wait until the end of the 37th week. Since everything looked fine with the ultrasound and the non-stress test, we waited until I completed the 38th week. Then I started having some contractions (I did not feel them, but they showed up on the non-stress test) and on one ultrasound it looked like I had too little amniotic fluid. So that was why the doctor decided to do the c-section when she did, but I think that she was also worried that my lows never stopped, even with less insulin. But from what I hear, this is normal!! My placenta was FINE when the baby was born and I was having lows right until the end. So I would ask them to tell you how the placenta looks at the ultrasound. They can tell you if it is starting to look old or damaged. If the placenta is looking fine and the babies movements seem normal, then I would not worry.

BUT it is dangerous for YOU to be 50-70 all the time. So I would definitely decrease your insulin to keep your blood sugars a bit higher.

We are doing well! My son is eating very well and is only crying when his stomach hurts. He sleeps A LOT. I am having a lot of lows because of breastfeeding, but I haven't had the time or energy to adjust my insulin yet. So I am just eating a lot of fruit and ice cream all day to make sure that I don't go low. It's hard to find time to worry about my blood sugars now!

Permalink Reply by Marps on June 28, 2011 at 1:33pm

I'm starting to see insulin requirements taper off too. Before last week, I was increasing my basal AM every 4 days. I was increasing my basal PM every 2 days. For the past week, I've only increased once for each. So... my insulin resistance is beginning to taper off. I'm at 36 weeks now (docs estimate at 34 weeks)

I'm doing twice a week Non Stress Tests and they check my amniotic fluids once a week to make sure they're okay. Last ultrasound showed I had slightly elevated amniotic fluids, but she said not to worry too much about it.

Baby is extremely active.
Measuring just under 6 lbs now
I've been having strong and long Braxton Hicks contractions for 5 weeks now
Last exam was two weeks ago and I was 1 cm dilated- I'm guessing I'm beginning to efface because baby is dropping

So, basically, I'm experiencing what they were expecting. My body is preparing to go into labor on its own (hopefully) and my insulin needs are decreasing nearly right on target. I hope things keep going this way because it is really worrisome. I'm completely mentally and emotionally drained and just want my little girl to be born healthy.

Kristin- Thank you so much for continuing to log on here to share your experiences. I look forward to hearing from you and hearing that you both are still doing so well. You give me strength and hope.

Permalink Reply by Kristin on June 28, 2011 at 2:05pm

Hi Marps!! It's great that you are both doing so well! How many weeks along are you now?

Our son was born right after I completed my 38th week. I even had contractions the morning of my scheduled c-section and the doctors described the baby as "ripe" and ready to come out. It was pretty clear that 38 weeks was enough for him! I was so worried about trying to make it to 40 weeks :) He seemed fine the way that things turned out!

Permalink Reply by Marps on June 29, 2011 at 7:30am

Yeah, your son looks just beautiful. I'm so glad for you.

We're at 36 weeks by my estimation- 34 weeks by the docs estimation... so we'll just say 35 weeks along now. She is measuring at about 6 lbs now and we are scheduled for induction if we dont deliver by July 20th. So, I figure she'll be around 7.5 or 8 lbs when she's born. We'll see what happens. My appetite has been waaaay down these past few weeks, so I've been having a hard time keeping the weight on. But she's been doing really well. I'm hoping for a healthy baby girl really soon!

Permalink Reply by LemonTea on June 28, 2011 at 8:22pm

Yesterday i took less insulin, still had a low, but the rest of the day was ok, with numbers like 4,1 and 5,6. I even had a 10, which i corrected immediately.
Last night i went to bed with 6,9, took 20u of lantus (so i kept decreasing it from 27 a week ago) and had a 6,2 and 5,6 during the night. It's so good not to wake up with a 3 bg.:) I hope the decreased lantus will also help me not going too low during the day.

I'm glad to hear thing are going ok. Sorry about the stomach pain! It will pass! You should find time to adjust your insulin, so you won't worry about the hypos affecting your ability to take care of the baby (as i've seen they do).

Thanks for finding the time to answer our problems!

Permalink Reply by Natasha on July 17, 2011 at 7:01am

hi all - i thought i'd revive this discussion - i'm curious to hear more about everyone's experience with decreased insulin needs.

at my u/s appt last week (at 35 wks and a few days) my peri was extremely concerned that i've had decreased insulin needs (needs kept creeping up from week 23 or so until 35, then decreased suddenly by 20% and then another 10%)..... although baby and placenta look great on the u/s (and baby has been passing all NSTs), if i see any further decrease in insulin requirements, she wants to do an amnio to check for lung maturity and induce next week (just before or at 37 weeks).

she said that she is extremely aggressive w/her diabetic patients... that seems to be an accurate statement. have any of you had docs want to induce due to insulin requirements alone (even though everything looks great on the u/s)?

Permalink Reply by Kristin on July 17, 2011 at 1:11pm

My doctors (endo and OB-GYN) were very concerned about the decreased insulin needs, despite everything looking fine on the ultrasound and NSTs. My insulin needs decreased in weeks 33-34 and then really until the end of the pregnancy (but less drastically in the later weeks). I think that all together my insulin needs decreased by 25-30%.

My OB-GYN insisted on waiting until I completed the 37th week. In fact, we waited with the c-section until I completed the 38th week.

The decreased insulin needs did concern her and it was one of the reasons that she decided to do the c-section when she did, but it was not alone enough to cause her to decide to do the c-section.

From what I hear, most of us experience decreased insulin needs without placenta deterioration. I will say though that our son was READY to be born when he was (on the first day of the 39th week). I had started to have more lows in the days leading up to that. So perhaps that was some sign of his readiness.

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