Today my husband and I went in for the 13 week ultrasound. As I mentioned in my last post, this one tested for genetic abnormalities like Downs and Trisomy 18. I'm very happy to report that everything went well.
The visit itself was very pleasant. We only saw the technician who happened to be quite a pro (no actual doc). I was instructed to lay down and when I did I noticed a HUGE flat screen for my personal viewing. My husband and the technician, who were both faced in the other direction had their own to look at. The jelly stuff that she used on my belly as warm - what a nice touch to not have cold jelly squirted onto my abdomen!
We watched the baby move around, mostly flexing its back straight and then curving it again - working on its "cat pose" for yoga maybe? Anyways we were delighted to see it squirming around in there, and it even moved its little hand into its mouth! The tech played the heart beat for us. It was the second time now that I've heard it but I still got teary. I didn't think she noticed but Awesome Ultrasound Tech Girl immediately passed me some tissues. "Thanks," I sniffed. "It happens," she smiled.
She took all the appropriate pictures and informed us that the chances of both Downs or Trisomy 18 were in the 100,000th percentile. I can live with that :).
So it was a good day. Last night, on the other hand, not so good. After about 1 am, my Dexcom CGM started alarming that I was high. I checked and the meter read 131. I corrected with a bolus, went back to sleep and was awakened again around 2 with the CGM alarming again. This time the meter read 152. I corrected, went back to sleep, and once again, 3 am alarm and meter reading of 182. I got up, changed the infusion set and tubing, and since in my half asleep state had not removed the first infusion set, accidentally filled the wrong canula! I realized halfway into the bolus, ripped the infusion set off the site, removed the old site and filled the canula for the new one. Jeez! Then I got on my stationary bike until I saw the numbers on the CGM starting to go down, slumped back into bed, and woke up with a reading of 41 at 8 am. Awesome night! Oh and ps: I still don't know if the problem was even the infusion set - it honestly looked fine!
So I was a LITTLE sleepy today, and I am currently beached on the couch looking at a half decorated Christmas tree. It just might not get finished tonight. But I'm still enjoying the thought of my little bean floating around and sucking its thumb...
Friday, December 13, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Bagels and Gritz
So I mentioned in my last post that since becoming pregnant, I've had lower and lower insulin needs. To be a little more specific, I actually found that from weeks 4-6 my insulin needs went up slightly, and then around the end of week six they started dropping. At week 10 and 11 I noticed a slight plateau, and then in week 12 they started plummeting again. When I say they have been dropping I mean DROPPING. As in every day my nurse practitioner and I lower the basal rates, and a little less often, the carb ratios and sensitivity factors. And I'm still seeing low lows on the meter.
Pregnancy also - as I suppose it does for most women - completely changed my eating habits. The nausea made it difficult to eat anything other than carbs. For a couple weeks there all I could eat were bagels and gritz. It got to the point where my poor husband was starting to worry. Not knowing the extent of my emotionally fragility, he suggested we brainstorm some healthy meals that I might be able to stomach. As I listened to him list some of his food ideas I suddenly burst into uncontrollable tears. I'm talking little kid crying - and I knew it was insane but I just could not stop! I felt so awful that all I was feeding my baby were bagels and gritz. My poor husband didn't know what he had just gotten himself into!
Thankfully, the really insane nausea got a little better and I was able to eat a little more normally after a couple of weeks. Also thankfully, the carbs had very little effect on my forever low blood sugars. When I was preparing for pregnancy I was eating what I would consider a lower carb diet - about 100 a day give or take. Nothing like Atkins thank God, but I found that all things being equal, my blood sugars were just better when I simply ate fewer carbs (no matter how many docs told me I should be able to eat what I want on the pump as long as I count carbs carefully). Anyways I digress. My point is that suddenly switching to a high carb diet gave me virtually no problems. In some strange way, the change in my insulin needs matched the change in my diet.
So that's the nutrition story for trimester 1! In other news, tomorrow I have a very important ultrasound. This one will be testing for genetic abnormalities. It's a little scary, but I'm doing my best not to worry until and unless I have something to worry about. What's that saying? Don't borrow trouble. I'll have an update about the visit tomorrow...to be continued.
Pregnancy also - as I suppose it does for most women - completely changed my eating habits. The nausea made it difficult to eat anything other than carbs. For a couple weeks there all I could eat were bagels and gritz. It got to the point where my poor husband was starting to worry. Not knowing the extent of my emotionally fragility, he suggested we brainstorm some healthy meals that I might be able to stomach. As I listened to him list some of his food ideas I suddenly burst into uncontrollable tears. I'm talking little kid crying - and I knew it was insane but I just could not stop! I felt so awful that all I was feeding my baby were bagels and gritz. My poor husband didn't know what he had just gotten himself into!
Thankfully, the really insane nausea got a little better and I was able to eat a little more normally after a couple of weeks. Also thankfully, the carbs had very little effect on my forever low blood sugars. When I was preparing for pregnancy I was eating what I would consider a lower carb diet - about 100 a day give or take. Nothing like Atkins thank God, but I found that all things being equal, my blood sugars were just better when I simply ate fewer carbs (no matter how many docs told me I should be able to eat what I want on the pump as long as I count carbs carefully). Anyways I digress. My point is that suddenly switching to a high carb diet gave me virtually no problems. In some strange way, the change in my insulin needs matched the change in my diet.
