Just providing good information. I specialize in diabetes and pregnancy and have been conscious of the need for solid easily accessible information about gestational diabetes, Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes and pregnancy being available to people for whom this is a concern. This need became very apparent when I found out about a woman … Continued
When the sugar test results are reported high and the pregnant woman comes to the diabetes clinic, frequently the first thing she says is “I failed the test”. I don’t think this is fair. You did not fail the test, your pancreas did so please do not dump on yourself, if you have to pick … Continued
145 units of insulin a day, is this dose of insulin too much? A person without diabetes makes approximately 30 to 40 units of insulin a day. We usually think of the dose in terms of body weight and people with Type 1 diabetes (non-pregnant) use about 0.5 to 1.0 unit per kg of body … Continued
My sugar rises in the early morning even if I don’t eat! A puzzling and frustrating issue for many with diabetes and pregnancy is that the blood sugar may rise coming into breakfast time even though no food was taken. The usual scenario is the woman checks her sugar when going to the bathroom at … Continued
Just how much weight gain is normal in pregnancy? We know the baby, placenta and fluid around the baby comes to about 5 Kg (11 lbs) but the mom also has a bigger blood volume, lays down some more fat stores and may carry excess fluid. The Institute of Medicine in the US released suggestions … Continued
Some women with diabetes who become pregnant or women who have been diagnosed with gestational diabetes become worried when they read of women with diabetes delivering huge babies. In a large Scandinavian study of over 10,000 women with GDM only 8% had babies over 4.5 kg (nearly 10 lbs) and we know treatment will lessen … Continued
A couple of weeks ago in the clinic we had a woman, just over three months gestation, who was diagnosed with gestational diabetes (GDM). She had GDM on the last pregnancy when it was found at 28 weeks so was surprised when she got it so early this time round. What is going on? Gestational … Continued
When someone with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes becomes pregnant the main things to think about are: the mom’s own situation with regards to diabetes complications, her blood sugars and the baby. The big issues for the baby are that he or she might have a congenital malformation, be too large at birth or have low blood sugars … Continued
Recently in the clinic I was asked “Is 3.8 mmol/l (68 mgs/dl) two hours after my lunch too low? The blood sugar normally varies though out the day: lower before breakfast, peaking just over an hour after a meal and coming back down by two hours. Firstly, sugars at this level do not harm the … Continued
In diabetes a lot of attention is paid to the A1c. What is it and is it good at reflecting over sugar levels? Simple average blood sugars are not that great at telling how the blood sugar control is really like. Consider Mr Smith who has sugars ranging from 2 to 20 mmol/l (36 – … Continued
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