A woman with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and significant insulin resistance in her third pregnancy was diagnosed with a fasting blood glucose reading of 5.7 mmol/L (103 mg/dL) at 28+1 weeks gestation and referred to our diabetes team. Using a rapid, patient-led approach to basal insulin titration this patient achieved therapeutic doses and glucose targets in the limited time available during pregnancy, without causing significant hypoglycaemia. This method of insulin titration empowers women with GDM to take control of their own management and could reduce complications in GDM pregnancies at negligible additional cost. The only additional cost being that of the higher insulin doses used.
Rapid, patient-led titration of basal insulin can be used to achieve tight glycaemic control in gestational diabetes mellitus with insulin resistance.