So that's the nutrition story for trimester 1! In other news, tomorrow I have a very important ultrasound. This one will be testing for genetic abnormalities. It's a little scary, but I'm doing my best not to worry until and unless I have something to worry about. What's that saying? Don't borrow trouble. I'll have an update about the visit tomorrow...to be continued.
Type 1 Diabetic. Pregnant. 13 Weeks In.
I've been living with T1 diabetes for 11 years now, since I was 21. I was one of those people that the docs were confused about: "Your blood glucose is over 600, you're not overweight (indicating Type 2), but you're not exactly young (indicating Type 1)." It became clear pretty quickly that I was T1 when the oral meds did absolutely nothing for me! Needless to say, 11 years later, I've been using a Minimed pump (several versions now) for ten of those years, and a Dexcom CGM for about three. And the most important part of the story at this point - I'm pregnant :).
I'm 13 weeks in, this is my first pregnancy, and it's been a wild ride already. If you're reading this you probably know that diabetes is a full time job - one that we diabetics just DO without really having the time to ponder or reflect on :). We poke ourselves all day, correct or drink a little juice, wake up in the night to check, visit the doctor waaaay more than the average Joe, deal with lovely insurance companies more regularly than we'd like, order our supplies, check our blood sugar while on hold with the insurance company, drink a little more juice, check again...you get the idea. We do this so much that it just becomes a normal part of every day life, and I pretty much had it dialed. But then I decided I wanted to have a baby, and the whole thing went on steroids!
I'm extremely lucky to have hunted down a great healthcare team. Things so far have been going pretty smoothly if you don't count the unbelievable nausea, debilitating exhaustion, and record low insulin needs (I remarked to my nurse practitioner that my pregnancy is curing my diabetes, hehe). But although I've felt like absolute death on most days, the little bean inside me is doing just great in there, waving it's arms and doing flips.
I don't know many people with Type 1, and when I meet them I feel like there is a magnet drawing me to them. I want to ask them "What pump do you wear?" "Do you have a CGM?" "Do you hate glucose tablets like I do?" "Can you eat pizza?" They probably think I'm a little nutty :). But seriously though, I meet so few Type 1s that when I do, it's like sighting a rare bird in the wild. When I began preparing for pregnancy I was dismayed at how little information I was able to find on T1 diabetes and pregnancy. When I found Cheryl Alkon's Balancing Pregnancy With Pre-Existing Type 1 Diabetes, I felt like I had discovered the Holy Grail. And when I discovered she had a blog, where I could read about her pregnancy I could hardly contain myself. I think I read every post from beginning to end in the same day. She and other pregnant Type 1s who have shared their pregnancy journeys through blogs have been such a great resource for me.
So as I began to come out of the fog of the first trimester and was thinking about buying a pregnancy journal at Papyrus, a little light bulb went off in my brain. So here I am, journaling on a blog. Type 1 diabetic. Pregnant. 13 weeks in.
I'm 13 weeks in, this is my first pregnancy, and it's been a wild ride already. If you're reading this you probably know that diabetes is a full time job - one that we diabetics just DO without really having the time to ponder or reflect on :). We poke ourselves all day, correct or drink a little juice, wake up in the night to check, visit the doctor waaaay more than the average Joe, deal with lovely insurance companies more regularly than we'd like, order our supplies, check our blood sugar while on hold with the insurance company, drink a little more juice, check again...you get the idea. We do this so much that it just becomes a normal part of every day life, and I pretty much had it dialed. But then I decided I wanted to have a baby, and the whole thing went on steroids!
I'm extremely lucky to have hunted down a great healthcare team. Things so far have been going pretty smoothly if you don't count the unbelievable nausea, debilitating exhaustion, and record low insulin needs (I remarked to my nurse practitioner that my pregnancy is curing my diabetes, hehe). But although I've felt like absolute death on most days, the little bean inside me is doing just great in there, waving it's arms and doing flips.
I don't know many people with Type 1, and when I meet them I feel like there is a magnet drawing me to them. I want to ask them "What pump do you wear?" "Do you have a CGM?" "Do you hate glucose tablets like I do?" "Can you eat pizza?" They probably think I'm a little nutty :). But seriously though, I meet so few Type 1s that when I do, it's like sighting a rare bird in the wild. When I began preparing for pregnancy I was dismayed at how little information I was able to find on T1 diabetes and pregnancy. When I found Cheryl Alkon's Balancing Pregnancy With Pre-Existing Type 1 Diabetes, I felt like I had discovered the Holy Grail. And when I discovered she had a blog, where I could read about her pregnancy I could hardly contain myself. I think I read every post from beginning to end in the same day. She and other pregnant Type 1s who have shared their pregnancy journeys through blogs have been such a great resource for me.
So as I began to come out of the fog of the first trimester and was thinking about buying a pregnancy journal at Papyrus, a little light bulb went off in my brain. So here I am, journaling on a blog. Type 1 diabetic. Pregnant. 13 weeks in.
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