I brought my new daughter home from the hospital in mid-June. Along with all the other exciting developments in our lives - I got to pack away my insulin syringes.

I am a Type 2 diabetic. I developed gestational diabetes with my son 4 years ago and did not make the lifestyle changes warranted after his birth. It's thought as many as 60% of women with gestational diabetes will eventually develop Type 2. 18 months later I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I am controlled with metformin (oral medication), diet and exercise.

By the 4th month of this pregnancy, I required insulin to keep my sugars within targets. Pregnancy targets are much stricter than non-pregnancy Type 2 levels - less than 90 fasting, less than 120 2 hours post-prandial.

I got involved with a couple of online support boards for gestational diabetes. I was astounded at the wide range of treatments, knowledge levels and myths out there for this condition. It doesn't appear that there is a standard of treatment that is followed by any majority of obstetricians or endocrinologists. Coming up with a consensus between my perinatologist (high risk specialist), obstetrician and endocrinologist was only resolved by declaring that the endo would handle all the diabetes-related questions. He and his own Physician's Assistant didn't even agree on metformin usage while breastfeeding and I had to call in my lactation consultant and insist on following her recommendation!

A common thread I found was an almost-universal fear of insulin. Not only was there the fear of giving injections; but the average pregnant woman seems to think that once you take insulin shots you are making yourself more likely to need them in the future.
Although taking insulin can make the actual delivery a bit more complicated (baby has to be monitored for hypoglycemia), it makes management of the condition so much easier! I cannot tell you how many women complained about being hungry or frustrated by carb counting or their restrictive diets. I would often suggest they go on insulin just to allow them to eat more!

Once you've had the baby and the placenta is delivered, the hormones causing the insulin resistance stop being made, since they are created by the placenta. My insulin needs almost immediately dropped back to zero. Some women don't experience this and it's thought that they may have developed Type 2 during their pregnancies; rather than true gestational diabetes.

I'm glad that I educated myself on Type 2 and gestational diabetes. I found dlife.com and the online diabetes community very helpful. This is another good example of why we need to be our own healthcare advocates in this day and age.

In my case, I've been lucky enough not to need insulin any longer; but I did not toss out my syringes, I'm keeping them just in case. If my goals of better diabetes management through weight control and exercise remain elusive; I may need them.