# Stuck and needing some advice....



## mmackay20040 (Oct 26, 2010)

Hi, 

I'm 9 weeks pregnant and have been keeping a really tight eye on my sugars since finding out.  However, I'm having problems this week, my sugar levels are more 8-10 than 5-7 and I'm having random highs.  So far this morning, I woke at 10.0, took a correction and came to 7.9, then went to 2.6, then up to 10.1 and took a correction at 10.1 and now I'm at 15.7.........  Can anyone shed any light?  I'm confused, annoyed and don't know what to do now......


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## margie (Oct 26, 2010)

I don't know - so am guessing a little. It is possible that you overtreated your hypo, or that because of your pregnancy you need less treatment for a hypo than you would before as you are not as sensitive to the insulin. Alternately it could be that your liver reacted by releasing glycogen and thus caused your blood sugar to rise.

Have you got access to a DSN who you call call ? If you haven't I suggest contacting your GP and seeing if there is a community DSN who you could call for some general advice.


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## PhoebeC (Oct 26, 2010)

Im having a bad week too, maybe its the weather altought they should be lower 

What did you take/eat for your hypo? might have been to much.

I try not to correct if i dont have to, i hate, getting into the low high cycle.

Try not to be annoyed it wont help, stay carm. 

Hope you get it sorted out xxx


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## Lizzzie (Oct 29, 2010)

your not alone
I think everyone's levels go a little bit crazy in pregnancy so don't panic. I used to get cross with mine and over-correct, making it worse.

My levels have been crazy, amknig me v. frustrated - here are a few things I've picked up in the last few weeks (13 weeks now): 

PLACENTA AFFECTS IT
Apparently your placenta apparently 'mops up' some insulin, so in theory you're supposed to need increasingly higher doses of insulin as your baby grows and your placenta gets bigger. This is supposed to return to normal as soon as the placenta is passed after the birth.  Or so my consultant told me. Any experienced Mums out there who can confirm whether this is actually what happens?

OTHER HORMONES AFFECT IT
Insulin isn't the only hormone at work here. You have 'counter-regulatory' hormones that protect you against hypos, so when you hypo, your body sometimes responds by creating a hypER which takes extra insulin to get rid of and can be annoyingly persistent. E.g. glucogon, which makes your liver release extra glycogen (which becomes sugar) into the blood. 
Also, I think the sex hormones (you know, pregnancy hormones or whatever) mix this up a bit, too.

THESE AFFECTS DON'T SEEM TO BE CONSISTENT / ALL THE TIME
I had to increase my background insulin when I was first preg - I kept waking up with high levels and increased gradually from 14 to 24 iu.  Then I started hypoing in the night and decreased my background dose again. 
My fast-acting ratios don't seem to be consistent, either.


IN SUMMARY
It all gets really complicated and sometimes forces seem to be at work that you can't always explain, so don't beat yourself up.  Phoebe's advice is excellent - don't get cross / stressed (easy to say, mind) and keep testing, testing, testing because your levels sure won't be as predictable as they used to be - and if you can't predict them, you need to test.

Work out the best correction doses for you, and always check again an hour later to be sure it helped


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## mmackay20040 (Nov 1, 2010)

Thank you all! I've now realised I was just panicking and by constantly correcting, was actually just making things worse.  things have been very stable since... Oops, I should really worry less!  

M xx


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## PhoebeC (Nov 1, 2010)

mmackay20040 said:


> Thank you all! I've now realised I was just panicking and by constantly correcting, was actually just making things worse.  things have been very stable since... Oops, I should really worry less!
> 
> M xx



Least you no the reason now. Try to take it easy


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## beckyp (Nov 3, 2010)

I'm 18 weeks pregnant now and my first trimester was a complete mess - my levels were all over the place!  The thing to remember is that EVERY pregnancy is different (diabetic and non-diabetic) and the biggest thing that I've learnt is that there is no predicting what's going to happen with my sugars so testing was the crucial thing to do.  I was doing about 25 tests a day to begin with - it also helps the hospital get an idea of what's going on when you give them your sugar level/food diary at your appointments so they can give you the best advice.

I've been setting an alarm for during the night since I found out at 5 or 6 weeks (my husband and I look knackered on a daily basis and there's not even a baby yet).  The alarm changes depending on the patterns that I can find.  To begin with it was set for 2.30am when I would always wake in the teens so I'd give myself my correction dose and then wake at a reasonable level, then I'd be waking with hypos in the morning and worked out that I was having the dawn phenomenon so the alarm was moved to 5am for me to munch on a biscuit...it's now at 4.30am as the hypos moved earlier and I would've moved it again until I saw the doctor on Friday!  

Until recently I was waking with hypos (with the alarm) so the doctor has decreased my lantus by 2 units and also told me to eat a couple of biscuits before bed.  I was a bit concerned about going to bed on a high but he informed me that as I ate my dinner at 6-7pm and then didn't eat anything else until the morning the baby was 'sucking up' the glucose leaving me without enough.  I email my food diary to the hospital every week and they email back with feedback on tweaks and changes that I can make.  

In my pre-pregnancy days  I was jumping in with correction doses and having really bad hypos.  I had the iPro fitted to give me a clear idea of what was happening over 24 hours and with each hypo I was rebounding up to the high teens so it defo doesn't always help to jump in with the needles!  

The 'targets' during pregnancy are stricter that non-pregnancy but it's important to remember that they are just a guideline (not the law!).  Being a bit higher for a couple of hours isn't like being high for days on end...which is the time that they worry.

Like I say, everyone is different...always check with the hospital before you adjust too much in pregnancy - my diabetes team have been really good and without them I'd be lost a lot of the time because they help me understand what's happening with the baby and my levels - I would never have imagined that the baby would be grabbing my reserves...greedy little monkey!

I'm sure things will settle down soon and remember to not panic too much - it doesn't do you or the baby any good!


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## PhoebeC (Nov 3, 2010)

beckyp said:


> I would never have imagined that the baby would be grabbing my reserves...greedy little monkey!



Babys are so greedy!!!

My basal came down from 26 units to 16, and has only just gone back up to 18 im now 25 weeks, i thought my sugars where all over the place in the early months, now they really are bonkers xx


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