Pregnancy and Type 1.
The ONLY good thing about having T1D is not having to take the glucose tolerance test for gestational diabetes.
Other than that, I found the disease to be a royal pain in the neck when I was pregnant. I had the benefit of being on an insulin pump, as it made controlling my BGs slightly easier. If I were to have more children, I imagine the Dexcom will make my control better.
When women have T1D and are pregnant, it can be dangerous for both mom and baby. Early in the pregnancy, high BGs can lead to birth defects and miscarriage. In the late stage of pregnancy, hyperglycemia can cause higher birth weight of babies, which can make it harder for vaginal deliveries, resulting c-sections- opening up another round of complications associated with a major abdominal surgery. Maternal hyperglycemia also causes hyPOglycemia in newborn babies, usually remedied by feeding the baby or with IV dextrose if the case calls for it.
Low blood glucose levels at any point in the pregnancy can lead to unconscious, coma, and death, as with any time in the life of a person with T1D, but are not as harmful the the unborn as is hyperglycemia.
The goals of women with T1D are usually to conceive with a safe, low HbA1c, and when that does not happen, to lower it by increasing frequency of checking blood sugar and treating the numbers appropriately. Unlike the movie "Steel Magnolias" women with T1D CAN and DO have healthy pregnancies, healthy babies, and will not automatically die from kidney disease, thanks to advances in technology.
All this said- insulin is not a cure, a pump is not a replacement pancreas, and a CGM does not do the work for me. We need a cure, but until then, we fight like hell to live good lives.
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