# book ??



## shazlewis86 (Jan 4, 2013)

hi can anyone recommend a good book for diabetes and pregnancy or know where i can get some info from please something to read in bed thanks


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## AlisonF (Jan 4, 2013)

The best I've found is Balancing Pregnancy with Pre Existing Diabetes by Cheryl Alkon. But I have to admit, when I looked I didn't think there were a great deal of good options out there that weren't really basic. That's one of the reasons I've been blogging about my own pregnancy - http://www.shootuporputup.co.uk/tag/pregnancy/

In terms of general pregnancy books, the most readable, practical, informative and entertaining one I've found is Pregnancy: The Mumsnet Guide. It had me laughing out loud at times and I learned a lot from it.


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## Twitchy (Jan 4, 2013)

There is a useful booklet by Diabetes UK, available via their website, I think it was about ?3 last time I got a copy. Quite useful to take into work, GPs if you need something formal to explain why you're testing so much, target levels & the care you should get - well worth a copy. Best of luck!  xx


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## Northerner (Jan 4, 2013)

Twitchy said:


> There is a useful booklet by Diabetes UK, available via their website, I think it was about ?3 last time I got a copy. Quite useful to take into work, GPs if you need something formal to explain why you're testing so much, target levels & the care you should get - well worth a copy. Best of luck!  xx



I had a look for it but couldn't find it so I asked Joe and he said they no longer produce it  They are simplifying their range of leaflets so the information is now in their Type 1 guide, although not as comprehensive as in the separate guide.


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## Tina chick (Jan 4, 2013)

I got the booklet about 2 month ago


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## Twitchy (Jan 4, 2013)

Northerner said:


> I had a look for it but couldn't find it so I asked Joe and he said they no longer produce it  They are simplifying their range of leaflets so the information is now in their Type 1 guide, although not as comprehensive as in the separate guide.



Typical, the most useful ruddy booklet they did & they stop it!!  maybe the didn't sell many because it was well hidden & not publicised, but given how precarious & stressful a type 1 pregnancy can feel I'm gutted on the behalf of the new pregnant ladies coming through that DUK have taken such a cavalier attitude! Did they actually bother to ask mums what they thought of it? I was getting no end of grief off gp & work for all the constant testing etc, & the leaflet with it's detail & 'official' nature was worth ten times it's weight in gold to me!! Wish they'd reconsider - doesn't make any difference to me now, but it could help other. Hope Joe sees this!!


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## Northerner (Jan 4, 2013)

Twitchy said:


> Typical, the most useful ruddy booklet they did & they stop it!!  maybe the didn't sell many because it was well hidden & not publicised, but given how precarious & stressful a type 1 pregnancy can feel I'm gutted on the behalf of the new pregnant ladies coming through that DUK have taken such a cavalier attitude! Did they actually bother to ask mums what they thought of it? I was getting no end of grief off gp & work for all the constant testing etc, & the leaflet with it's detail & 'official' nature was worth ten times it's weight in gold to me!! Wish they'd reconsider - doesn't make any difference to me now, but it could help other. Hope Joe sees this!!



He will do!


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## AlisonF (Jan 5, 2013)

If you're after info on what care to expect, targets etc, I always find it useful to read through the NICE guidelines. They're hardly an entertaining read but they do set out what should be happening and are the source data for Diabetes UK booklet etc http://publications.nice.org.uk/diabetes-in-pregnancy-cg63


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## hyper-Suze (Jan 5, 2013)

Northerner said:


> He will do!



I didn't find this booklet all that useful in terms of information as I'd done a whole lot of research beforehand myself and I actually found asking questions on this message board invaluable. However, I can also see Twitchys point that there is a level of resistence and lack of knowledge from gps and other professionals (dont get me started on the eye clinic I've been under!) so this booklet does have a use for that and being armed with proof to these 'professionals'. 

Could DUK not offer an online version of this booklet, it would save on publication costs but still be available for those who need it?

I was happy to offer my copy for free to others but given that I've now read they are not in circulation I am holding onto it until my child bearing days are well and truly gone!


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## hyper-Suze (Jan 5, 2013)

AlisonF said:


> If you're after info on what care to expect, targets etc, I always find it useful to read through the NICE guidelines. They're hardly an entertaining read but they do set out what should be happening and are the source data for Diabetes UK booklet etc http://publications.nice.org.uk/diabetes-in-pregnancy-cg63



Ha ha, I referred to this with my terrible eye clinic as I wasn't being seen or treated in each trimester. As soon as I quoted the NICE guidelines they soon realised they were not messing around with an amateur!!


