Diabetic and pregnant
Discussion
Currently at work but have been up since about 2.30am. Was awoken to the sound of my fiancee screaming and moaning. She's type 1 diabetic, 14 weeks pregnant and a quick check confirmed that she was having a very bad hypo.
40 minutes on the phone later and a brilliant paramedic arrives. Very, very nice chap and had her hooked up to a glucose drip within minutes. An hour or so later she's all sorted, munching some toast and marmalade and deeply embarrassed (she wet the bed).
On reflection, I think she overdid the insulin by mistake. She had an hour and a half of gym classes last night (step etc), then came home and had pork tacos and salad for tea. She then had 14 units of fast acting insulin and forgot to check her blood sugar before bed.
We've been together ten years, she has been diabetic for slightly longer, but this was the worst hypo I've seen her have. Has anyone gone through the process of being diabetic and pregnant? I know some women develop gestational diabetes, so how have people fared?
I've cried a few times this morning and am doing so again. It's tough seeing the one you love so much in such a state. Thanks all.
40 minutes on the phone later and a brilliant paramedic arrives. Very, very nice chap and had her hooked up to a glucose drip within minutes. An hour or so later she's all sorted, munching some toast and marmalade and deeply embarrassed (she wet the bed).
On reflection, I think she overdid the insulin by mistake. She had an hour and a half of gym classes last night (step etc), then came home and had pork tacos and salad for tea. She then had 14 units of fast acting insulin and forgot to check her blood sugar before bed.
We've been together ten years, she has been diabetic for slightly longer, but this was the worst hypo I've seen her have. Has anyone gone through the process of being diabetic and pregnant? I know some women develop gestational diabetes, so how have people fared?
I've cried a few times this morning and am doing so again. It's tough seeing the one you love so much in such a state. Thanks all.
No Diabetic should ever be embarrassed about a hypo, especially a pregnant one.
I can't offer much concerning pregnancy and diabetes, I am diabetic - definitely not pregnant.
All I can say is it's down to as many blood test as anyone can manage especially after exercise.
It's not always easy for a partner to read the tell tale signs of a hypo my parents can being as they have looked after me and my diabetes since I was 3 until I took the reigns in my teens (35 now).
Isn't the ambulance service here to used for cases like this, rather that twunts being drunk and disorderly?
Good luck to you both.
Rod.
I can't offer much concerning pregnancy and diabetes, I am diabetic - definitely not pregnant.
All I can say is it's down to as many blood test as anyone can manage especially after exercise.
It's not always easy for a partner to read the tell tale signs of a hypo my parents can being as they have looked after me and my diabetes since I was 3 until I took the reigns in my teens (35 now).
Isn't the ambulance service here to used for cases like this, rather that twunts being drunk and disorderly?
Good luck to you both.
Rod.
RodMod said:
No Diabetic should ever be embarrassed about a hypo, especially a pregnant one.
I can't offer much concerning pregnancy and diabetes, I am diabetic - definitely not pregnant.
All I can say is it's down to as many blood test as anyone can manage especially after exercise.
It's not always easy for a partner to read the tell tale signs of a hypo my parents can being as they have looked after me and my diabetes since I was 3 until I took the reigns in my teens (35 now).
Isn't the ambulance service here to used for cases like this, rather that twunts being drunk and disorderly?
Good luck to you both.
Rod.
Thanks Rod.I can't offer much concerning pregnancy and diabetes, I am diabetic - definitely not pregnant.
All I can say is it's down to as many blood test as anyone can manage especially after exercise.
It's not always easy for a partner to read the tell tale signs of a hypo my parents can being as they have looked after me and my diabetes since I was 3 until I took the reigns in my teens (35 now).
Isn't the ambulance service here to used for cases like this, rather that twunts being drunk and disorderly?
Good luck to you both.
Rod.
I'm usually quite good at reading the signs and lately, I often notice the hypo before she does. Yesterday morning was a surprise as we were both asleep.
She has an appointment tomorrow to remove the constant monitoring device that has been plugged into her side for the last week. The results of that should prove very interesting for her diabetic team.
Spent some time looking over her blood sugar figures yesterday. Alarmingly, she dropped 10 mmol (12.1 to 2.1) over the space of 2 and a half hours. This immediately sparked a discussion and a recommendation that she takes less of her 12 hour insulin and pegs back her fast insulin doses. The result was a blood sugar level of 6.9 at 10:45 pm last night, but 2.3 at 06:35 this morning. Slight hypo material, but not as bad as the night before (where she had injected 14 units plus bigger dose of 12 hour insulin).
