Sugar is sweet...

And very bad for me, apparently.

First, yeah, I haven't posted very frequently. I think I've been saying all I had to say on my personal facebook page, and then I'm all "wrote out".

So, here's what's going on. When I started this pregnancy, I was already taking 2000 mg of Metformin, a medicine that helps me regulate my insulin levels and my blood sugar. Insulin is a hormone, and when it gets out of whack, it throws off all the other hormones, such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Without that medication, my body gets so messed up that I miss periods and can't get pregnant, and it could be dicey for me STAYING pregnant.

During the first few months, I noticed my blood sugar was dropping like a stone out of nowhere. Fairly common in early pregnancy, but it seemed extra severe this time around, so I called my doctor and asked if I could back down my dose to 1500 mg. They agreed that sounded like a good idea. In fact, they told me to go as far as 1000 mg, but my energy levels crashed then, so 1500 was where I stayed.

Fast forward to last week. I've been getting progressively more tired, and found myself snacking to boost my energy, which is what I used to do before Metformin, but I attributed it to the advancing pregnancy. Last week was the 1 hour glucose screening, and I flunked it by 30 points.  :( 

Hang on - I've been at a lower dose this whole time! I've gained weight, and the hormone levels have shifted. Maybe it's time to increase my dose back to 2000 mg!

My doctor agreed and increased it, but unfortunately with one failed test under my belt, I had to either go in for a FASTING 3 hour glucose challenge (something I did when being diagnosed for PCOS, and it set me up on a sugar spike/crash cycle that left me sick for 2 days) OR go to diabetic education, learn to count my carbs and keep a food diary, and test my sugar levels 4 times a day.

Guess who's going to have to get over her aversion to poking her finger! If I can demonstrate that my sugar levels are under control for a few weeks, I might get to test less frequently. Whoo hoo.


For now, I still get to avoid insulin injections, so I've got that going for me.