I want to get pregnant in a year

[MeganButtjer]

I went to my family doctor yesterday. I told her I wanted to start getting my health in order to get pregnant in a year. She advised against me ever getting pregnant. She said in my case I would be a higher risk than a normal diabetic. I'm a type 1 diabetic and have had it for 20 years. It is poorly managed. A1C was 10.2. Every diabetic Doctor I have been to has given up on me because my blood sugar does not follow their plan. I also have bipolar disorder and it makes it hard to want to take care of myself at some times. I know I would take care of myself a lot better if I ever got pregnant. My dream has always been to be a mom. I know there is surrogates but I probably could never afford them from what I saw online. I would be willing to adopt but with my soon to be husband it's a culture thing he wants his own kids. I feel like a failure if I can't give him or me children. He has been supportive and understanding.  I would never want to put my life or a baby's in danger. Is there any advice to help me get my health in order or at this point anything to help me feel better about what the doctor said?

[MeganButtjer]

Thank you so much for your comment! I have made an appointment with a diabetic doctor and hopefully will see better results soon.

[Super_sally888]

Hi Megan,
Your doctor is advising against getting pregnant because your A1c is so high.  At 10.2 this is equivalent to an average blood sugar of about 280, which is dangerously high.
I would like to let you know that it is possible to get better control of your blood sugar and to become a mother.  This would mean you need to reassess how you manage your diabetes and in fact relearn how to manage it.
Start with your insulin.  Are you on basal bolus regime?  This is with both a short and long acting insulin.  The modern short acting insulin that is considered safe for pregnancy is Humalog (insulin lispro).  The modern long acting insulin that is considered safe for pregnancy is levemir (insulin detemir).  

You will need to do basal-bolus testing to determine your correct insulin dosages for each type of insulin.
You should also look into low carb eating (paleo style), which will help with managing blood sugar as well.

Ideally your Doctor will refer you to an experienced diabetes educator who can help you fine tune your management and get good control.  For pregnancy they want your hba1c less than 7.0, and ideally in the 5s.  This is possible.  I have had 2 pregnancies on insulin and was able to achieve this goal and now have two wonderful girls who inspire me to stay healthy so I can watch them grow up.

Some great resource books are:  Diabetes Solution by Dr. Richard Bernstein, Using Insulin by John Walsh, Think Like a Pancreas.  

You may also want to get your thyroid levels checked.  It is common to have low thyroid along with diabetes and this may also affect your management of your bipolar condition.

Hopefully wanting to become a Mum will inspire you to have better control, and then your dream can come true.

Please come back and ask questions, and perhaps the people here can help guide you (along with your medical team).