# type1 mummy of two xxx



## Alana (Sep 6, 2011)

hiya am Alana am 23 i have a son logan whos 5 and a daughter Ava who is 2 i got type1 diabetes after having my second child at the age of 21 i have now had type1 for over two years 
we want to try for another baby but as i have not had type1 diabetes in any of my pregnanties am very scared xxxxxx


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## Northerner (Sep 6, 2011)

Hi Alana, welcome to the forum  Don't worry, you will get lots of support from the ladies on the forum that have been through successful pregnancies with diabetes  Feel free to ask any questions you may have - nothing is considered 'silly' and it can be on any topic. What insulin regime are you on and how are you finding it? What was your latest HbA1c like? I think this is one of the most important factors when planning a baby. I look forward to hearing more from you


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## Alana (Sep 6, 2011)

Northerner said:


> Hi Alana, welcome to the forum  Don't worry, you will get lots of support from the ladies on the forum that have been through successful pregnancies with diabetes  Feel free to ask any questions you may have - nothing is considered 'silly' and it can be on any topic. What insulin regime are you on and how are you finding it? What was your latest HbA1c like? I think this is one of the most important factors when planning a baby. I look forward to hearing more from you



am on Humalog and Lev i take humalog everytime i eat and lev at 5pm every day my last reading was just 2mins ago and i was 7.3 xx


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## Northerner (Sep 6, 2011)

Alana said:


> am on Humalog and Lev i take humalog everytime i eat and lev at 5pm every day my last reading was just 2mins ago and i was 7.3 xx



Do you take fixed amounts of humalog or do you 'carb count' and adjust the dose according to what you are about to eat? By 'HbA1c' I mean the test you have done either once or twice a year at your review. Do you have a good DSN (Diabetes Specialist Nurse)?


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## Alana (Sep 6, 2011)

Northerner said:


> Do you take fixed amounts of humalog or do you 'carb count' and adjust the dose according to what you are about to eat? By 'HbA1c' I mean the test you have done either once or twice a year at your review. Do you have a good DSN (Diabetes Specialist Nurse)?



hiya yeah my average blood sugars are 8.9 is that what you mean x 
if my sugars are 8.9 i would take a small amount of insulin then test a few mins later and if it has went down to 6.0 i will just do nuthing if it then goes down to around 3.7 i will have a small snack this is what i do to controll it


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## Northerner (Sep 6, 2011)

Alana said:


> hiya yeah my average blood sugars are 8.9 is that what you mean x
> if my sugars are 8.9 i would take a small amount of insulin then test a few mins later and if it has went down to 6.0 i will just do nuthing if it then goes down to around 3.7 i will have a small snack this is what i do to controll it



Have you ever been on a diabetes education course, like DAFNE (Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating') or something where they teach you to look at the food you are about to eat and calculate the amount of carbohydrate in it, then use a ratio to work out how much humalog to have? For example, if your breakfast was toast containing 40g of carbs and your breakfast ratio was 1 unit of humalog for every 10g of carbs, you would inject 4 units. Is that how you do it? When was the last time you saw a nurse of consultant? Although I've never been pregnant (and not likely to be, as I'm a bloke!), I've read that there are special pre-pregnancy clinics you can go to where they help you to get your blood sugar levels under very tight control before you try to conceive, so this would be something to enquire about at your clinic.


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## Robster65 (Sep 6, 2011)

Hi Alana. Welcome 

It sounds like you may have been left to find your own way of controlling things. It's not unusual, so don't worry.

Proper carb counting is a far better way of doing it, and should lead to a better HbA1c (the blood test to determine your control over the past few weeks, which should be done by your GP or clinic).

Rob


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## Steff (Sep 6, 2011)

Hi Alana and welcome to the forum


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## Natalie123 (Sep 6, 2011)

Hi Alana, Welcome! You should have a look at the pregnancy section of the forum and meet others who have had successful pregnancies with type 1, it might reassure you a bit. I think it would be worth seeing your doctor or nurse and discussing that you want to try for another baby as lots of places have good pre-conception clinics for people with diabetes. They will probably want to make sure your sugar level control is good before you try to conceive and they will give you lots of support along the way. I am looking in to this at the moment too, and have a few worries. Hope this helps x

PS. Just noticed that you've already found the pregnancy section!!


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## Ellie Jones (Sep 6, 2011)

Welcom to the forum

Tis a long time since I had my not so little ones.. youngest is almost 20 so some things have changed... But I did have my oldest daughter as a non-diabetic though..

