
September 25, 2000
Family Planning
Question from Bozeman, Montana, USA:
I am 29 years old and have type 2 diabetes. My HbA1c is 6.0%. I want to know if there is an immediate change in my blood sugars when I become pregnant. How will I know?
Answer:
Frequently women with diabetes notice that their blood sugar control becomes erratic when they become pregnant. However, this is not an instantaneous event. The only way to detect this is to check your blood sugar using a glucose meter. I would not recommend using a change in blood sugar as a means of detecting pregnancy. If you think you are pregnant, then use a pregnancy test to confirm this.
If you are currently using an oral hypoglycemic agent to control your blood sugar and are desiring to conceive, I would suggest switching over to insulin for a few months prior to conception. Discuss this further with your endocrinologist.
OWJ