# Nasty hypo's and subsequent highs (rant, sorry)



## Babysaurus (Nov 30, 2011)

I am 12 weeks on Friday and have been told that my insulin requirements will go down, which they have to almost half what they were before. However, as I have been keeping things under 7.9 after meals almost all the time I have also been having some quite nasty low's where it has taken me ages to feel back to normal again (not needed help from anyone but was still uncoordinated for up to half an hour after, it usually takes me ten mins to recover.) This has also led to the horrid subsequent highs, which take a while to get down again too. 
Anyone else had this, and if so how did you cope with things till you got used to the new doses? I feel like I have got more than used to doing things one way and now have to do it completely differently! Am also paranoid about high readings so any positive stories are well recieved! 
Thank you! 
Bx


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## Monkey (Nov 30, 2011)

Hello! 

How many weeks are you now? Can't remember, I'm sorry! 

I'm not pregnant but working on hba1c before another pregnancy, and I'm finding that in order to get my 1 and 2 hour post meal readings ok, I'm having to snack about 2.5 - 3 hrs after meals. It's frustrating, but helps prevent those horrible lows.

In terms of resultant highs, are you overtreating hypos? I usually go for 15-20g of fast acting carb (usually a small carton of OJ) and something more substantial if no meal soon. If no improvement after 15-20mins, I'd give the same treatment again.

To be honest, I found my doses increased dramatically thro my pregnancy, until the latter weeks, so lows weren't much of a problem. Highs, I can't really remember. I'm sure I was told that one off highs are far less of a problem than high readings over a long period of time tho. 

Hope you're feeling ok otherwise!

xx


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## Monkey (Nov 30, 2011)

Hang on - scrap my first point, I've just seen you're 12weeks! Sorry!


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## Babysaurus (Nov 30, 2011)

Hi Monkey, thanks for replying. 
I probably am over treating hypo's yes, but its easier said than done not to when you are shaking and can't coordinate etc. However, saying that, I was very wobbly - like being very drunk - yesterday morning and had a bowl of cereal and some faster acting apple juice (small glass though) and found I was bloody 18 shortly after!! All very frustrating! It's like re-learning it all again! Before getting upduffed I knew just what I needed and when etc but now it's all out the window, and just as I got used to bigger doses it bloody changes again!
My husband is working away too so now a bit concerned about being lower than normal so have Hypostop gel next to my bed just in case. 
I get the impression from the consultant that ANY high reading is awful, whereas the nurse seems to think that the real risk is with numerous high readings and the possibility of ketones. Due to the consultants attitude I find it hard not to panic when it goes high, and as my insulin doses seem to be changing all the time it gets even more, shall we say, 'challenging.' 

Sorry again for the ranting!


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## Monkey (Nov 30, 2011)

Rant away - diabetes and pregnancy are hard work on their own, so of  course harder together! 

Sounds like you're doing al the right things tho, and if you're home alone it's wise to be erring on the side of caution, I personally think. 

And, FWIW, I'm on the side of your nurse!


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## Babysaurus (Nov 30, 2011)

Thats good to know! I think I am on the side of the nurse too, I suspect the consultant is assuming I'll be necking cans of coke if given half a chance (the Hba1c of 6.2 seemed to do nothing to deter this) so is possibly erring on the side of caution!


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## trophywench (Dec 1, 2011)

Think most ladies find a way round this is to have enough insulin to avoid the spikes from meals, then snack somewhere around/after the 2 hour post meal mark in order to keep on an even keel.  Yes it does involve a helluva lot of testing.  But needs must! - and it's only for the second trimester.

Once you get into the third trimester you'll be needing tanker-loads of insulin !


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## HappyHelen (Dec 1, 2011)

Hello

I had the same issues as you in that I did have a few hypos earlier in pregnancy (these are quite hard to avoid when trying to keep your blood sugars always in range). I also agree that by the third trimester, the amounts of insulin are just plain scary!! Even with these excessive amounts I find that my blood sugars are still increasing overnight and despite increasing my evening levemir, I am still waking up much higher than when I went to bed. I have now concluded the only way for me to fix this is to test at 3am and inject as appropriate (have just started maternity leave so it will be easier to catch up on sleep now). 

Have to agree with your nurse too - ideally all results would be in range but life being what it is, this is not practical. In my personal opinion the odd high won't cause too many problems but running high for long periods is different. Obviously correcting as soon as you spot a high helps, but being careful not to over-correct is the difficult part. 

Really hope you are ok and try not to worry too much.


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## MrsCLH (Dec 1, 2011)

Isolated highs that you correct are okay, you dont want to be having loads but your hba1c is clearly spot on. I had the exact same thing as you, its impossible not to hypo sometimes when you're aiming for under 7.8 one hour post meal. As a general rule of thumb I had a snack one hour after my meal if my blood was under 7, a plain biscuit or half an apple/banana and then I tested again one hour later. I think I was averaging about 15 tests a day throughout my pregnancy! I know its hard not to feel anxious about high readings, I used to get myself in a right state, shouting and raging, it made me that mad with myself. But honestly your experience sounds so similar to mine and I have a perfectly healthy ten week old baby sleeping soundly in his Moses basket next to me right now  You are doing all the right things, your needs will keep changing but you will get used to what you need to do to keep the balance. Oh and a 3am test is great practice for those night time feeds!


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## Babysaurus (Dec 1, 2011)

Thanks to those who've recently replied. Hearing that the occassional high, swiftly corrected, is not the end of the world is great to hear. I kind of knew it was anyway but due to the way my consultant spoke, while circling and looking horrified at the ONE reading out of 20+ of 14.1 I started to wonder! 

