Having babies

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Mothrat1980

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Type 1
Hi, new guy here, so apologies if I am in the wrong section. I thought about the parenting section but that seemed to be more about parents with kids with diabetes. We haven't gotten that far yet.
So I need some help, advice, words, that kind of thing..
My partner and I want to start having kids soon, and we are looking to start in the next few months and such.
Over the past two nights however, I've had really bad hypos where she has had to wake me up and make me aware of this. Unfortuantely, I'm not the most compliant person when I am woken up in a hypoglycemic state and it has really shaken her.
For example, two nights ago I went to bed with an elevated blood sugar of 14.2mmol/l (about 225mg/dl), and I took my usual 18 units of Lantus before going to sleep. There was no reason that I am aware of for me to go low. But I did and it wasn't pleasant for her. I feel awful about it and I know that she is now scared to potentially leave any babies in my care in case I go low during the night and she isn't there. And I'm quite worried about it as well.
Thanks
David
 
Hi 🙂 Do you wake up from your hypo's yourself? or do you have to be woken up? It sounds like, from what you are saying, that you are a bit hypo unaware at night. It may be worth setting an alarm to do an overnight BG test so you can respond to your own hypos.

Also maybe doing some basal testing to see if your dose needs to be changed, How low are you when these situations happen. There are various tools available although a little bit pricey to help with waking you up in the middle of the night for a hypo. A CGM ( continuous glucose monitor) would alarm if you were hypo and wake you up without your wife having to. There are various available, A dexcom, medtronic, and the is a cheaper one called a libre, although that one doesn't alarm if you are lo, you can set alarms on it to wake you up to test overnight.

I can say that as a type 1 and a mum (i have 2 kids) looking after kids while having a hypo is possible as long as you realise that in that moment the child needs to be safe ( in a cot or playpen) and you treat the hypo as a priority, even if the baby is crying, If you are feeling that your behaviour is affected by the lows then i really would talk to your diabetes nurse or doc about it. That kind of thing may have an impact on the treatment they give you. You may be eligible for an insulin pump and a libre on prescription. The idea is that although you know you are going low and it being unpleasant for all involved , you can see that, and the next step is to fix the problem. It doesn't have to be like that forever. I realise that is a lot of info.. Start with the basics, set an alarm on your phone to wake you up twice in the night to do some overnight checks, maybe you will catch the hypo before it really sets in. keep hypo treatment by the bed so you don't have to be reliant on others to help you. and talk through the overnight results with your diabetes clinic. I am sure they will be able to help you overcome this.

Good luck!
 
Hi Mothrat

Basal insulin
I found that it was difficult for me to control levels over night when I was on Lantus. I switched to Levemir and did a split dose, some in the morning, some at night. This enabled me to fine tune my basal insulin and reduce the overnight hypos.

Correction doses
When you went to bed at 14, did you do a correction? If so it may be that you correction ratio (or sensitivity) needs adjusting for overnight.
Or
Fat in food
Another factor could have been whether the food that you ate in the evening was high in fat so released more slowly raising your BG at bedtime, which you then corrected, and if there was already insulin on board, you double doses (not the clearest explanation, sorry). This would also depend on the time at which you eat in the evening. If I have pizza (which is rare) or curry out, I know that I need to set an alarm for an overnight test, although my bladder is a fairly reliable alarm nowadays.

I hope these ideas are of some help.
 
Have a read of this https://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120

Then - DO it !

Then - discuss what you found out. I co-authored that article after it was suggested I did it, during the carb-counting and dose adjustment course I went on (the course at my hospital firmly based on BERTIE and the other author was a T1 journalist who'd done DAFNE where he lived) I juggled Lantus doses and splitting the dose and fiddling with them and the timings for months before changing to Levemir which is supposed to be best in 2 doses anyway in the first place and it solved 90% of the initial problems PDQ. Like literally a breath of fresh air. Didn't sort the remaining 10% until after I changed to an insulin pump.

It's all work wherever you start - but by God! - it's worth it, because I am worth it!

And SO ARE YOU!
 
trophywench said:
Have a read of this https://www.diabetes-support.org.uk/info/?page_id=120

Then - DO it !

Then - discuss what you found out. I co-authored that article after it was suggested I did it, during the carb-counting and dose adjustment course I went on (the course at my hospital firmly based on BERTIE and the other author was a T1 journalist who'd done DAFNE where he lived) I juggled Lantus doses and splitting the dose and fiddling with them and the timings for months before changing to Levemir which is supposed to be best in 2 doses anyway in the first place and it solved 90% of the initial problems PDQ. Like literally a breath of fresh air. Didn't sort the remaining 10% until after I changed to an insulin pump.

It's all work wherever you start - but by God! - it's worth it, because I am worth it!

And SO ARE YOU!
Click to expand...
Oh where was this when i was in a mess pre pump! LOL! That is some great info in that link. I often wonder now if other basals would have worked for me. Me and Lantus were never friends ... But i really understood nothing until i went on a pump and went on that learning curve. I understood more about basal insulin once i stopped using it than i ever did while i was on it. 🙄
 
@CosmicHedgehog - well I happened to be in the right place at the right time - which was a VERY refreshing change after 30+ years - which motivated me to try and change stuff for others. The forum attached to the website is sadly gradually dying out these days but hasn't popped its clogs yet so we keep going!

I want neither the 'Basal' article nor the fantastic Levemir graph - let alone the Dawn Phenomenon one to disappear into the ether. Alan S isn't getting any younger either - there again his mother is now well in her 90s, started the Australian Singles Motorhome club years ago and is still regularly driving hers to meets all over the place!
 
Hypos are always a worry when you become a parent. I was terrified when I had my daughter that I'd hypo and nobody would know for hours whilst he was at work.

It's hard work having a baby, on everyone.
Luckily as the daddy you won't have as much physical changes on your nobody than as the mummy, however, less sleep, more to do, less planned mealtimes (babies know when a meal is ready to be eaten) all can have an impact on diabetes so it is important you try to eliminate these overnight hypos now. She can't be looking after you both at the same time.

However if you are still not TTC then you have plenty of time to sort this, and personally if it's what you both really want I wouldn't let it stop you, unless you think the trying itself isn't a good factor to add into the mix. I rarely hypo due to sex but it has happened before.
 
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