# Worried, scared and doctor issues!



## Maddison Moore (Nov 22, 2016)

Hi all. 

I'm new here. T1 diabetic for 15 years, now 26 years old. It's never been brilliantly controlled but never had any complications. 

I recently found out I am pregnant, 6w+4. It was completely unplanned and out of the blue. I'm super worried because my last HBA1c in June was 73 (8.6%) I think which is obviously way too high to be pregnant. All I've managed to do so far is look online and scare myself. 

Since finding out I've been trying my hardest for super tight control, albeit having random lows and spikes out of nowhere! I'm even having to test and give myself extra insulin around 3am to stop morning highs. This means testing 10+ times per day!

My doctors are being ridiculously unhelpful and saying that I can't have more testing strips because I have used my "quota". I have been told that I need to see a doctor to be shown "how to test my blood properly, only 4-5 times a day". I nearly cried I was that mad!

I am already so stressed I have damaged my baby! Has anyone else had issues with prescriptions while pregnant?

Sorry for the long post. 

Thanks


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## grovesy (Nov 22, 2016)

Maddison Moore said:


> Hi all.
> 
> I'm new here. T1 diabetic for 15 years, now 26 years old. It's never been brilliantly controlled but never had any complications.
> 
> ...


Welcome. 
Unfortunately restricting test strips are common. Though when pregnant they should not be doing. 
Is your GP usually like this? If so changing Doctors may be needed.
Have you got a hospital based Diabetes nurse, if so contact them, you should also be seen by the specialist Diabetic Pregnancy clinic.


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## Maddison Moore (Nov 22, 2016)

I've never had any issues with them before only seems to be now when I really need them! 

I had a midwife appointment last week and she referred me to a specialist for an "ASAP" appointment but I've yet to hear anything from them.


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## grovesy (Nov 22, 2016)

Maddison Moore said:


> I've never had any issues with them before only seems to be now when I really need them!
> 
> I had a midwife appointment last week and she referred me to a specialist for an "ASAP" appointment but I've yet to hear anything from them.


can you ring and see what is happening to your appointment, to that clinic!


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## SB2015 (Nov 22, 2016)

Welcome to the forum.  You have come to the right place for some help from a lot of lovely people who are dealing with Diabetes every day themselves.

Types 2s are often restricted to a few strips per month however If you are Type 1 there should be no restriction on test strips! This is in the NICE guidelines and someone will be along soon who can put the appropriate hyperlink in for you to have a look at that and take along a copy to your GP.

Are you in the care of anyone at the hospital.  My understanding is that you will need specialist care whilst you are pregnant, Hw do they expect you to get good control without you being able to do tests.

If you are going high in the early morning it sounds as though it is an issue with your background insulin?  Tell us a bit about how you manage your condition.


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## Maddison Moore (Nov 22, 2016)

I'll give the hospital a call this afternoon to see what's going on with my appointment. 

I currently take 26 units of Levimir on an evening and Novorapid with meals. 2.5u/10g. I've been waking around 3am to test with readings of between 9-11, even though pre bedtime readings are >7. I am also spiking on an evening from around 5pm onwards, where my levels are creeping up even though I haven't eaten since lunch and my 2hour post lunch reading has been within target.


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## grovesy (Nov 22, 2016)

Maddison Moore said:


> I'll give the hospital a call this afternoon to see what's going on with my appointment.
> 
> I currently take 26 units of Levimir on an evening and Novorapid with meals. 2.5u/10g. I've been waking around 3am to test with readings of between 9-11, even though pre bedtime readings are >7. I am also spiking on an evening from around 5pm onwards, where my levels are creeping up even though I haven't eaten since lunch and my 2hour post lunch reading has been within target.


Pregnancy does affect your requirements and it may change at differn points through the pregnancy.


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## trophywench (Nov 22, 2016)

Pregnancy hormones wreak havoc with diabetic mum's BGs, Maddison - it's quite amazing and you'll have to adjust adjust and adjust through your entire term I'm afraid - it is IMPOSSIBLE to do that successfully without MANY more tests than your ignorant GP seems to think !  This BTW is immaterial of what any lady's A1c is at the start - it's a flippin juggling act for 38 weeks - usually though it goes in semesters roughly - higher for the first 3 months - then lower for the next 3 - then finally wham - even higher than the first 3 !! but never fear cos by that time you'll be accustomed to it being completely off the scale and unreliable.  I've never had to go there myself but I have complete admiration for all that do it - and it takes a lot to get respect from me.  So (while I can still get my arms round you LOL) {{{Hugs}}}

Please let us know how you get on with the hospital - and that GP!! - because you really can't go on like this on your own and you NEED some expert help.   He or she's clearly just been poorly educated about diabetes - but you shouldn't have to bear the result of his shortcomings at all.

