Tag Archives: pregnancy

Wego Health Day 9, Diabetes Mantra

09 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in diabetes

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , ,

I used to beat myself up when I saw a “bad” number on my meter. Anything above 200 freaked me out. Especially during my first pregnancy, those high blood sugars sent me into a dark hole of bleakness because it was not just about me anymore. I would visualize the sugars flowing from my body into my growing baby and making him sick. It made me obsessive about testing, and paranoid about anything I put into my mouth. It was supposed to be one of the most joyful times of my life, yet I was filled with worry.

I remember talking to a therapist a few years later who told me to think about my blood sugar readings as information from my body. I snorted at the time and said, “Easier said than done.” She told me to let go of the “bad” and “good” labels and to think of the numbers more scientifically. For example, 250 was telling me I needed more insulin (for whatever reason, miscalculation of carbs, over treating a low etc.), just like 50 was telling me I needed less insulin and more glucose.

I was skeptical leaving her office, thinking, it’s easy for her to say don’t get emotional about the numbers, but her words stuck in my head. Over the next few days when I got a 200+ reading, I took a deep breath and thought, okay, what do I need to do here? Slowly, it began to work. Slowly, the black hole began to dissipate like a rain puddle after the clouds part. I began to chant the phrase in my head “It’s just a number.” And it worked.

I should add that my 3 pregnancies were healthy, and my 3 boys turned out just fine. They are healthy and I am healthy in body and in mind ;)

http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/417096/

Pregnancy and Diabetes

24 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in diabetes

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , , ,

Before I could become pregnant with my first son my endo said I had to get my A1c below 7. I remember feeling defensive (how dare he!?). It was the first time someone told me I couldn’t do something because I had diabetes. I was ready to have a baby now! Why did I have to wait?

Of course he knew more than me, and it actually took us a year to get pregnant with the help of chlomid. I’m glad I listened because I got myself in the best diabetic shape possible for my baby-to-be, and the pattern of eating right, exercise and (constant!) blood sugar testing has stayed with me.

Pregnancy is such an important time for women with diabetes and the more we understand about how to take care of ourselves, the better off we, and our future children,  will be.

Here is a great article from Psychology in Diabetes Care on diabetes and pregnancy:

Psychology in Diabetes Care, 2nd Ed, Part 13.

C-sections, why do women with diabetes have so many?

06 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in diabetes

≈ Leave a Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

I’ve started writing guest blogs at Diabetes Mine and here is my latest,

C-Sections vs. Natural Birth in Diabetic Moms

It’s a post about the high rate of c-sections for women with diabetes and the reasons why…

And the best part of all…here is a wonderful comment that has made my week! Thank you Johanna B.!

I must say that I love Mercer’s book. I borrowed a copy from our library and had to go out and buy it so I could mark it up. Reading “The Smart Women’s Guide to Diabetes” has turned my d-life around. Thanks so much Amy. My doc thanks you, too.

Diabetes and Pregnancy

06 Tuesday May 2008

Posted by in diabetes, posted by Amy S. Mercer, writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

,

Diabetes and Pregnancy

According to a recent study conducted by Kaiser Permanente and funded by the ADA, “diabetes before motherhood” has doubled in the last six years. The study is the largest and most diverse to examine type 1 and type 2 women with diabetes in childbearing years. We need this kind of research; we need more information about managing diabetes during pregnancy. However, this report which was released in the May issue of Diabetes Care and has been plastered on Diabetes health, Science Daily and Yahoo news makes some important mistakes. The point of the research, I think, is to encourage women to engage in healthier lifestyles before they get pregnant to decrease the risks of miscarriage and/or birth defects. This is all well and good…..However, as a woman who has been living with type 1 diabetes for 23 years and as a mother to two healthy boys, I am frustrated by this report for the following reasons.

“In the study, Kaiser researchers did not look at whether any of the women had prenatal diabetes care or how the babies fared after their birth. They also could not determine the type of diabetes the women had.” (Associated Press, www.physorg.com) Wait, what? They could not determine what type of diabetes these women had??? The study looked at the increase of diabetes in women in childbearing years, and they couldn’t determine whether they were type 1 or type 2!?! The story in the Associated Press shows a photograph of a woman who has type 1 diabetes and is 7 months pregnant with her second child, her beautiful 3 year old daughter smiles in the front corner of the photo. The woman tells the interviewer how when she was pregnant the first time, she checked her blood sugar sometimes 15 times a day. I did that too, I thought and I read on…

The story in Diabetes Health discusses the dangers of high blood sugar during pregnancy, “If a mother’s diabetes is poorly controlled, she can have up to a 25 percent risk of delivering a baby with a major malformation of the heart, brain or skeleton. (But) with excellent care, these women have an excellent chance of having a healthy baby.” Yikes! I think, this is so scary to read and I’m done having children…..I keep reading. In Science Daily, the story explains some of the reasons for the increase in women with diabetes before pregnancy are, “due to the fact that our society has become more overweight and obese.” (www.sciencedaily.com) Okay, I think. Maybe they are not talking about me. So wait a minute, who are they talking about then? I keep reading.

None of these articles differentiate between type 1 and type 2 diabetes. This is what I discover after I print everything out. Research shows:

  1. Diabetes in women of childbearing years has increased
  2. Poorly controlled diabetes can lead to birth defects
  3. The increase is partly due to our obese society
  4. Women can improve the life of their unborn child with diet and exercise.

So….hmmmm…Type 1 diabetes is not on the rise. The study did not bother to separate those of us who must inject ourselves with insulin and those who can “Reverse Diabetes.” (Such a cruel phrase!) The study lumped those of us who have been living with this disease for years with women who have type 2 diabetes, probably not diagnosed until they were in their 20’s (because even though type 2 is on the rise in childhood, the majority are still diagnosed when they are older).

I find it hard to believe that a study funded by the ADA couldn’t bother to group the women according to type 1 or type 2. While I appreciate the challenges every woman faces with type 2 diabetes, I know that her disease is not the same as mine and I resent that these researchers refused to take our differences into consideration. I resent that these researchers are using scare tactics about birth defects to grab the attention of all women with diabetes, type 1 and type 2.

The part that angers me the most about this research is that a woman with type 1 will read these stories and feel afraid to have children. Women with type 1 diabetes can lead healthy, normal lives, have healthy, normal pregnancies and have beautiful, lovely, healthy children. Don’t let this research tell you any different.