T2 and pregnant

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deborah8512

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Type 2
Hi everyone.

I'm new here and looking for some advice. I have been T2 for a few years and I have recently found out I'm pregnant and I am absolutely terrified, I can't stop thinking about losing the baby and I'm scared the docs will try and put me on metaformin which doesn't agree with me at all. I have a million fears and I can't stop crying.
I am obsessively testing every day to make sure I'm still pregnant until I see a midwife.

Has anyone been given insulin during their pregnancy, is that safe? Honestly I am a nervous wreck and can't sleep as I'm so worried.

Sorry for the long post xx
 
deborah8512 said:
Hi everyone.

I'm new here and looking for some advice. I have been T2 for a few years and I have recently found out I'm pregnant and I am absolutely terrified, I can't stop thinking about losing the baby and I'm scared the docs will try and put me on metaformin which doesn't agree with me at all. I have a million fears and I can't stop crying.
I am obsessively testing every day to make sure I'm still pregnant until I see a midwife.

Has anyone been given insulin during their pregnancy, is that safe? Honestly I am a nervous wreck and can't sleep as I'm so worried.

Sorry for the long post xx
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Welcome to the forum
There are several people here who have been through several pregnancies successfully and I'm sure will be along to reassure you. In the meantime have a look at this link to the main DUK site and that may help you prepare for any questions when you see your midwife.

Planning for a pregnancy when you have diabetes

Most women with diabetes have a healthy baby. But planning for pregnancy when you have diabetes is really important. Having diabetes means that you and your baby are more at risk of serious health complications during pregnancy and childbirth. The good news is that by planning ahead and getting...
www.diabetes.org.uk www.diabetes.org.uk
 
Hi and welcome and congratulations!

Are you on a high dose of folic acid? If not then you need to get that sorted ASAP I believe as generally it is started preconception with diabetic patients, so stop being scared and get an appointment made with the doctor. There is no point burying your head in the sand with your diabetes. You need to manage it well and if that requires medication be that oral meds or insulin, then you will need it and the sooner you get started testing and managing your BG levels, the less risk to the baby. If you have had a bad reaction to Metformin in the past then discuss that with your doctor. There are many other options of medication before insulin, but yes, some people do need insulin during their pregnancy, but you may not. If you do, you will be given support and there is a lot of tech available to make it easier.

The important thing is that you start dealing with it instead of being scared, so get an appointment made. There are specially trained Diabetic Specialist Nurses (DSN) who help women with diabetes through their pregnancies I believe, and I think you get extra scans and support, so you will probably be better looked after than someone without diabetes, but you do need to face up to your responsibilities and take control.
 
deborah8512 said:
Hi everyone.

I'm new here and looking for some advice. I have been T2 for a few years and I have recently found out I'm pregnant and I am absolutely terrified, I can't stop thinking about losing the baby and I'm scared the docs will try and put me on metaformin which doesn't agree with me at all. I have a million fears and I can't stop crying.
I am obsessively testing every day to make sure I'm still pregnant until I see a midwife.

Has anyone been given insulin during their pregnancy, is that safe? Honestly I am a nervous wreck and can't sleep as I'm so worried.

Sorry for the long post xx
Click to expand...

Welcome @deborah8512 🙂 First of all, don’t panic. Most women with diabetes nowadays have health pregnancies and babies. I have Type 1 and I have 3 healthy children after 3 healthy pregnancies.

Of course insulin is safe! Every single Type 1 will be on insulin before, during and after pregnancy, and a number of Type 2s and people with Gestational Diabetes will take it too. It’s perfectly safe for baby 🙂

How many weeks pregnant are you? Were you actively trying to conceive - ie was it planned? Were/are you taking the special high dose folic acid? If not, that’s your priority. You shouldn’t need to wait for it. Your GP can prescribe it.

How are your blood sugars?
 
Hi,

Thanks for your message, I am just at such a loss I have no idea what to expect and when I think about it I just get myself so upset and make myself sick with worry.

I'm only around 7/8 weeks. As I have pcos I'm not sure of the date but I have booked a private scan as I can't wait on nhs I'm too anxious. No this was not planned at all, it's the biggest surprise of my life. I still can't believe it!

