Worrying about hypos during first trimester

[Colette15]

Hello,

I am currently 9 weeks pregnant with my first baby. The last couple of weeks I have been going low a lot during the night mainly but also a few times in the day. I have reduced my lantus and that has helped. Just wanted to know if anyone had similar experience. Where the baby is developing, I am worried about the effects that might have. Just want to know if this is common and is it the fact that hypos are dangerous if you go unconscious. Mine have been mostly in the 3's and some in the 2's but have always been treated straight away except for a couple of times in night when my libre did not alarm and I was low for a couple of hours.

Any advice much appreciated

Thank you

 

[Pigeon]

Hello,

I am currently 9 weeks pregnant with my first baby. The last couple of weeks I have been going low a lot during the night mainly but also a few times in the day. I have reduced my lantus and that has helped. Just wanted to know if anyone had similar experience. Where the baby is developing, I am worried about the effects that might have. Just want to know if this is common and is it the fact that hypos are dangerous if you go unconscious. Mine have been mostly in the 3's and some in the 2's but have always been treated straight away except for a couple of times in night when my libre did not alarm and I was low for a couple of hours.

Any advice much appreciated

Thank you

Hi Colette, yes that is all perfectly normal. I am now 19 weeks pregnant and in this one and the last my insulin requirements kept dropping until around 13 weeks. I kept reducing about 10% and thinking that was enough then a few days later having more hypos. I reduced my mealtime doses too. The baby will get whatever it needs from your body and is not harmed by hypos, as you say you just need to be careful of losing consciousness, awareness, hypos while driving etc. Keep some hypo treatment on you at all times!

Best of luck for your pregnancy, and congratulations!

 

[Inka]

Hi @Colette15 Yes, very normal 🙂 I had some sudden and unexpected hypos when pregnant, including randomly waking up low (make sure you keep lots of fast hypo treatments by your bed), and strange ones that persisted even though I’d treated and eaten extra carbs.

I reduced my basal by approx a quarter early in pregnancy. I also reduced some of my meal ratios. Don’t be afraid to make reductions and/or increase carbs. The effect of pregnancy is surprisingly strong. The hypos don’t harm the baby. X

 

[Colette15]

Hi Colette, yes that is all perfectly normal. I am now 19 weeks pregnant and in this one and the last my insulin requirements kept dropping until around 13 weeks. I kept reducing about 10% and thinking that was enough then a few days later having more hypos. I reduced my mealtime doses too. The baby will get whatever it needs from your body and is not harmed by hypos, as you say you just need to be careful of losing consciousness, awareness, hypos while driving etc. Keep some hypo treatment on you at all times!

Best of luck for your pregnancy, and congratulations!

Hi @Pigeon, Thank you for your reply. That makes me feel more reassured. Best of luck in your pregnancy too and congratulations.

 

[Colette15]

Hi @Colette15 Yes, very normal 🙂 I had some sudden and unexpected hypos when pregnant, including randomly waking up low (make sure you keep lots of fast hypo treatments by your bed), and strange ones that persisted even though I’d treated and eaten extra carbs.

I reduced my basal by approx a quarter early in pregnancy. I also reduced some of my meal ratios. Don’t be afraid to make reductions and/or increase carbs. The effect of pregnancy is surprisingly strong. The hypos don’t harm the baby. X

Hi @ Inka, thank you for your reply. It is nice to hear from people who have been pregnant and makes me feel more reasured that what is happening is common in type 1 diabetes and pregnancy.

 

[Inka]

Hi @ Inka, thank you for your reply. It is nice to hear from people who have been pregnant and makes me feel more reasured that what is happening is common in type 1 diabetes and pregnancy.

Absolutely! I found knowing what was happening and looking at what was to come further on in pregnancy really reassured me that I was on-track. Never underestimate the sudden-ness of pregnancy hypos. I found them a different breed to normal hypos. Later on, you’ll be dealing with insulin resistance and you’ll have the opposite concerns. Even for women without diabetes or any chronic medical condition, pregnancy is a time of change. Knowing the path that change will take helps a lot mentally, I found. I also tried to enjoy the positive side of the changes - looking at baby’s growth (I had one of those apps that compare the baby to fruit ), thinking about how my body was doing the right thing, waiting for the time when I could feel my baby’s kicks.

Diabetes can add to the natural concerns you have, but don’t let it steal the magic of pregnancy. X

 

[charlieann94]

Hello,

I am currently 9 weeks pregnant with my first baby. The last couple of weeks I have been going low a lot during the night mainly but also a few times in the day. I have reduced my lantus and that has helped. Just wanted to know if anyone had similar experience. Where the baby is developing, I am worried about the effects that might have. Just want to know if this is common and is it the fact that hypos are dangerous if you go unconscious. Mine have been mostly in the 3's and some in the 2's but have always been treated straight away except for a couple of times in night when my libre did not alarm and I was low for a couple of hours.

Any advice much appreciated

Thank you

Hi Colette, congratulations on your pregnancy! I recently found out I was pregnant too. I'm only 6 weeks. If you want someone to rant too, please feel free to get in touch! It's a daunting journey x

 

[Colette15]

Hi Colette, congratulations on your pregnancy! I recently found out I was pregnant too. I'm only 6 weeks. If you want someone to rant too, please feel free to get in touch! It's a daunting journey x

Hi Charlieann, congratulations on your pregnancy too. Yes having type 1 diabetes and being pregnant adds added stresses and worries on top of general pregnancy worries but I guess it is a balance of staying on top of the diabetes although with the hormones of pregnancy this is not always straightforward but also taking time to enjoy the pregnancy as it is such a special time.

 

[Colette15]

Absolutely! I found knowing what was happening and looking at what was to come further on in pregnancy really reassured me that I was on-track. Never underestimate the sudden-ness of pregnancy hypos. I found them a different breed to normal hypos. Later on, you’ll be dealing with insulin resistance and you’ll have the opposite concerns. Even for women without diabetes or any chronic medical condition, pregnancy is a time of change. Knowing the path that change will take helps a lot mentally, I found. I also tried to enjoy the positive side of the changes - looking at baby’s growth (I had one of those apps that compare the baby to fruit ), thinking about how my body was doing the right thing, waiting for the time when I could feel my baby’s kicks.

Diabetes can add to the natural concerns you have, but don’t let it steal the magic of pregnancy. X

I agree, we can't let diabetes steal the magic of pregnancy even though it adds added worries onto general pregnancy worries. Yes I have the app too that compares the baby to fruit and enjoy looking at that. You mentioned insulin resistance later on. I know everyone is different but what did you find helped you during that period. Doctors have already pre warned me about insulin resistance and I am dreading that as I know I will be worried about getting high readings and it hurting my baby. When my reading creeps out of target, I tend to correct and go for a walk. I have already doubled my insulin for dinner and that has seemed to help keep me in target as it was creeping up to 9 or ten after dinner.

 

[Pigeon]

Just keep upping your insulin for later months! It was a reactive thing, every few weeks I'd increase my basal another 10% or so, and increase meal time doses too. Going for a walk does help, but it gets harder as you get bigger!