Who says pregnancy is beautiful...especially with Diabetes

Everything I do has a food reference :)

Appetizer:

For years I wondered what it would be like to be pregnant with Diabetes...well now I know.

I have heard people say its the most beautiful thing you will ever go through. Really...I beg to differ. See ladies, I am approaching my second trimester and I can say that the first trimester was terrible. Feeling nauseas, dry heaving, feeling bloated, headache and body aches is beautiful? A man must have made that comment...

Entree:

My main goal for this blog is to share with you my experiences of pregnancy with Type 1 Diabetes (DM1). I spent many hours looking for a blog, website, anything short of a paper handout that gave me insight into having Diabetes while enduring pregnancy. I came up with the same old thing...warnings about getting pregnant with DM1, the harm it could cause the baby, the possible complications if your sugars are too high or too low, what could happen to the mother if she made it through the delivery, all horror stories. I decided I was tired of hearing about the negative things that could happen. My whole life I have gone against the grain, doctors said I would'nt live to be 18, I'm 34. They said if I did, I would have one limb and my best friend would be a seeing eye dog. Well I'm writing because I have all my limbs and a min pin named Bruno. I have always been the kind of person to live her life not as a "diabetic" but as a person that has extra challenges in life. I'm not saying that it's easy to live this way and I'm not saying I have never sat down with a Dunkin Hines chocolate frosting container, eating it all in one sitting while cursing the very disease I choose to defeat. I'm just saying that I will not and have never given into this disease. I won't allow it to shape my life. So when it came time to have a baby I thought "I can do this" "who's gonna tell me because I have a challenge I can't have a baby". In the middle of my stubborness was a hint of fear, I truly wanted to know what my sugars would do, how I would feel, will the baby suck the life out of my organs leaving me to deal with kidney failure in two years (I owe those thoughts to the creators of Steele Magnolias) or would I make it through with another accomplishment to add to my list?

When I first found out I was pregnant I was sick as a dog. I don't think I showered once that first weekend. I could'nt lift my head off the pillow without feeling like the room was spinning, I woke up nauseous, was nauseous all day and went to bed nauseous. I had never felt anything like it in my life, even in my fun days I had never had a hang over like this. Then I noticed my blood sugars were dropping like crazy, I was covering so many lows I was starting to gain weight. I was cranky and moody and just felt aweful. Two days before I discovered there was a little one on the way, I found out the business I worked for was closing and I would be laid off. This gave me the opportunity to spent the next 3 weeks literally on the couch until I discovered Vitamin B-6 and Zantac!...AHHHH. For the 3 weeks I was on the couch, my sugars were pretty good, anywhere from 100-130, due to the fact that I had to continuously eat Saltines.

As time goes on I feel much better, I can shower, drive, and even leave the house without the fear of puking in my lap. I notice that I become more sensitive to the insulin doses that used to work perfectly for me. Adjustments to my basals are frequent and as time goes on, I find that my sugars are dropping even lower between 60-90's but sometimes in the 40's. Although these numbers seem a little low to me they are in line with where my doctors would like me to be so I won't complain. I find that any type of exercise wether it be walking, or the eliptical, drops me like a hot cake. I have also found that when having a low blood sugar it takes over an hour for my numbers to come back up and three times as much juice to bring it back to normal. I always feel that one wrong move, like running downstairs to stop the washer because I forgot to put my favorite shirt (or the only one that still fits me) in the wash, will drop me. I now carry multiple juice boxes in my purse and always have a back up of test strips on me just in case I get stuck somewhere or just to make my husband feel better (not quite sure which one I really do it for). So far this pregnancy has been a roller coaster ride blood sugar wise. My lowest part of the day is the morning waking up in the 40's and being extra careful throughout the day not to drop below 60 becomes very difficult. We all know how it feels to have low blood sugars and now I think I'm at the point where my body is adjusting to the lows and becoming familiar with them. I have a feeling I have a lot more to learn...

Dessert:

The best part of it all according to doctors is that I'm doing well! After a long day of low blood sugars, nausea, and fatigue I have to admit it's all for a good cause! At the end of the day when I'm laying in bed nauseaus and thinking I can't do it any longer, I realize...there's a life growing inside of me.I have this tiny little piece of me and my best friend growing inside me! Many times at night, in bed I say out loud to my husband "I'm not going to complain, but this is alot harder then I thought it would be". Most of all I think to myself "I AM going to do this and nobody is going to stop me, I will NOT let this disease get me or shape my life". "I'M going to live my life like a "normal" person". Although I know that living like a normal person is untouchable I remind myself that this is one more accomplishment I am determined to add to my list without complications.