I use a group practice and there are at least two who 'specialise' in diabetes and the same 'gynae & preg' - is there another one you could see or does it mean changing practices who could get things moving better?


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## Redkite (Nov 22, 2016)

No no no!  You need to get an urgent letter from your DSN to the GP confirming your need for frequent testing and insisting they increase the amount of strips provided.  There is also this letter from the Dept of Health that you could print out and show:

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploa.../Safe-care-of-people-with-type-1-diabetes.pdf

The letter tells GPs they must prescribe sufficient strips for clinical need, and obviously being pregnant creates an additional clinical need on top of the usual good diabetes management and avoidance of hypos and DKA!


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## Maddison Moore (Nov 22, 2016)

Thanks all for the support. Managed to get my DSN on the phone and she's tweaked my nasal and bolus, assured me not to worry, is going to write to my gp immediately and came me a direct contact number if I needed to talk about anything.

Feeling much better. 

Now I've just got to stop stressing about my HBA1c and try and enjoy this pregnancy as much as I can. 

Thanks to all for the supportive replies.


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## Cleo (Nov 22, 2016)

Hello and welcome
Glad to hear that your DSN is helping you - i can't believe a GP could be that stupid.  
As pp have said you'll need to adjust your ratios constantly so you'll def need to test a lot.  

During both my pregnancies I was testing 10-14times daily and I was never told by my specialist that I was testing too much.  Also, I know it's easier said than done - but honestly try to avoid looking things up online - unless it's evidence based there's a lot of anecdotal horror stories out there.  The bottom line is that if you work hard and Control your sugars then you have every chance of having a healthy pregancy and baby. Try to enjoy it - it goes by very quickly !  
Good luck !


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## Cleo (Nov 22, 2016)

Ps has your GP prescribed the high dose folic acid ? (5mg)


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## Maddison Moore (Nov 22, 2016)

Thanks Cleo. I will try my hardest to keep that in mind! As a habitual stresser I can see the road being a long one but I want to do what's best for my baby! 

I stated on the 5mg folic acid as soon as I found out (about 5 weeks).


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## Nicola16 (Dec 6, 2016)

Hey, I didn't know I was diabetic (long story but it's still to be determined) before I got pregnant and it was found in week 12 with a fasting level of 9 and 2 hour test of 16 and I've just given birth to a healthy little girl so please don't panic! Obviously its best to try and keep BG at a sensible level but don't read google it really does scare you. I found this the best site everyone was so helpful and reassuring.

Prescription wise that's mad I was told to test 7 times a day (before and after every meal and before bed) pregnancy hormones have a weird affect on BG levels so if yo don't test that regularly how can you manage it properly! What you could eat before with your insulin you'll likely have to adjust and the only way you'll know how much is by testing after eating, I'd go back and insist you get the strips to help your control while pregnant.

Good luck with everything and wishing you a happy pregnancy. X


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## trophywench (Dec 7, 2016)

Another thought - you won't have time to wait until a DSN tweaks your insulin doses - you will need to be doing it yourself when it needs it!


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## Maddison Moore (Dec 16, 2016)

Hi all thought I would check in and update. Unfortunately I started getting stomach cramps last week and a scan showed no heartbeat and no growth from the 7 week scan. Absolutely devestated. I decided to wait it out naturally but a further scan yesterday showed no signs my body was ready to let go yet, the sac and placenta were still growing but no baby. I decided to have d&c today as I don't think I could handle the waiting which they said could be weeks 

I'm home from the hospital now, sore and very emotional but ok. Post op BG little high (10s) but told was ok. I am however concerned about my BH levels now, slowly rising since 6pm, now hit 17mmol and I'm panicking. My normal correction doses don't seem to be working and I have no contact with my DSN out of hours. I have tested for ketones which are 0.2 so I'm happy with that but concerned about the long term effects of this high BG


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## Ljc (Dec 17, 2016)

I am so sorry.
I'm thinking it's possibley the op causing your BGs to rise  however I think it would be wise to contact someone , maybe 111
I expect you already know about the sickday rules but in case you don't I'll post a link here shortly 
http://www.mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/resources/leaflets/SickDayRulesForType1.asp


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## grovesy (Dec 17, 2016)

Sorry to hear this, my friend's daughter had this happen to her last year, she does not have Diabetes so try not to blame yourself. I suspect the rise in BG is partly due to op. Take care and hope your BG is beginning to fall.


