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High HBA1C AND WANT A FAMILY

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This thread is now closed. Please contact Anna DUK, Ieva DUK or everydayupsanddowns if you would like it re-opened.
pinkemz said:
congrats rach. Its so good to hear from someone who has delivered a healthy pregnancy. Were you on a pump. I really dont know how i am going to get it down further i am hoping that the doctor will agree and give me a pump next week. My sugars are awful when im at work- i think its the stress of teaching ha ha no excuse tho. it is much better recently. and like some of you said here and it is sooo true. when you thinking of a baby your priorities change.

Did you have any complications through pregnancy? How did you get your hba1c down any tips? :confused:
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Hello I was approved for a pump when i started at the pre pregnancy clinic, buT the waiting list here is ridiculous, I have still not got it :(.
I did not have any complications Nathan was induced a couple of weeks early and I ended up having a cesearean as he was large and back to back.

The main thing I did to get my hba1c down was being as exact as possible with my carb counting. I stopped eating in the staff canteen and eating out so I could know the carb in everything accurately. I also had my injections 15 to 30 mins before eating as I had large peaks about an hour after eating if I did not. My life became very unspontaneous, every meal was planned but it worked. I did not mind doing this so much when pregnant, but I found being so strict while ttc and before being given the go ahead v v tough.

Once pregnant I also set an alarm for 6am to have an extra couple of units of humalog as I suffer badly from the Dawn phenomenon. The other thing is lots of testing and correcting if necessary. Fortunately my GP gave me all the strips I needed.

You will get there

Rx
 
If you have taken the Dafne course, it recommends that woman who want to concieve should have a quite a low A1c and should ideally not go beyond 8 mol after meals. They recommend a more carb restrictive diet to avoid post meal spikes above 8 mol. I think the aim is to keep your sugars as close to normal as possible.
 
pinkemz said:
thanks guys. Yes my team is aware that i want to conceive they suggested that i start on the folic acid and they referred me to pre-conception clinic. I am on humalog and lantus now. I take 44 units of my lantus I dont take set doses for the humalog im carb counting 1 unit per 10g of carbs. I have been type 1 for 6 years now. I have to say only recently i am coming to terms with it. College and university seemed much more important to me years ago but i am paying for it now so frustrated.
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lol that was almost like looking in a mirror. I have been diabetic for 6 years too and concieved in July/August after joining here in the december my Hba1c before joining was 10% and by May with the help and support of everyone here it was down to 6%. The doc's did two tests to see if it was the right result!!!
All I can say really is keep trying, keep adjusting your insulin, exercise too as I found the more I exercised the better my control was.
This is the most amazing site EVER and has completely changed my life.
I never took my diabetes seriously but after joining here getting my head around everything and sticking to my insulin regime seemed easier because I knew I could talk to other people about it if I was having a bad day and didnt judge me. You will get there in regards to your hba1c but it will take time.. my sisters still struggling with hers and shes been diabetic 8 years!
Its great you have something to focus on and a goal to aim for as this really helped me.

Wishing you all the best for the future xxx
 
hi smile
that is amazing and such good news. God you conceived sooo quickly aswell well done to you. That has really brightened my day today. How is your pregnancy going? did you have loads of hypos when you brought your hba1c down from 10 to 6 thats amazing.:D
 
Hi Pinkemz! Can I just say (not wanting to sound patronising!) well done on that reduction in HbA1c (it's a great reduction!), and your attitude is great! It's always good to try & get things right control wise first. 🙂 I'm type 1, I've had it 32 yrs now, and I have two children, a nearly 4yr old & a baby just under a year old. During both pregnancies I was on multiple injections, I'd done DAFNE & was carb counting etc, and like you had the 5mg folic acid etc. (just to add to the fun, I also have an underactive thyroid) It took me 2 years to get down from an HbA1c of around 8/9 to the required 6.5% first time round, and nearly the same second time round too - frustrating but worth it!

Both kids are fit & healthy, but possibly because I'd had diabetes so long, both pregnancies were "interesting" towards the end and both babies arrived quite early - 34w 5d and 35w 6d! First time round I had pre eclampsia, but that can happen to anyone, although the risk is apparently slightly higher for diabetics. Both pregnancies I had excess fluid. Most docs won't allow a diabetic pregnancy to go over 38wks, as for some reason diabetic's placenta's just don't last as long as non-diabetic mums', and it's not considered worth the risk of sustaining the pregnancy at that stage. Because it's relatively early, the body might not be ready for a natural birth, so induction or c section is the norm - I'm only telling you this so that you hopefully won't do what I did & get suckered in to the whole nct 'must have a natural birth to whale music' nonsense & end up disappointed 😱 - after all, it's all about the end result of a healthy baby isn't it? My very experienced, pragmatic doc more or less told me to expect a c section from the start, and I'm quite glad in hindsight that he did!

Re the control issues before pregnancy though (I'm getting carried away lol!)... the best tip my doc gave me was get rid of the hypos to get rid of the highs - ie if you're over cooking things (as I sooo often did!) you go low & end up swinging high afterwards due to hypo-munch or just the body's reaction! Also keep an eye on what's going on at night time - hate to say this but I ended up doing a heck of a lot of 3am checks in those years... 😱

Anyway, all the very best, if you want to ask anything please feel free to pm me!
 
twitchy, thanx for that. First of all huge congrats on 2 of your children big tap on your back.
2YEARS are you serious thats exactly my situation. 8 % and want to get it down i really hope it dont take me this long but like you said it is sooo worth it. I am not going to start trying until it comes down for sure.
 
pinkemz said:
twitchy, thanx for that. First of all huge congrats on 2 of your children big tap on your back.
2YEARS are you serious thats exactly my situation. 8 % and want to get it down i really hope it dont take me this long but like you said it is sooo worth it. I am not going to start trying until it comes down for sure.
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Thanks! 🙂 They are wonderful - I really know the full meaning of 'awesome' now! Like you say, it is soooo worth getting things straight first to give everything the best possible start. All the best, I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you! x
 
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