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## AlisonF (Jan 6, 2013)

That's interesting hyper-Suze. I currently have a complaint in with the Chief Exec of our hospital about a complete lack of awareness of and compliance with the NICE guidelines with regard to pregnancy and diabetes at our local eye clinic. Disappointing to hear that I'm not the only one needing to do that.


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## Twitchy (Jan 6, 2013)

LOL...sounds endemic then...the old hospital I was under during my two pregnancies had massively over run clinics, often the doc would want to see me within 4 weeks & it would be months later - I knew a few mums who only got seen once during their pregnancy too!   Plus the fun of having proliferative retinopathy due to the pregnancies & getting rude snide comments every time I had to turn up to eye casualty (having been told to go there if the eyes bled) about how bad my control must be!!  Er, excuse me, my HbA1c is just fine thank you so very much... 5.8% at that time...nice to know they treat everyone equally & don't leap to assumptions, eh?!


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## Monkey (Jan 6, 2013)

I have to agree with Suze to some extent, I didn't find the DUK booklet that useful. I think if you were starting from scracth (ie knew nothing about pre conception stuff, let alone pregnancy!) it might have been useful, but I found the info about what happened in each trimester very sparse and not particularly useful. I've definitely picked up more from here and the NICE guidelines, tbh!


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## Twitchy (Jan 6, 2013)

In fairness, when I used it this forum either wasn't in existence yet, or I hadn't found it.  But I still think it was useful to waft in front of unhelpful GPs, managers etc...plus there are always other diabetics who don't want to join a forum (I know a few) but would appreciate something in paper form to digest at leisure.  It was fairly sparse, but had the basics at least...otherwise I'd have taken one GPs advice that 'ketones won't harm the baby' for example...


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## Monkey (Jan 6, 2013)

Oh, and eyes - last time (2009) I was seen in the eye clinic by the head honcho, who dilated and looked at my eyes himself and made decisions there and then about any need for treatment.

This time, I saw someone in his team in first tri, then 2nd tri was sent for photos, which were taken by someone who told me she wasn't qualified to look at them in anyway, and I then got a very basic 'everything's ok for now' type letter back. Probably 6 weeks later, if not longer.

My 3rd tri appointment is this week, same again - but given I'll be 37w and it clashes with a placenta / fluid scan and diabetes appointment, I'm not sure I'll be able to get to it! Even if something was amiss, by the time they've seen the photos I'll not be pregnant anymore.


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## Twitchy (Jan 6, 2013)

Monkey said:


> Oh, and eyes - last time (2009) I was seen in the eye clinic by the head honcho, who dilated and looked at my eyes himself and made decisions there and then about any need for treatment.
> 
> This time, I saw someone in his team in first tri, then 2nd tri was sent for photos, which were taken by someone who told me she wasn't qualified to look at them in anyway, and I then got a very basic 'everything's ok for now' type letter back. Probably 6 weeks later, if not longer.
> 
> My 3rd tri appointment is this week, same again - but given I'll be 37w and it clashes with a placenta / fluid scan and diabetes appointment, I'm not sure I'll be able to get to it! Even if something was amiss, by the time they've seen the photos I'll not be pregnant anymore.



But on the plus side, as I see you're at Birmingham at least you're in the right place - I am certain BMEC saved the sight in my eye!   Far more efficient eye clinic than one, shall we say, eastwards of that area...


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## Monkey (Jan 6, 2013)

Twitchy said:


> In fairness, when I used it this forum either wasn't in existence yet, or I hadn't found it.  But I still think it was useful to waft in front of unhelpful GPs, managers etc...plus there are always other diabetics who don't want to join a forum (I know a few) but would appreciate something in paper form to digest at leisure.  It was fairly sparse, but had the basics at least...otherwise I'd have taken one GPs advice that 'ketones won't harm the baby' for example...



Yes, that's very true (but eek at the ketones!) - my GP was convinced first time that I didn't need high dose folic acid, until I showed him that!


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## JoeFreeman (Jan 7, 2013)

Hello - I've seen the comments!

In the past we had _a lot_ of information leaflets and booklets. Probably too many. It was helpful - we could send out specific info to people on a particular subject - but it was also getting to a point where it was very difficult to manage. Each booklet would have to be reviewed and updated every 12 months and it was getting unmanageable (not to mention more costly). There was a lot of duplication of information across all the booklets too.

It's worth pointing out that we?re not getting rid of any old content ? it will still be available, but it may be in a slightly different format, for example it may form part of a new companion guide, or might be available on our website. We're still working through a lot of this, but the information is still there for people who need it. We definitely recognise that the pregnancy info is vital for a lot of people and we still provide that.

Hope this helps offer some explanation?


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