# Antenatal appt today...



## Twitchy (Aug 12, 2009)

Well, second appt this afternoon... which is going some as I'm only about 6wks prg!  I'm really hoping I actually get to see the consultant today, as I need some advice re my levels, ketones, doses etc.  Also it would be nice to get a 24hr contact, but there I go being unreasonable again...  My concerns re running lowish o'nite have gone - I've even put up the BI today as last night was running higher again & I really don't want to go down the route of ketones again!  I'm also expecting to get shot for using too many test strips, as I'm testing about 18 times a day at the mo...I'm just so scared of getting ketones again  and conversely worried about hypos when driving, which adds up to a lot of tests...

Weirdly, despite it's being so early, I'm too fat for my "normal" trousers already!!  Either all the elastic was stretched out of me last time lol, or I guess it's just a natural side effect of the inefficient inulsin delivery of MDI whilst on such high doses...bit depressing though, as I never managed to shake all the weight last time round & I'd always been fairly trim before... starting to feel like sumo wrestling might be a viable alternate career!!   All adds to the strain on the kidneys, which are what caused problems last time, so not feeling terribly positive at the mo... ho hum.

Sorry, will try to be more positive in future, honest!!


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## Steff (Aug 12, 2009)

hi twitchy aww firstly good luck at appointments today, I think its not surprising your worrying alot , but thing is the worry may have something to do with level etc etc , you know the 18 times a day thats fine your choice end of day nobody on here can slate you for that, ketones yeah if you have a taste of like a fruity pear drop thats the sigh of ketones i think it is anyway well its the first sign for me , as for the size of you your pregnant cmon all us ladies that have gone through pregnancy have been the same , its natural , im sure some one on here will give you far better respone then me r.e the pregnant among us but please try and stay calm and postive your doing well ok xxx


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## bev (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi Twitchy,

Just wanted to wish you good luck with the appointment and let us know how it goes.
Are you sure your not having twins? lol.

If i were in your position i would be checking a lot too - at least your monitoring things and this will all help with the future of the pregnancy - so give yourself a big pat on the back for all your input.

I cant give you much more advice regarding the pregnancy - but i feel sure you will be doing your best and i wish you all the luck in the world and send you a big hug for caring for yourself and your baby (or babies!).Bev x


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## Emmal31 (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi twitchy,

Did you get to see the consultant today? I don't think it matters you test a lot because your only doing it so you can get the best control possible.

Emma x


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 12, 2009)

Hi Twitchy I hope things went well today at your appointment


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## Steff (Aug 12, 2009)

seconded,hope all went well with todays appointment x


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## Twitchy (Aug 13, 2009)

*Phew...*

Well, generally a better appt today... no ketones etc, good bp... but the best bit was they did a scan...and we saw a little beanlet with a heartbeat!!!!  Thank God!!  Just the one (phew! ) so no extra worries about my kidneys giving up too early.  Did see the consultant, not much he could suggest as the doses I'm on now seem to be more or less working.  In fact they are happy enough to let me off for a fortnight before coming back! 

So all in all, I'm a much happier bunny.  Still testing frequently, as when it does go a bit squ-whiff it does very quickly, and still carb counting like a proper diabetic carb fanatic, but at least now I've seen that this is not all a figment of my imagination, or ectopic or something, I can start to relax a little....HURRAH! 

Thank-you all for asking!


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## Steff (Aug 13, 2009)

awww wow well done then sounds alot more positive this time around , aww seeing the little bambino how nice and such a relief to you as well xx keep up the good work twitchy and keep us posted on the pregnancy and how you are xxx


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## Sugarbum (Aug 13, 2009)

relieved twitchy to hear good news, well done luv!

xxx


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## Emmal31 (Aug 13, 2009)

that's brilliant news so glad your feeling more positive! Definately puts your mind at rest seeing the heartbeat xxx


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 13, 2009)

Thats brilliant news Twitchy  keep us posted on how things progress .


