November 16, 2001
Family Planning
Question from Boise, Idaho, USA:
I have had type 1 diabetes for 38 years, I maintain an average the range of 150 mg/dl [8.3 mmol/L] (which my doctor agrees with), I have a healthy five year old son who was born six weeks early because of toxemia and, during the pregnancy, I had three major insulin reactions. The only complication that I have developed since the pregnancy and the years I have had diabetes, is needing some laser surgery on my eyes. However, my son is having problems with his attention span at school, and I wondering if these “crashes” (losing oxygen to my brain) could have affected my son. Could any of those problems that I went through, have any effect on my son? Daily life with diabetes is hard enough, but for it to also have a hold on my son as well, will be just as hard. Please let me know what I can do to help my son, as well as protect him from this disease.
Answer:
I would suggest that it is not healthy to have frequent low sugars during pregnancy. However, I cannot say for sure that they caused any problems with your son. Toxemia is more common in individuals with type 1 diabetes when they have more complications from diabetes. This suggests that the problems with the eyes and kidneys could also be causing problems with blood flow to the uterus.Complications and toxemia carry more frequent rate of premature birth.
For now, I would suggest you not keep running so low as you had to during pregnancy. You need to discuss your problems with your physician. Frequent monitoring (even at night — 3:00 am), no missing meals, and frequent follow-up are what is required. I would also suggest a pediatrician address issues related to your son.
JTL
