Your experience with pre-diabetes or Type 2 when pregnant

[SproutMamaK]

Just trying to prepare myself for what may come in future weeks!

 

I have pre-diabetes that is, at this stage, well controlled by diet only. My post-prandial numbers are always fine. My fasting numbers were difficult to get under control, but at this point they're generally anywhere from 82 to 90. The endocronologist wants them to stay at 94 or lower.

 

Right now I'm 23 weeks. The endo keeps telling me that it will get infinitely more difficult to control starting at about 24 weeks and that I should expect a huge jump, and that I will most likely need to go on insulin to control. For various reasons (mostly relating to a non-optional change of health care provider should I go on insulin), this is something i VERY MUCH DO NOT WANT TO DO unless I have no other option. However, this endo is known to be a bit of a doomsayer and just exceptional (and often unnecessarily) negative overall. She also has a reputation for thinking everyone NEEDS to be on insulin even if their diabetes is well-controlled by diet alone. If you can't tell, I'm not a huge fan of hers, but there are no other options in my area.

 

I'd like to hear from women who have had pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes and then gotten pregnant. Did you see a jump in your numbers later in pregnancy? If so, how significant was it? At what point in your pregnancyt did it did happen? I'd like to prepare myself for what may happen, but I want to do so realistically.

 

Thanks! Hopefully this applies to SOMEONE out there and I can hear some real-life experiences.

[SproutMamaK]

Just bumping, hoping someone in the evening crowd might have some experience to share. :)

[SeaConquest]

I didn't have pre-diabetes, but I have PCOS. So, it was pretty much a given that I would have gestational diabetes. With my first pregnancy, it was controlled by diet and metformin (which I had already been on for PCOS). With my second pregnancy, I was older and heavier. and I could not bring my fasting numbers down enough. There isn't much you can do about that number, and it does get harder to control throughout pregnancy. However, I would not jump straight to insulin. I would ask Metformin first, and then for Glyburide. The addition of a small dose of glyburide was enough for me to bring my fasting numbers down. I had no side effects with the meds, and both of my kids were normal size.

 

I would also not let them talk you into induction simply for GD. http://evidencebasedbirth.com/does-gestational-diabetes-always-mean-a-big-baby-and-induction/

[SeaConquest]

Also, I should add that, although I was not pre-diabetic going into my pregnancies, I was pre-diabetic after my second. I strongly recommend Victoza to ward off pre-diabetes when you are done with your pregnancy. It has worked wonders for me.

[SproutMamaK]

Unfortunately my endo is unwilling to consider anything other than insulin for diabetes in pregnancy... she'll talk about different types of insulin, but that's about it. :/

When you say that your fasting numbers got more difficult to control as the pregnancy went on, do you recall any specifics? Right now I have some leeway with my numbers, but I'm not sure quite how much I should be prepared for them to jump.

[Maela]

I don't have time to read all the replies, but:  

 

I had pre-diabetes with my first pregnancy, but controlled it with diet.  My midwife told me to follow the 5-finger diet:  every time I ate I needed to have 1. a whole grain, 2. a green vegetable, 3. some kind of protein, 4. a fruit or vegetable with a lot of Vitamin C, and 5. a glass of water.  So even when I had a snack, I would just have tiny portions of each of those five things.  I also had to walk fast for 30-60 minutes every day.  

 

I followed this religiously because I really really wanted a homebirth.   I have never felt better in my whole life.  It was seriously awesome.

[SeaConquest]

Unfortunately my endo is unwilling to consider anything other than insulin for diabetes in pregnancy... she'll talk about different types of insulin, but that's about it. :/

 

When you say that your fasting numbers got more difficult to control as the pregnancy went on, do you recall any specifics? Right now I have some leeway with my numbers, but I'm not sure quite how much I should be prepared for them to jump.

 

Sorry, I don't recall my numbers exactly. Just that I was starting to get morning readings that broke 100. My post-prandials were always controlled by diet. Can you get a more flexible endo? Glyburide was pretty standard for people like me, with numbers that were not sky-high. And this was at the University of California, San Diego -- a large, research-focused, teaching hospital. 

[SproutMamaK]

Sorry, I don't recall my numbers exactly. Just that I was starting to get morning readings that broke 100. My post-prandials were always controlled by diet. Can you get a more flexible endo? Glyburide was pretty standard for people like me, with numbers that were not sky-high. And this was at the University of California, San Diego -- a large, research-focused, teaching hospital. 

 

Unfortunately I can't. However, I can try to push for the Glyburide... I doubt she'll go for it, but at least I can make a stand. It's worth a shot!

[Rosie_0801]

I'd like to hear from women who have had pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes and then gotten pregnant. Did you see a jump in your numbers later in pregnancy? If so, how significant was it? At what point in your pregnancy did it did happen? I'd like to prepare myself for what may happen, but I want to do so realistically.

 

 

My oath it did. If I recall correctly, there was a jump at 28 weeks, 32 and 36 weeks.

 

I can't remember numbers and you guys use a different system to what we do anyway. I had to keep mine under 6.5 which I think is 117 or my medical people would get antsy.

 

For most of my pregnancy, I had to get my carbs from legumes only. That was doable, but miserable.

 

 

Supper usually helps with fasting readings in the morning.

[HollyDay]

I had gestational 1st pregnancy that was very difficult to control.  Pre-Diabetes in between, the gestational again for the 2nd pregnancy.  My numbers were off from the 1st trimester so we jumped on diet from the very beginning.  I was able to control my blood sugar with diet throughout the 2nd pregnancy.  I did have some trouble with fastings being too low in the morning, so we had to test in the night during the 3rd trimester.  I saw my MFM twice a month the entire pregnancy then weekly towards the end.  We just kept adjusting diet based on numbers.  I tested throughout the day and like I said, often in the night.  I spoke weekly (sometimes more) with a dietician and we kept making changes as the baby grew.