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## bev (Aug 14, 2009)

Thats lovely news! Keep testing - your doing the right thing!Bev


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## Fe 82 (Aug 16, 2009)

Hi Twitchy,
Firstly congrats on the pregnancy, very exciting.  Did you take folic acid 3 months beforehand then? I was also wondering what levels you try to keep your readings between? My doc said that many people have to raise their insulin doses when they are pregnant, sounds like quite a science to conquer  x


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## sasha1 (Aug 16, 2009)

Hi Twitchy...

Thats brilliant news...as others have said just keep testing....ooooo...I've gone really broody now...

Heidi
xx


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## Twitchy (Aug 16, 2009)

Fe 82 said:


> Hi Twitchy,
> Firstly congrats on the pregnancy, very exciting.  Did you take folic acid 3 months beforehand then? I was also wondering what levels you try to keep your readings between? My doc said that many people have to raise their insulin doses when they are pregnant, sounds like quite a science to conquer  x



Thanks Fe!  Yep, we were planning ahead & have been taking folic acid for months & months, as we did first time round...seemed to work well that time!  We somehow didn't expect to get prg so quickly this time though, and having been told beforehand that being preg wouldn't affect going on the pump, were a bit surprised at the later change of heart alas!  Duff timing on our part I guess! Never mind...

As for the background dose, I have been really surprised at how much it's gone up already in just the first few weeks, it seems obvious that it would later on, but not yet?!  Still, it seems like pregnancy with diabetes is definitely a bit of a black art, involving lots of testing...I must admit, i've actually been grateful for morning sickness, as it's stopped me snacking so much, which has in turn helped my levels, so silver lining i guess!  Anyway, just got to keep on being good... 

Thanks for all the encouragement everyone!


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## Twitchy (Aug 26, 2009)

Well, another appt today...please don't bother to read this, I'm just tired & stressed & needing a vent...

I'm not looking forward to it, as experience now tells me that they don't have any helpful suggestions to make & it will all feel like a stressful waste of time (you're doing this wrong, that wrong, putting on too much weight etc...).  What is the point?!!  They probably won't do a scan or anything, so I won't even know if the little one is still ok.  So not even any stress relief that way.

I'm just feeling really tired, emotional, sorry for myself & snappish as I was up four times last night...I'd planned to be brave & only test once too!  Ended up waking up for no reason one time, M had a nightmare another, I'd my planned test & then I went hypo later on... not a good night all in all...

Since things have calmed a little I've been up at least 2-3 times a night to test...sounds excessive, but there's no pattern as to what's happening overnight, & things go wrong quite quickly at the moment, so I don't feel I can afford not to test...it's not the hypos that worry me but the "bounce back" afterwards.  Some nights I'll just run high, others I'll go hypo early on, others later on, on just one amazing night it was flat profile all the way through!! (back to totally haywire the next night of course!).  The last 2 nights there's been a vague similarity - levels around 6-7 then a hypo, the first day at 3.30 (which would make sense) but when I tested at that time today it was 7.6...then by 5.30 I was hypo (3.1)  Grrr.  

At the moment it feels like I can only get reasonable levels by the crude method of having a high background dose & eating to the excess between meals & when needed at night.  Doesn't sound much of an issue, esp as the only thing that helps the morning sickness at the mo is more or less constant nibbling, but I've put on 2lb already (only week 8) which is the total weight gain you're supposed to put on in the first trimester!!!  I know from bitter experience how hard it is to lose weight whilst maintaining some kind of good control on MDI, & am dreading the post baby months...

At the moment I just feel a bit hopeless...I had pinned my hopes on achieving good control without excessive insulin & weight gain by using a pump, & I now know they will use every excuse in the book not to give me one, as it's easier (& cheaper) from their point of view to just let me struggle than to actually invest any effort in helping me.  (plus if they just leave me alone to muddle along as I am then I can't sue, they seem to think if they put me on a pump & things go wrong I'll sue them...what a wonderful reason not to treat someone!!!  Must remember that next time someone needs first aid...)