I am kind of getting used to the new doses now, but I agree that it's trickiest at night. I woke up this morning at 7.2 which is far higher than usual (and weirdly I was only 6.1 when I went to bed) which made me panic I had gone really high in the night but am trying to calm down. I am normally so on top of it all that these weird and unpredictable readings are a bit of a shock. I think as the hypo's have been quite long to recover from I have been a bit too wary of them too but am hoping I am getting on top of it a bit more now. 

Can I ask you all what your Hba1c's were throughout...? 

Tanker loads of insulin, eh? Is this the next exciting installment to look forward to?!


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## HappyHelen (Dec 1, 2011)

My hospital also does the circling thing which is very frustrating when more than 95% of results are in range but the odd one isn't. It makes me want to scream!

My hbalc was 6.5 to start with and dropped throughout pregnancy to 6.0, 5.6 and the last was 5.4. I expect my next one will be higher as I am struggling more now at 34 weeks (it is mostly the overnight results that I am struggling with).

My levemir has doubled, breakfast novorapid has gone up over 6 times (gone from 5/6 units pre pregnancy to 40!!!), lunch and evening meal have slightly more than doubled. Most of my results during the day are okay (i had a few higher results during my last week at work but I think that was due to leaving lunches etc). I am worried now that I will get higher results from now on and dont want to waste all of the good work so far so am testing more than ever!

I really hope your hypos calm down soon and your sugars and insulin amounts stabilise.


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## Monkey (Dec 2, 2011)

My hba1c was higher than most when I fell pregnant, at 7.2. My lowest pregnancy one was 6.1, but they were generally 6.2 - 6.8, which my consultant was more than happy with.

My insulin experiences sound similar to Helen's - my ratio in the morning went up to 8units to 10g carbs by the end, altho that was by far the highest ratio! 

Good luck - sounds like you're doing a great job already tho.


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## MrsCLH (Dec 3, 2011)

My hba1c was 6.9 when I fell pregnant but after that I didnt have one over 6. If you woke up a bit high but went to bed okay, maybe you need to up your night time decent a bit now? I always waited for 3 out of range readings at the same time of day before making any changes. Agree that morning's are the hardest. I went from taking 4u for a bowl of cereal pre pregnancy to 22u for 2 slices of toast and not being able to cope with cereal at all! X


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## Babysaurus (Dec 4, 2011)

I was previously too low (3.5 or under) in the mornings which is why I was told to lower the Lantus dose by 4 units. I have now taken it back up again and see what happens. So far so good, anyway. I like the idea of waiting till there are 3 wayward readings on the trot before changing anything, might adopt that one!


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## PhoebeC (Dec 13, 2011)

The odd high result is nothing to worry about.

Its hard having having good results.

I was told the only thing about highs where baby likes the sugar and eats it all up and gets nice and fat and then makes extra fluid.

I did have extra fluid saying that, was measuring 2 weeks bigger.

And we arnt all the same, when i hit the 3rd trim my levels dramaticlty dropped, they still havent told me why. I couldnt stop hypoying, would get them back up just for them to do the same tomorrow.

My basal went from 28 to 12 units.

Just do your best.

xxx


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## RuthieG (Feb 6, 2012)

Ho Mrs CLH. I am a new member and 14 weeks pregnant and similar to Pregasaurus who you posted to.

I just wanted to say that it was really reassuring to read your post and hear that you have a lovely, healthy 10 week old baby. 

Alhough the doctors and nurses are great wher I am it can be a bit overwhelming with all the scary things they tell you at each appointment.

Thanks


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## MrsCLH (Feb 8, 2012)

Hi RuthieG

My little man is 4 months now, time flies! Being pregnant and diabetic is such a scary time but I think you have to ignore a lot of the negative stuff if you can. The risks are all massively reduced if you have good control. Test test test is the best advice I can give you. And relax! The odd high is fine, don't beat yourself up over it. 

I have to say the pregnancy was the easy part looking back, being a parent is the challenging part!

Hope all goes well with your pregnancy and just keep posting on here. Whatever you face one of us will have been there too I'm sure.

MrsH x


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## PhoebeC (Feb 9, 2012)

MrsCLH said:


> Hi RuthieG
> 
> I have to say the pregnancy was the easy part looking back, being a parent is the challenging part!
> 
> MrsH x



Lol yeah.

There is a direct link between jemima's tanturms and my hypos at the moment.

Stress haha! xx


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## RuthieG (Feb 9, 2012)

*Pregnancy/pump update*

Hi Mrs C and Phoebe

Thanks very much it is really reassuring to hear from you. Well today is day two of me having a pump and I have to say things are going shockingly well. The highs and then lows after breakfast and lunch have gone and things seem fairly stable. I am still a bit low at night but am tweaking that and it has improved, even in the space of 2 nights!

I am feeling hopeful and positive today. 

Once again it is really reassuring to hear from you ladies who have been through it and now have healthy babies keeping you busy. I am 15 weeks now and apart from reading and hearing the negaitive things that are very scary, the doctors and nurses say I am doing great (in the main) and hopefully this pump will help even more.


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## MrsCLH (Feb 10, 2012)

Hi Ruthie

Glad you're doing well. I remember feeling the same. Nothing like hearing positive stuff from people that have been there and done it. Until I found this forum I just thought the chance of making it through a pregnancy and having a healthy baby was an impossible dream but it simply isn't the case.

Take care

MrsH xx


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## PhoebeC (Feb 13, 2012)

I think the lack of good news about diabetic pregnancys is shocking.

All you hear is bad news. I remember years ago hearing about a young girl whose baby had been born very poorly and thinking a health baby at the end was impossible and that id never be able to have children.

Well i did it, so you can do it too.

I love this forum 

xx


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