hi has any ladies had ivf with diebetes or are wanting to do ivf with diebetes
im about to got through this myself and need advise from other ladies about my hba1c levels..at the moment iv been refused treatment at my ivf clinic because my levels was 7.5 and they want it at 6.5 and i know il never get it to 6.5..need of advise please.

6.5 is certainly do-able, but it is a lot of work. What is your insulin regime? Are you on a pump? That would help tremendously. What sort of insulin are you on. If you can give a few more details, we can give you a hand with what you think are your problem areas. Is it a problem with eating too much? Not bolusing enough? Are there certain times of day that are worse than others? Do you lead a very hectic lifestyle?

Let us know.

Cora

My maternity professor (I'm a nursing student) recommended an a1c at or under 5.5 for pregnancy. If you aren't already pumping, that's a great next step. Testing a ton is also essential.

hi thanks for your reply.. no om not on pump i inject quickacting insulin before meals and then i take insulatard at night..i dont over eat really its worst at night..i can never seem to be below 8 in a morning...im forever pricking myself to get it lower...
iv never heard of a pump whats that and what does it do?
maxine

hi thanks for your reply.. no om not on pump i inject quickacting insulin before meals and then i take insulatard at night..i dont over eat really its worst at night..i can never seem to be below 8 in a morning...im forever pricking myself to get it lower...
iv never heard of a pump whats that and what does it do?
maxine

Let me start by saying: I LOVE MY PUMP!!!!!!

Whew. Ok, I've got that out of my system. In a nutshell, an insulin pump is a small device (about the size of a pager) that attaches to you using small flexible tubing that is inserted into you using a small plasic cannula (it's about 9mm, the size of one of the "short" syringes"). I'll talk more about the insertion in a minute. The pump contains a reservoir of insulin. You program the pump to give you a basal rate of insulin. It's like the long acting insulins, only it's much more precise. You can program it to give you different amounts per hour at different times of day. Many of us on pumps take more insulin overnight than at other times because of the dawn phenomenon. That sounds a bit like your problem. I believe most pumps let you set somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 - 20 different basal rates during the day.

Once your basal rates are set, you need to know your insulin to carb ratio. For example, I take one unit of insulin (I use humalog in my pump) for every 20 grams of carb. So, if I eat a slice of toast (15 g) I take 0.7 units of insulin. I just dial up what I need. Most pumps now have what is called a bolus wizard. You input your blood sugar and the number of carbs you are eating, and the wizard will calculate how much insulin is left in your system, how much you need based on your blood sugar, and how much you need to take based on what you ate. You can bolus as many times as you want during the day. The beauty is that you can eat meals at odd times, or not eat at all. It is a tremendous blessing when you are sick. You don't have to worry so much about going low because you can't eat.

Keep in mind that having a pump is a lot of work. You have to figure out your various basal rates, work out your insulin to carb ratios, figure out your insulin sensitivity (how much one unit of insulin will bring you down) and how long the insulin lasts in your system. It takes a lot of thought and observation and testing to work all this out. You can, however get excellent control because the pumps will let you change your basal rates by as little as 0.05 units (I think the Animas pump allows 0.025). You can bolus as little as 0.1 units. That's something you'd never be able to do with a syringe. And when you plan to exercise, you can temporarily lower your basal rate so you don't go low.

Oops, nearly forgot the insertion. It's a small plastic device that is inserted with a needle that is then removed. It leaves the small plastic bit of tube behind and that is where the insulin is delivered. You change this site every 3 days. So basically, you take one shot every 3 days, instead of 4 or more per day. What a great concept!

There are a lot of other things to tell about a pump, but I won't overwhelm you. I have a Medtronic Paradigm pump. Medtronic has a good site as do many of the other pump companies. There is the Cozmo (by Deltec, I think) and the Animas pumps.

If you have any more questions, just ask. There are a number of us who are pumping here. One of the biggest concerns people have is that they don't want to be attached to something all the time. Really, it's no big deal. As I've said before, it's not any more inconvenient than wearing glasses, except that my pump doesn't fog up when I come in from the cold. You can take it off to shower or be intimate. I can leave mine off for up to an hour and a half without severe consequences to my blood sugar (depending on what I'm doing).

Cora

I agree with Cora big time here. I also LOVE my pump. Many people do well on a pump. Not very many people do well on Insultard. 'Nuff said.