Sorry, just feeling really tired, hormonal & miserable this morning.  I know I'm being a brat, sorry.


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## Northerner (Aug 26, 2009)

Twitchy, very sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time! I hope that the doctors surprise you and listen to your worries and try to work at a solution. Have you got everything recorded to show how hard you are trying?

Good luck, and never worry about venting - it's good for the soul


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## insulinaddict09 (Aug 26, 2009)

Good Luck today Twitchy  Im sorry you feel so down and despondant at the moment . I hope the Doctors will listen to your worries and try to work with you so that you can have a healthy and happy pregnancy  
This is the perfect place to have a vent ! we all need to every so often ! 

((((hugs))))  Let us know how you get on !


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## Twitchy (Aug 26, 2009)

Thanks guys.  I've got a little A5 notebook that I record all my tests & injections in (DAFNE style) plus any other comments.  I just get a bit despondent because I suspect they put a lot down to just being hormonal & emotional (who knows, maybe they are right?!) rather than listening seriously.

Oh well, guess I'll see later!  

Thanks again.


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## Steff (Aug 26, 2009)

hi twitchy sorry your so down at the moment hun , plx let us knw how the appointment goes , and never apologise for a rant we are here to read and listen to your trubles good and bad xx


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## Twitchy (Aug 27, 2009)

Hi all...

Well, after a mamoth 1 hour (yes, that was an hour!) queue for the car park, I scuttled in 2 mins late (hate being late!!) with my BP somewhere out in space!  Thankfully it takes a while to be processed when the clinic is busy, in the end it was an hour before they checked my BP by which time it was a bit more reasonable!  

They did a quick scan (bless them!), pointed out the heartbeat to me, all looks ok, phew!!!  Apparently it's got armbuds & still has it's little tail too, but they could have told me anything - I couldn't make "head nor tail" out of the images he he!!  (Sorry, terrible pun! Must be feeling better...!)  So that was an almighty relief.  I've got a date for the dating & NT scan (something to do with Downs? not sure) in about a months time.  I've refused the Downes blood test as I don't see the point...as I understand it you get a false "high risk" result anyway just due to being diabetic, so the next step would be a amniocentisis, which I do NOT want to have (why add risk?).  Even that jus gives a vague idea of risk, not degree of condition if the kid does turn out to have it.  I just don't see any benefit in being asked to make a "flush or retain" judgement on beanlet that would be based on faulty data - so we'll take what we get, like last time.

Diabetes wise, I've been advised to cut back the o'nite BI, as having too many hypos...felt a bit sceptical & didn't feel able to drop it as much as they suggested, but dropped it by 1u last night & had a 4.1 at 3am, so maybe I'll be brave enough to drop another unit tonight.  Just got to figure out the changed bolus ratios now! 

Also a bit of good news re the kidneys - it looks like all the drama first time round was just down to PE - my kidneys are ok, so hopefully (crosses everything!!!) even if I do get PE again this time, it will be later & milder...well, I can hope at least!!  

So all in all, a better appointment than I was expecting.  Back in 2 weeks time...

ps - slept through a check alarm last night so I got 4 1/2 hrs straight sleep - wow!!  Felt almost sprightly today!


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## Northerner (Aug 27, 2009)

Excellent Twitchy! So pleased that the bean is OK, and that you were reassured and helped on the things that were causing anxiety Hopefully the basal reduction will work. I had a problem a while back where my basal was far too high and my basal/bolus ratio has changed dramatically now - steady figures through the night and far fewer daytime hypos, so hoping the same for you (although, obviously I'm not pregnant!)


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## Steff (Aug 27, 2009)

great news twitchy glad all is well with the bambino , and pleased you has your worries sorted through also xx


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