Diabetes Update!

Am chuckling now.

I changed my diabetes medication a month ago, partly because I was having to increase the dosage again and partly because we want to start trying for another baby soon. The gliclazide I was on has not been tested on pregnant women, although my consultant thinks it's completely safe for conception and pregnancy. So I was put onto glibenclamide, which I've been on in the past, and to be honest it didn't work very well then either. But it's approved for pregnancy and I would rather not have to go onto insulin because as wonderful as it is (and during my last pregnancy, on insulin, I had my best HbA1c results EVER) I really hate needles so to be able to stay on tablets would be rather nice.

The glibenclamide however hasn't been bringing my blood sugars down particularly, it's not as effective as the gliclazide was (to begin with, anyway), and it really kind of relies on you eating little and often, and being quite careful what you eat (low GI foods are almost necessary, on glibenclamide, it would seem). So I'm not eating as much as I should be, I'm always hungry, or getting hungry sooner, and I think as a result of that I'm more tired than usual and unless I simply blame the time of year (which is possible) I think that my immune system is a bit down because I'm tired all the time because I'm not eating properly. So I'm getting more colds than usual again.

Anyway. The hospital only gives you enough medication for a month. You're supposed to go and see your GP and update them about your new treatment, and get a proper repeat prescription sorted out, etc etc. But I forgot, being me, so over the weekend I ran out of glibenclamide. Whoops. Luckily I had gliclazide left in the cupboard so I started taking that again. And my blood sugar level went down! It's back up again this morning but the Lurgy attacked me overnight and I feel rubbish and my sugars are always high when I'm poorly. And all I want to eat is chocolate chip brioche, and extremely sweet (and very big) cookies. And drink tea, and not get dressed.

So I phoned and left a rather garbled and all-over-the-place message on the diabetes centre helpline last night, and have just had a phonecall back from my consultant, to say yes, if you are happy to not be on approved medication, but if it's keeping your sugars down, go for it! (She is convinced that these drugs are safe during pregnancy.) And how was swimming, are you still enjoying it?!

We see each other all over the place, at NCT sales, at the beach, at swimming, we bump into each other (not literally) when we're out cycling...  but at swimming the parents now have to sit outside the pool room, the rules have changed.... so we spoke for 30 seconds about medication, and a couple of minutes about swimming! Am chuckling :)

And then I had to phone back because I'd forgotten to ask a rather important question about what do I do in a couple of months' time when I expect the blood sugars will be starting to creep back up again. To which the answer was, phone us back when they do, we'll probably give you a different drug for a few weeks to reset you, and then you can go back onto gliclazide!

I love our diabetes centre. They are a bunch of Good Eggs.