Bloods going crazy, no 2 days are the same.

[Smit]

Hi all
My blood has been pretty good so far in pregnancy but today they have gone higher than usual. I have been on a 1 to 1 ratio all the way through. Last week I upped my breakfast to 1 and a half as was sitting a little high an hour after. Some days this works others i. Crash and have a crazy hypo. Today all ive done is correct, should i up my insulin or just keep correcting? I up it and some days crash and of I don't may run high. It's just crazy. Not doing anything different on these days. I'm now 32 weeks.

 

[Babysaurus]

Mine went bonkers when I got to 20ish weeks, very frustrating isn't it? I'd personally up your insulin a tiny bit, but not too much in case of another nasty hypo, and then see if you need to correct further. Are you on pens? I am guessing so. I think the pump is meant to be easier to even out these ups and downs but obviously at 32 weeks there's not much point changing now (it'll prob take at least a month to even get one!)
I am also guessing your DSN may have some tricks up her sleeve - good luck and keep us posted! x

 

[Smit]

It's a nightmare isn't it? I'll up it all and no doubt it will come crashing down again. Hospital been great but its hard for them to advise as levels change daily. Do u correct if you are high after two hours? Consultant wasn't keen for me to correct like this but if i dont it just goes higher and higher. I think Dafne has gone out the window at the moment. Only 6 weeks to go, on the count down. X

 

[Babysaurus]

At the moment, if I am high I test every hour and correct if necessary. It seems odd to follow your consultants advice and not correct like that, what else would they suggest you do to bring levels down as quickly as you need to in pregnancy? Maybe they are worrying re awful hypo's as a consequence, but if you are testing like mad you will hopefully be able to catch it before it gets nasty (not ideal I know, but needs must at times don't they?!)
I am also finding that sometimes things have happened, ie gone up, for no sensible reason - I could have eaten and done the same as another day which will have passed without anything unusual. My DSN said that sometimes your blood sugars can play silly b***, and unpredictable ones at that.
Yep, it's a nightmare!
Six weeks, eh? You lucky thing! 😉

 

[Smit]

I have no idea what they want me to do regarding correcting, think they'd rather i didnt go high. But like u day sometimes it happens even if you eat or do the same. I am testing all the time just to check all is ok. Will be worth it in the end. Just so difficult and hard at times. I'm getting induced at 38 weeks if baby doesn't come before, its already head down, hoping it doesn't make an early arrival. Hoping todays been a one off. fingers crossed for a better tmw. X

 

[Smit]

Ps thanks for reply, I'm glad I'm not the only one testing all the time. 🙂 Xx

 

[Babysaurus]

Saying you'd rather you didn't go high doesn't actually help rectify the problem though, does it? While some docs are great, I do get the impression a lot of the time that they don't quite realise quite how involved and stressful it can be sometimes. If I had unexplained highs I was often looked at in a way that said 'come on, tell us what you really ate?' as if I was secretly binging on Toblerone and forgetting to take any insulin for it. Very frustrating!
If I were you, just keep correcting and raise things a bit. I can't see what else you can do really, and as you say, highs are far worse baby-wise than lows. As long as you are testing enough to nip any low's before they get dangerous (how is your hypo awareness? mine close to vanished for a while due to keeping such tight control, but now is back thank goodness) you will be okay.
Good luck with it all and no, you certainly ain't the only one who's doing loads of tests! x

 

[Smit]

I know that look they give you with the odd high reading. My consultant is great, knows i know a lot as had it for 27 years and knows I have good control, its his sidekick who upsets me most. Hypo awareness is still here, thank goodness. Upped my levels today and sitting at 4, 2 hours after so pretty happy. Woke up hypo which wasn't good but expected with all the correcting I was doing last night. See what today brings. X

 

[Babysaurus]

Hopefully today won't bring too many sudden surprises. Great that you have good hypo awareness too. I personally would rather be having lots of little hypo's than one nasty high, under these circumstances. Not great either way but guess it's the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Ellie Jones]

Smit

What are you eating for breakfast and also the night before... As this may be were your problem lay... The adsorption of the different foods, you could still have a supper or tea (more so if its something like pasta, pastry or high in fat content) still impacting on the bloods in the morning, so this masks problems with the breakfast bolus, similar with your breakfast you could be crashing because of the slower adsorption on that type of breakfast on that day!


Smit on you on a pump or still injecting..

One of the reasons you consultant doesn't want you to correct too quickly, is because you end up stacking your insulin causing an major hypo, when the stacked insulin hit you in one swoop.. Even with the advantage of an insulin pump and a bolus wizard correct too often you can still stack your insulin..

 

[Nic]

Hi Smit

I am having problems like this at the moment too, blood sugars seem to be creeping up and all over the place! But it's to be expected I think and it sounds like you are on the home straight now!! I am 26 weeks on Friday and things have been creeping up for the last few weeks so think it is the third trimester and higher insulin demands kicking in.

My insulin to carb ratios have increased a lot over the last few weeks, tomorrow I am going to try 1 unit for 5g of carbs and see if I can stop the after lunch peak!

Good luck with your fine tuning 😉

 

[Babysaurus]

Oooh, Nic, I have just read your post and wanted to say that I am at 28 weeks this Friday and have found my carb ratio shooting up massively - I am now on whopping 2.5 units (on a pump so can do halves) per 4g! After lunch it tends to be less so am on 2.5 per 7g. I think, if your case is anything like mine, it is indeed the third trimester / higher insulin demands.
Good luck with it all!

 

[Nic]

Hi Babysaurus,

Wow that is a lot! Do you find you have to snack in between meals without insulin? This is also my problem...not sure if I need as much insulin for snacks, sometimes I can get away with no insulin other times I can't...I think testing all the time is the key and eating whenever you need to!

Yesterday after increasing my I:C to 1 unit for 5g at lunch and also increasing my basal in the afternoon I was chasing my tail 😡 I ate a packet of giant chocolate buttons without any insulin and then had to have 3 jelly babies and two shortbread biscuits aswell, before I left work my BG was around 7. So this lunch time I changed it back to 1 unit for 6g!

Hope all is going well for you at 28 weeks, I had my 26 week growth scan this morning and all is fine 🙂

 

[Babysaurus]

Hi Nic, To be honest I tend to eat more little and often during the day and then have a big dinner at night, which suits me fine. Not been an issue re control especially as just have the appropriate amount of insulin to what I am about to eat.

Its very frustrating getting it spot on when there is no room for error though, isn't it? Ive also found that as soon as you get used to one thing, everything changes and you need more / less and have to then set about working that out! No wonder we have sore fingers, eh?

Good to hear your scan was good. I have one next Wednesday and then another one a month later to assess growth.