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A little background: 40 y/o T2 diabetic with slightly raised LDL levels. Trigs are in the 80s and HDL is in the 40s. Doc wanted to put me on statins because of my LDL, but I refused. Eating low-carb Paleo with small amounts of full-fat raw dairy on occasion since April.

I had two positive home pregnancy tests in the last two days. Gave in and called the doc who ordered a blood test (results will be back in a few hours). I guess it was too much to hope for early onset menopause. It figures that I would change my eating habits, start losing weight, then BAM! get knocked up after struggling to conceive my previous two babies.

Hubby is elated, kids are excited (there will be an almost 21 year difference between my oldest and youngest - he will be older than I was when I had him!!! - , dear friends are over the top with excitement (though I suspect that some of it is because it's us having this baby, not them) and I'm still in complete shock.

I currently take 500 mg of Metformin 2x per day, 4000 IU of Carlson Labs Solar Gems D3 softgels, 1 tablet of Megafood's Blood builder which contains 15 mg vit C, 400 mcg folate, 30 mcg B-12, and 26 mg iron (from S. cerevisiae). I have always battled anemia and with the whole food supplement and frequent liver consumption, I am still at the very bottom of "normal" levels. My last A1c (in June) was 5.4% and my vit D was low.

I was not diabetic during my first two pregnancies (my last child was born in 2004), but still ate a fairly "healthy" SAD diet. I was obese with both pregnancies and lost weight, much to the dismay of my OBs. I became incredibly lactose intolerrant during both pregnancies and had to read EVERY label to avoid anything containing lactose (I assume dairy, but never ate beets until a few years ago). Of course, out of ignorance and the striving to avoid lactose, I consumed a lot of soy, e.g. soy cream cheese, ice cream (nasty!), margarines, etc.

I plan on staying low carb (I typically consume fewer than 50 g per day) and will refuse the oral glucose tolerance test. My OB is the same as with my last pregnancy and is pretty open to natural and alternative treatments.

I am still freaked out at being a mom again at 41 and the complications of the diabetes, but not nearly as freaked out as I think I would be if I was still on SAD and didn't have my diabetes as well controlled as I do. I read Robb Wolf's post about diabetes during pregnancy (an calmed down a bit), but does anyone see where I might be missing something? I rarely eat any seafood because hubby is allergic to it, so should I supplement with a whole food fish oil or krill oil?

Rambling post, I know, but it is perfectly organized compared to my brain that is currently spinning in my head. Thanks for bearing with me!

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Congratulations! – Jesse Aug 23 at 18:34
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Indeed, Congrats! – scottts Aug 23 at 22:52
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what if there were the book - What to Expect When You Weren't Expecting! congratulations to your unexpectedly growing fam and best of luck :) – baconandlegs Aug 24 at 0:36
Maybe that's a book I should write! – MathGirl72 Aug 24 at 1:13

8 Answers

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Congratulations!

First, you aren't "old"! Most of my pregnancy/fertility clients are 38-42.

Personally, I recommend 500-1000 mg Neptune Krill Oil to my clients who don't eat much seafood.

I have quite a few posts on my blog that may be helpful. And an article on Primal Pregnancy nutrition.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you! – MathGirl72 Aug 23 at 18:27
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And get your D level up, which will help with your blood sugars, among other things. Read my blog post on the subject. – Dragonfly Aug 23 at 20:00
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Paleo fertility gods strike again! Congratulations!

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I'm sure I'll be excited once the shock wears off. Thanks! – MathGirl72 Aug 23 at 18:11
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Congratulations and don't forget to check out Weston Price

http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/diet-for-pregnant-and-nursing-mothers.

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Thanks for the link. I didn't even think about their information. – MathGirl72 Aug 23 at 18:10
Ditto on the WAPF recommendation. If you are anywhere near the Santa Barbara area, I would be happy to share my kefir grains with you :) They are happy in Organic Pastures raw milk and I've been tolerating it very well. – baconandlegs Aug 24 at 0:34
That would be awesome, but I'm in the Central Valley. Thanks for the offer, though! – MathGirl72 Aug 24 at 1:14
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Congratulations!

Now get a bloody grip of yourself woman.

Your HbA1c = 5.4%, so basically you've kicked the diabetes in the ass, and your chances of any complications are very, very, slim.

You're only really a still a diabetic in the sense that if you eat lots of carbs, your BG will spike. You know that, and you won't do it, so you're in a much better shape than all the thousands of fat baby-mammas that fail their GTT and catch "the gestational diabetes", and carry on stuffing themselves full of carbs.

Dr Jay Wortman's wife low-carbed through pregnancy, and the whole Paleo thing should convince you that that's going to be alright: http://www.drjaywortman.com/blog/wordpress/2011/02/08/villages-on-a-diet/

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You crack me up. Thanks for the dose of reality. – MathGirl72 Aug 23 at 18:49
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That's funny that you thought you were going through early menopause--I thought the same thing when I got pregnant at 37!

I'm 40 now also, so I'm chiming in to send you best wishes and congratulations! You'll feel better once the shock passes.

Oh, by the way, I just read the book Stress Solutions for Pregnant Moms by Dr. Susan Andrews and it is really good. Don't let the Amazon stats fool you. It's an excellent resource.

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I'm not sure it's thought, so much as hoped! I'll check out that book. Thanks! – MathGirl72 Aug 23 at 19:46
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Find a local doctor that specializes in functional medicine so they can support you. Congrads on the coming baby!

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I'll check into that. Thanks! – MathGirl72 Aug 23 at 19:45
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Congrats! I imagine I would be just as shocked as you are as I will be 40 next month and often think I am in peri-menopause. I second the Weston A. Price recommendation.

Best of luck to you!

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Congratulations! You have similar LDL and HDL numbers to me and my doc wanted to put me on statins. U can get you're LDL tested for its components and I'm sure you'll find the sub-parts very much in the non-disease causing range. Don't remember what those all were at the top of my head but it got the doc off my back.

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