I have the docs on Friday so I hope they will prescribe it then?

They have been really high but I was talking my medicine religiously for weeks as I didn't know I was pregnant and now I'm just so scared something bad will happen. Xx
 
rebrascora said:
Hi and welcome and congratulations!

Are you on a high dose of folic acid? If not then you need to get that sorted ASAP I believe as generally it is started preconception with diabetic patients, so stop being scared and get an appointment made with the doctor. There is no point burying your head in the sand with your diabetes. You need to manage it well and if that requires medication be that oral meds or insulin, then you will need it and the sooner you get started testing and managing your BG levels, the less risk to the baby. If you have had a bad reaction to Metformin in the past then discuss that with your doctor. There are many other options of medication before insulin, but yes, some people do need insulin during their pregnancy, but you may not. If you do, you will be given support and there is a lot of tech available to make it easier.

The important thing is that you start dealing with it instead of being scared, so get an appointment made. There are specially trained Diabetic Specialist Nurses (DSN) who help women with diabetes through their pregnancies I believe, and I think you get extra scans and support, so you will probably be better looked after than someone without diabetes, but you do need to face up to your responsibilities and take control.
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Thanks, no i wasnt on folic acid as I wasn't actively trying to get pregnant. It's come as a complete shock.

Trust me my head is not in the sand and I am facing my responsibilities or else I wouldn't have reached out for advice. I do actually have a docs appointment on Friday as that's the earliest one.

I apologise if my post seemed I wasnt facing up to anything but I never thought I would be in the position, and I was just scared which I thought i would be entitled to feel.
 
You’re not the first person with diabetes to get pregnant unexpectedly @deborah8512 so please don’t think you’re alone or get too upset. As a women with diabetes, you’ll get excellent care throughout your pregnancy - lots of extra checks, extra scans and just really good, reassuring care.

While you’re waiting, just concentrate on keeping your blood sugar down. Do not starve yourself but do keep a close eye on it. Also, keep records of your results so you can show the doctor and midwife.

Your post was fine 🙂 I just want to repeat that you shouldn’t worry too much xx
 
Inka said:
You’re not the first person with diabetes to get pregnant unexpectedly @deborah8512 so please don’t think you’re alone or get too upset. As a women with diabetes, you’ll get excellent care throughout your pregnancy - lots of extra checks, extra scans and just really good, reassuring care.

While you’re waiting, just concentrate on keeping your blood sugar down. Do not starve yourself but do keep a close eye on it. Also, keep records of your results so you can show the doctor and midwife.

Your post was fine 🙂 I just want to repeat that you shouldn’t worry too much xx
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Thank you and thanks for the link I will have a read of that.

Just the feeling of being overwhelmed was well overwhelming I will try and keep the Blood sugar down as much as possible but I just panic when I'm not on my empa and now even more. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement, I think it's what I needed. Xx
 
deborah8512 said:
Thanks, no i wasnt on folic acid as I wasn't actively trying to get pregnant. It's come as a complete shock.

Trust me my head is not in the sand and I am facing my responsibilities or else I wouldn't have reached out for advice. I do actually have a docs appointment on Friday as that's the earliest one.

I apologise if my post seemed I wasnt facing up to anything but I never thought I would be in the position, and I was just scared which I thought i would be entitled to feel.
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No need to apologise when I clearly misread the tone of your post. It just sounded like you were too afraid to make the GP appointment. So pleased you have that sorted already and hope you have a good GP who is supportive. It sounds like you are already on other diabetes medication which will be stronger than Metformin anyway, so probably pointless adding Met to the mix now,but if levels are really high then some insulin should help bring them down. As @Inka has said, lots of women use insulin during pregnancy and you will get good support if you need it and we are here on the forum if you need to ask anything about the insulin you are prescribed if you do actually need it. I found this forum invaluable in learning to use insulin.
Best of luck with your pregnancy journey and do keep us updated. We love having forum babies!
 
