Life as a Pregnant Diabetic

I'm just now finding out how difficult it is to be pregnant and a diabetic at the same time. Now, I don't have gestational diabetes, I have the real deal, I just so happened to get pregnant. I was first diagnosed in January, so I haven't known long. I'm on 500mg of Metformin every night at dinner time, which is also when I take my prenatal vitamin, along with my fish oil pil (which actually looks like a HORSE pill) that my doc suggested I take for brain development of the baby. You know, Omega 3 fatty acids and such.

Anyhow, doctor told me how later on in my pregnancy, it's possible my diabetes might get "worse" due to the placenta releasing sugars into the bloodstream right along with the pancreas. They're going to be closely monitoring the size of the baby to make sure it doesn't get too big in there. Some babies of diabetic moms have fat deposits on their bodies that make them "bigger" due to all the sugar floating around in there, thus making the chest and shoulders the biggest part of the baby rather than the head. If you deliver the head and can't get the rest of the baby out, you're in deep hurting.

So, if they baby gets upwards of 9 1/2 pounds, my doc isn't going to take her chances, she's going to give me a c-section.

Throughout this whole pregnancy, my sugars have been normal. You need to be under 95 in the mornings after you wake up, and one hour after you eat, no more than 135. If you test at two hours after you eat, no more than 120. Been nailing that no problem.

But recently, my morning sugars have been about 10 points higher than they should be, fluctuating between 101 and 109. This causes my after-breakfast sugars to spike to the 140's/150's. Not good. But then, what happens is, somewhere between breakfast and lunch, my blood sugar crashes, and I've GOT to find something to eat and quick. Despite my high number, I must eat a snack or risk going hypoglycemic. And that's not fun.

It's happened to me a couple of times. You get a raging headache, you feel like you're going to puke, nothing can stop you from shaking, and you feel like there's a brick in your stomach. DH has had to make me eat even if I don't want to, because it can get really bad if you don't. It kinda scares me, actually, because I'm not sure why I'm swinging both ways so drastically in the span of an hour.

Now, my after lunch sugars and after dinner sugars are both normal. It only seems to be my morning and after breakfast sugars. This means I'll probably be prescribed a higher dose of Metformin.

The doc did mention its possible that by the end of the pregnancy, the diabetes could get so out of control that I have to inject myself with syringes. I hope it doesn't come to that. When every woman goes into the doctor once a week in their last month, I'll have to go twice a week for a non-stress test. They'll strap me into one of those fetal monitors that goes on your belly and leave me be for about 30 minutes, monitoring the baby's heart rate when I have Braxton-Hicks contractions. If they get dangerously low, they'll have to induce me.

I'm seeing my doctor within the next few days, so I will definitely be talking to her about what's been going on. And not only this, but the ligament pain and the back pain - I'm telling you, this pregnancy is already "miserable" and I'm only 21 1/2 weeks along. I'm actually dreading the months to come.

Because seriously, if I'm out and about too long, like at the store walking around, not only do my feet swell like balloons, but I get this weird feeling like I have a brick in my stomach and I'm going to hurl at any given moment. I'm getting to the point where I might have to carry sweets in my purse because I can tell when my blood sugar crashes. It's not quite as drastic as Julia Roberts in Steel Magnolias, but it's enough to be a bit scary at times.

Good news is, I'm still maintaining my weight and fitting into my "small" fat pants. They're getting tight, though. I'm going to have one heck of a jelly belly when this baby finally does come out. LOL

~~Becka