Pregnancy Question

[triplerocks]

I am diabetic, have been since I was 4 years old.  I think that I may be pregnant.  I have only missed one period, two weeks late.  Should I wait until I am more than two weeks late to go to the doctor?  My sister in law (who is not diabetic) wasn't able to get into her OBGYN until she was about 8 weeks.  Is it different for diabetics?

If anyone has gone through this before, any help and information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[california j]

By now you've probably found out whether or not you're pregnant.  If so, congratulations!  If not, then maybe you'd still like to hear from me in case you become pregnant in the future.  I have had type 1 diabetes for 28 years (since age 5) and I am the mother of a healthy, energetic 13-month old little boy.  Tight control really pays off, especially during pregnancy.  I walked about a mile nearly every day, checked my BG 6-8 times per day, and tried to eat well (which was really difficult, since I had nausea the entire 9 months!).  My A1C was the best it's ever been and I'm really thankful that I had an uncomplicated pregnancy and delivery of my baby.  My BGs tended to run low in the early mornings (which I understand is normal during pregnancy), so I made sure I walked in the mid-mornings and also had a snack at bedtime to help prevent getting too low.  My doctor referred me to a specialist for several 3-D ultrasounds, since problems such as heart defects are higher in diabetic pregnancies.  Pretty spendy, but it was reassuring to learn that our little one was developing normally and also pretty wonderful to see him so clearly before birth!  I just took my little boy to a checkup and the doctor said he's very healthy and doing well--a great reminder that taking care of myself paid off  not for only me, but for my baby!

[JDRF Team SGG]

I agree with all the others who have posted here that tight control is very important. Many doctors want their pregnant diabetic patients to maintain an a1c of 6 or even lower both before and during pregnancy in order to protect the growing and developing baby. This kind of very tight control is especially important the first few weeks while the main development of the baby is happening, and also at the end of the pregnancy in order to keep the placenta healthy enough to continue to nourish the baby at the end of the 9 months. So, IF you have to wait, take charge of those glucose numbers in the meantime in order to prevent damage to the baby.

If your glucose levels are kept as normal as possible, the odds of having a very healthy baby are about the same as for the general population, but women whose glucose levels run high do have greater  odds of having a baby with birth defects. So do take control now, if you already haven't. I would recommend that you test every 3 hours or so and adjust to the numbers you see so that the numbers stay between that normal range of 70-126 most of the time. We wish you the very best. Many women write in to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation when pregnant and tell us later that their control was the best it has ever been while they were pregnant.

[JDRF-Team-cb]

I have been diabetic for 25 years.  I have been pregnant twice.  I agree that taking the home pregnancy test is the first thing to do.  I did not see my ob-gyn until I was 8 weeks too.  Test yourself alot-I noticed at first my blood sugars were lower than normal.  I don't know if that happens to many pregnant diabetics or not.  I would call my endocronologist too.  Also, don't get scared-you will be fine-keep eating right-keep your blood sugars under control and keep exercising if you can-I walked and it helped!  Good Luck!

[who_dis]

Take a pregnancy test first.  Then you'll have more info to go on.

[JDRF-Team-CDB]

Hi triplerocks,
I'm not a doctor, just the mother of a diabetic teenager, but I can say that yes, pregnancy is different for diabetics. If you are pregnant, you will need careful monitoring and medical care. It's pretty easy to find out quickly if you're pregnant or not, with a home test you can get at any pharmacy. If you test positive, I would advise getting in to see your doctor ASAP. It would be wise to consult an endocrinologist as well as your regular OB/GYN, because as I said, you will need to work on tight blood-sugar control during the pregnancy.

Good luck!