There's a lot more monitoring from you anti-natal team involved, and yes it can be harder on control as you travel through the different trimesters, your insulin needs will change hence all the monitoring..

Your hospital will have a diabetic pre-pregnacy clinic, who will not only be able to explain any risk factors compared to a normal pregnacy but will also provide support into helping you to get your control into the best position try for a baby...

So start of with speaking to our DSN about wanting another baby, she/he can arrange for you to speak to the pre-anti-natal clinic, but also ask about going onto carb counting course these are very worth while whether you intend to have a baby or not..

And there is always us motely crew to ask any questions about control or termology used with contection to diabetes..  And as Alan said, not question is ever considered silly...  As we've all asked the same questions our selfs..


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## Alana (Sep 6, 2011)

*x*

yeah iv been on the course but i find i can control it alot betta the way am doing it x


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## teapot8910 (Sep 6, 2011)

Welcome to the forum Alana  x


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## Twitchy (Sep 6, 2011)

Hi Alana, welcome to the forum! 

I've got 2 little ones, eldest has just started school, little one is 18 months, I'm type 1 & have been since I was 11 months...so was a bit of a geriatric diabetic when pregnant lol...

Two things - firstly there are some risks for both you & baby due to being diabetic - the good news though is you can reduce these risks, but it will take planning & hard work. Ideally your HbA1c (long term control indicator- it's not an average, but it's a measure of how good your control has been over a few months) should ideally be as near 6.5% as poss, but some clinics will give you the go ahead for below 7.5% - it ideally needs to be this good before you start trying to conceive.  Secondly you will need to speak to your GP before trying - diabetics have an increase risk of babies with birth defects including spina bifida - *you will need to be on a mahoosive dose of folic acid *which reduces this risk significantly *but again you need to be on this ideally 3 months before conceiving *(now you see why I mentioned planning lol ) ...I know it kinda takes the spontenaeity out of it, but if it keeps your baby safe & well it must be worth it 

Most decent hospitals have a pre-conception clinic, or a diabetic doc who specialises in pregnant women (as it were)...it can be really hard work so I'd really recommend you get yourself into one of these clinics before even trying to conceive, as every bit of help you can get is worth it, even if it's just moral support.

Diabetes UK do a good booklet - have a look on their website, I think it's imaginitively called "Diabetes & Pregnancy" or something, but it does explain the risks & what you can do about them in non-horrific but practical language..

Hope I've not freaked you out - it can be done; it will be hard work & will require planning & being a bit of a diabetic fascist for a year or so but boy is it worth it! Best of luck...

Twitchy xxx


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## rachelha (Sep 7, 2011)

Hi Alana I have had T1 for 16 years and have a one year old little boy.  Diabetic pregnancies are hard work but definitely can be done.  I went to a pre pregnancy clinic at my hospital where they helped me get my hba1c down low enough to be given the go ahead to start ttc.  As twitchy says you should get a prescription of 5mg folic acid from your docs.  Have you mentioned to you GP or DSN you are thinking about kids?


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## Alana (Sep 7, 2011)

rachelha said:


> Hi Alana I have had T1 for 16 years and have a one year old little boy.  Diabetic pregnancies are hard work but definitely can be done.  I went to a pre pregnancy clinic at my hospital where they helped me get my hba1c down low enough to be given the go ahead to start ttc.  As twitchy says you should get a prescription of 5mg folic acid from your docs.  Have you mentioned to you GP or DSN you are thinking about kids?



hiya no not yet am wanting to change my doctor as he is very rude i have two children allready but had then as a non type1 diabetic and he said that i bet i am happy that i had mine young because he doesnt think i should have any more as i am now a type1 diabetic i walked straight out and am waiting to haer back from another gp xx


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## rachelha (Sep 7, 2011)

Alana said:


> hiya no not yet am wanting to change my doctor as he is very rude i have two children allready but had then as a non type1 diabetic and he said that i bet i am happy that i had mine young because he doesnt think i should have any more as i am now a type1 diabetic i walked straight out and am waiting to haer back from another gp xx



I can't believe your doc said that to you!  Good on you for changing GPs.


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## Robster65 (Sep 7, 2011)

Hi Alana.

You really need to find a GP that will listen.

Do you have a hospital nearby with a diabetes clinic ? Often, the DSNs (diabetes specialist nurse) are more experienced and up to date than many GPs and can give you better advice.

I would imagine your first step would be to request an HbA1c so you know where you're starting from.

Rob


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