So, today we have agreed on her taking another 2 units off her 12 hour and pegging back her fast acting stuff a bit more too.
The pregnancy must be affecting things as the baby must be taking nutrients that would cause the big drops in blood sugar levels.
As you say, plenty of blood sample monitoring is the way forward for now. Yes, ambulance service is here for this, but she still feels guilty using it.
Hope you cope well with the condition. My fiancee was diagnosed at 25 years old and is now 36. The big worry of late is that she seems to have slightly lost the ability to read the signs. Must be that bloomin baby.
Thanks for your input. :thumbsup:
I'm in a near-identical situation as yourself.
My misses is 17 weeks pregnant and Type 1 Diabetic.
Her sugars have been all over the place since becoming pregnant. She can have the same food, same insulin etc 2 days in a row, but one day have a hypo, then the next be >10.
It's frustrating, but I suppose the only thing she can do is regular blood checks. I've found that I also need to force this to happen as she assumes she "knows" when she is low.
This is another issue we've found- she can't tell when her sugars are low like she used to be able to. Pregnancy has made her tired, and she confuses this with low blood sugars.
Strangely, she had a massive hypo a few weeks back, probably around the 14 week mark like your OH. This was about the second worst one I've seen her have(in 10+ years). Luckily I managed to get some sugar into her and bring her round without any medical assistance. She's been much better since this, and I think it was a bit of a major wake-up call. I also think that it's settling down a bit now that she's a little further along.
My misses is 17 weeks pregnant and Type 1 Diabetic.
Her sugars have been all over the place since becoming pregnant. She can have the same food, same insulin etc 2 days in a row, but one day have a hypo, then the next be >10.
It's frustrating, but I suppose the only thing she can do is regular blood checks. I've found that I also need to force this to happen as she assumes she "knows" when she is low.
This is another issue we've found- she can't tell when her sugars are low like she used to be able to. Pregnancy has made her tired, and she confuses this with low blood sugars.
Strangely, she had a massive hypo a few weeks back, probably around the 14 week mark like your OH. This was about the second worst one I've seen her have(in 10+ years). Luckily I managed to get some sugar into her and bring her round without any medical assistance. She's been much better since this, and I think it was a bit of a major wake-up call. I also think that it's settling down a bit now that she's a little further along.
shaun442k said:
I'm in a near-identical situation as yourself.
My misses is 17 weeks pregnant and Type 1 Diabetic.
Her sugars have been all over the place since becoming pregnant. She can have the same food, same insulin etc 2 days in a row, but one day have a hypo, then the next be >10.
It's frustrating, but I suppose the only thing she can do is regular blood checks. I've found that I also need to force this to happen as she assumes she "knows" when she is low.
This is another issue we've found- she can't tell when her sugars are low like she used to be able to. Pregnancy has made her tired, and she confuses this with low blood sugars.
Strangely, she had a massive hypo a few weeks back, probably around the 14 week mark like your OH. This was about the second worst one I've seen her have(in 10+ years). Luckily I managed to get some sugar into her and bring her round without any medical assistance. She's been much better since this, and I think it was a bit of a major wake-up call. I also think that it's settling down a bit now that she's a little further along.
Wow, thanks for letting me know.My misses is 17 weeks pregnant and Type 1 Diabetic.
Her sugars have been all over the place since becoming pregnant. She can have the same food, same insulin etc 2 days in a row, but one day have a hypo, then the next be >10.
It's frustrating, but I suppose the only thing she can do is regular blood checks. I've found that I also need to force this to happen as she assumes she "knows" when she is low.
This is another issue we've found- she can't tell when her sugars are low like she used to be able to. Pregnancy has made her tired, and she confuses this with low blood sugars.
Strangely, she had a massive hypo a few weeks back, probably around the 14 week mark like your OH. This was about the second worst one I've seen her have(in 10+ years). Luckily I managed to get some sugar into her and bring her round without any medical assistance. She's been much better since this, and I think it was a bit of a major wake-up call. I also think that it's settling down a bit now that she's a little further along.
Spooky that they have both had big hypos at around 14 weeks. I can also relate to the blood sugar all over the place thing. Quite scary, isn't it!
I also need to remind my fiancee about the blood testing. Noticed a hypo yesterday that had sneaked up on her, plus one this morning when I got her to check her blood sugar before I left for work.
Really want this to settle down now though, if it can.
Nice to know we aren't the only couple suffering.
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