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## Maddison Moore (Dec 17, 2016)

Morning all. Thanks for the replies. 

Currently following sick day rules, still no ketones but still a BG of 17mmol +. So Far I have had 15 corrections units since 10pm last night and no lowering of BG. Stumped and now feeling horribley unwell


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## grovesy (Dec 17, 2016)

Maddison Moore said:


> Morning all. Thanks for the replies.
> 
> Currently following sick day rules, still no ketones but still a BG of 17mmol +. So Far I have had 15 corrections units since 10pm last night and no lowering of BG. Stumped and now feeling horribley unwell


Is it possible you have an infection?


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## Maddison Moore (Dec 17, 2016)

grovesy said:


> Is it possible you have an infection?



I don't feel unwell in the infection sense, just get the horrible feeling when your bloods high  I sincerely hope it's not an infection, the last thing I need!


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## grovesy (Dec 17, 2016)

Was just a thought.


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## Maddison Moore (Dec 17, 2016)

grovesy said:


> Was just a thought.



Thanks for your concern though, greatly appreciated. DIABETES is a pain in the butt!!


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## Northerner (Dec 17, 2016)

Very sorry to hear your sad news  We had another member who has recently experienced similar, and subsequent problems with levels. Most likely due to all the hormones which will still be all over the place, and you'll need to try to react rather than predict.

I hope things settle down for you soon {{{HUGS}}}


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## trophywench (Dec 17, 2016)

Oh Maddison, I am sorry.  {{{Hugs}}}

The flippin stress won't help your BG either I'm afraid.  I wonder ...... at our hospital, there's always nurses and midwives on duty on the Maternity Ward.  Because you can't possibly be the only diabetic maternity case they handle at your hosp - they usually have access to diabetology advice even at weekends in emergencies - is it worth ringing Maternity, and asking?


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## Maddison Moore (Dec 18, 2016)

trophywench said:


> Oh Maddison, I am sorry.  {{{Hugs}}}
> 
> The flippin stress won't help your BG either I'm afraid.  I wonder ...... at our hospital, there's always nurses and midwives on duty on the Maternity Ward.  Because you can't possibly be the only diabetic maternity case they handle at your hosp - they usually have access to diabetology advice even at weekends in emergencies - is it worth ringing Maternity, and asking?


That's a good idea. I will definitely try tomorrow. I've managed to get it down a bit now but it shoots it as soon as I eat (birthday I'm overly hungry anyway!) I'm amazed at the support from the forum and as a diabetic for 15 years I'm very sad I never joined before!


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## New-journey (Dec 18, 2016)

So sorry for all you are going through, sending big hugs and hope you feel better very soon. Happy Birthday!


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## Ditto (Dec 18, 2016)

I find it quite shocking that testing strips aren't just given to us when we want them. 

It's your birthday? Many happy returns.


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## trophywench (Dec 18, 2016)

Like when you say shoots up when you eat, doesn't it always, LOL otherwise we wouldn't need to bolus 

Seriously if it's shooting sky high before the bolus is getting to it, try jabbing about 10-15 minutes before you actually start eating and see if that helps.  In a number of pregnancies where we've had blow by blow accounts (only of the BG bits LOL) some girls had to not only bolus well in front, they had to plan to split the food but have enough insulin upfront to cover it all so they eat half, then when they start to dip after +/- 2 hours, eat the rest as the only way to keep their BG within guidelines for the duration.  Usually the third semester.  Sorry - but you have this same sort of surge in hormones just at the mo because of what's happened.  More {{{Hugs}}}


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## Lilian (Dec 18, 2016)

I am so sorry to hear what has happened.   ((((hugs))))     An emotionally stressful situation will affect your blood glucose, plus the trauma to your body.


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## SB2015 (Dec 18, 2016)

So sorry to hear your new Maddison.

I have found that if my levels are above 10 I need a bit of an extra correction (+20%) and above 14 even more. I have found this by trial and error and the amounts may well be different for each of us, but I suspect your sick day rules will take account of this principle.

I hope that your BGs settle for you soon.


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## PhoebeC (Jan 25, 2017)

Maddison Moore said:


> That's a good idea. I will definitely try tomorrow. I've managed to get it down a bit now but it shoots it as soon as I eat (birthday I'm overly hungry anyway!) I'm amazed at the support from the forum and as a diabetic for 15 years I'm very sad I never joined before!


Hope you are feeling better now Maddison, this site is pure gold. The people on here are so caring and helpful. xx


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