rebrascora said:
No need to apologise when I clearly misread the tone of your post. It just sounded like you were too afraid to make the GP appointment. So pleased you have that sorted already and hope you have a good GP who is supportive. It sounds like you are already on other diabetes medication which will be stronger than Metformin anyway, so probably pointless adding Met to the mix now,but if levels are really high then some insulin should help bring them down. As @Inka has said, lots of women use insulin during pregnancy and you will get good support if you need it and we are here on the forum if you need to ask anything about the insulin you are prescribed if you do actually need it. I found this forum invaluable in learning to use insulin.
Best of luck with your pregnancy journey and do keep us updated. We love having forum babies!
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No, wasn't scared of making the GP appointment just absolutely terrified of being pregnant and being diabetic at the same time, it's never happened to me before so just a bit anxious.
The meds I'm on are empagliflozin and I was told to stop immediately but I had been taking it before I knew I was pregnant so I'm scared it's done damage I don't know what but I'm just spinning all thoughts the now
Thank you for the advice. I do appreciate it. Hopefully will have a good scan on Friday xx
 
I am not sure what specifically the problem with Empagliflozin might be. I know that it works by encouraging the kidneys to remove glucose at a lower level than normal and as a result it can cause thrush or urinary tract infections and it is important to drink plenty to prevent dehydration and help the kidneys flush out the glucose. I would very much doubt that the medication will cause the baby any problems at this early stage if it isn't causing you those problems I mentioned, but perhaps it puts you at higher risk of DKA if you continue to take it whilst pregnant, so stopping it removes that risk, but you would thing that they would start you on something else straight away, rather than leave you untreated.
What sort of dietary regime do you follow? Just thinking that you might want to reduce your carbs a bit at least until you get some new meds to prevent your levels going too high.
 
deborah8512 said:
No, wasn't scared of making the GP appointment just absolutely terrified of being pregnant and being diabetic at the same time, it's never happened to me before so just a bit anxious.
The meds I'm on are empagliflozin and I was told to stop immediately but I had been taking it before I knew I was pregnant so I'm scared it's done damage I don't know what but I'm just spinning all thoughts the now
Thank you for the advice. I do appreciate it. Hopefully will have a good scan on Friday xx
Click to expand...

Lots of meds have warnings about not taking during pregnancy. This doesn’t necessarily mean they’d be dangerous. Often it’s simply because they’ve not been tested on pregnant women (understandably so). The mention of Empagliflozin I found online said it shouldn’t be taken in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. You’re well away from that so try not to worry. Remember many women drink alcohol, smoke, take prescription meds and over the counter meds before they realise they’re pregnant.
 
deborah8512 said:
The meds I'm on are empagliflozin and I was told to stop immediately but I had been taking it before I knew I was pregnant so I'm scared it's done damage I don't know what but I'm just spinning all thoughts the now
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t worry about that if you can. Empagliflozin is part of a fairly new class of drugs so it’s likely more of a “not enough evidence that it’s fine yet” than actually something that causes problems.
 
Firstly try and not panic. It won’t help.

you’ve already had loads of great advice which I can’t really add too. There’s information out there and you are not on your own at all. We are here for you.

We didn’t plan our pregnancy and although I didn’t have a healthy pregnancy, my child is healthy and now a very moody teenager. She was well and although born early she was strong and healthy just needed longer in the womb to grow. You wouldn’t know now she had any issues at the start.
 
Inka said:
I found this thread from a Type 2 for you @deborah8512 I hope you find it reassuring. You’ll see that the poster got pregnant unexpectedly, had all the same worries as you, but everything was ok. She was also grateful for the insulin as it really helped her blood sugars:


Again, I can’t stress enough how well-looked after women with diabetes are in pregnancy 🙂
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Hi,

This is me! I’m here if you have any questions.

I’d been diagnosed type 2 in 2018 after suffering a pregnancy loss. I lost a lot of weight, got my levels under control then conceived four daughter who is almost 4. I had fantastic care throughout and was on insulin. It was a relatively uncomplicated pregnancy.

With this thread above, I fell pregnant unexpectedly again and our son just turned one. Between my daughter and this pregnancy I’d put weight on again and my levels were out of control but with insulin, proper care etc again we had a complication free pregnancy. Like you I was a worried mess when I found out but it’s early days and you will have fantastic support, extra scans, consultant appointments etc. they will keep a very close eye on you.

Wishing you a wonderful pregnancy. Please let me know if you have any questions x
 
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