Gestational diabetes?- Help with diet please.

[ChristmasgiftCATJalogue]

I am 26 weeks pregnant & had a routine antenatal appointment with my midwife today. She said I had traces of sugar in my urine & wanted to do a blood test. I refused at present partly because I'm not keen on needles and partly because I'm fed up with the medical profession wanting to jab you at every opportunity. I confess I have been eating a lot of sweet things today so we have come to a compromise that if I make an effort for the next 4 weeks & there is still sugar there then I will consent to further tests.
This is where I need help . What foods are OK & what must I avoid? I have had a quick search but haven't come up with anything yet. TIA

[PranSerahndDancer]

It's not so much avoid is it, but eat in strict moderation.

Chocolate, fizzy drinks, cakes, mince pies, donuts, that kind of thing - anything sugary really! The kind of quick-fix sugar that gives you a high. You can get your sugars from fruit and more complex sugars. I think carbohydrates such as pasta and bread eventually break down into sugars that our bodies actually need, and therefore if you load up on those, you might not crave the quick fix options

HTH, and if not it'll keep it bumped for Hunker who might be able to help?

[hunkermunker]

Hiya - haven't got time to post in depth now, but yes, I have GD and have lamented at some length on here

I'm 35+5 today and feel MUCH better since I stopped sweet stuff - but apart from the obvious, it's things like white rice, bread and white pasta that really get me, although I can eat potatoes (hooray!).

Hoxtonchick has been full of useful advice and support to me - there's a thread somewhere I'll dig up later for you.

Speak later! (And thanks, Serah - hey, our drive's nearly finished)

[PranSerahndDancer]

Oooh, so it is the more complex sugars too???

(what happened with the drainage in the end HM. I've been looking out for you to ask!! )

[WigWamBam]

I found this site was quite helpful when I had GD.

Good luck for keeping the sugar levels down!

[ChristmasgiftCATJalogue]

So is it basically a low GI diet? I think I'm ok with adapting main meals but what about snacks? Are homemade cakes any better than bought-I find I don't eat so much when I make them!

[WigWamBam]

If I remember correctly, the GI diet was actually developed from a diet intended to control diabetes.

Sadly, cakes are bad whether they're home-made or bought.

[gingernut]

Yes, basically advice is to stick to a low GI diet (my dh has Type 2 diabetes controlled by diet, same rules as for GD).

[gingernut]

And you are allowed some sweet treats, just in moderation and only as a pudding i.e. after a main meal.

[ChristmasgiftCATJalogue]

Having read some stuff about GD I'm now starting to worry that maybe I should have had the blood test done. Is four weeks going to make difference if I can't sort it. My midwife didn't push the point so surely if it was that bad she would have told me?

[hunkermunker]

Personally, I'd have it done - but that's only becuase I felt SO bad before I had it done. My sugars weren't enormously high, but I had LOADS of symptoms (I was practically retching my throat was so dry, even after a drink of water, and I was waking up in the night to drink two pints of water).

This is the thread I started about it - and I've just seen there are replies I'd not seen thus far either - oops!

I'm sure you can ring your midwife and get the test done if you need it. I think you have it done at 28 weeks - I did for this pg and my last one. I have PCOS too, so am at higher risk of GD.

[hunkermunker]

Serah, will post separately re the drive

[Enideepmidwinter]

I nearly always have sugar in my urine at antenatal appts despite not eating much sugar. I have had two diabetes tests and blood tests all of which have been negative.

Next time try to take a sample first thing inthe morning and dont eat anything sugary from the afternoon of the day previously.

[WigWamBam]

I'd have had it done as well ... well, I did! I didn't have any symptoms at the time but the midwife wanted it done because I'm large, and I felt that if there was a problem then I'd rather know about it and treat it - certainly with something where there's a risk to both mother and baby it felt important to me to get it properly checked out. I can understand your reluctance though!

Another couple of weeks won't hurt, but you can always ring the midwife or the day unit to get yourself booked in earlier, I'm sure.

[ChristmasgiftCATJalogue]

Right-after being really stressy yesterday I'm determined to give it a go. I only had a cup of black tea this morning & a bowl of mini shredded wheat with a teeny bit of sugar on,but I actually felt worse-all shaky and light headed. Is this just withdrawal/effects of being stressed or something more sinister? I've since had a banana + a sandwich made with wholemeal bread and I feel ok now. I've only drunk water since as well.

[hunkermunker]

Please don't starve yourself - you can still eat quite a lot, even if you do have GD.

But don't attempt to do this by yourself - you need proper support and advice. It may be that you don't have GD, but if you do, you need to be monitoring your blood sugar levels and not guessing from how you feel what's going on inside - because IME you cannot tell! I've thought my blood sugar was sky-high and it's actually been low and vice versa.

Ring your midwife today and get booked in for a glucose tolerance test. It's only two blood tests and a bit of Lucozade in between and you'll know for sure then. But left untreated or self-diagnosed, GD can be dangerous for you and the baby. I don't want to scare you, and I hope I haven't - it's relatively to straightforward to manage as long as you know what you're managing, iyswim! x x x

[ChristmasgiftCATJalogue]

That's more or less the amount I eat anyway minus the "extras" that I don't need. It sounds like my midwife could have been more helpful then because she didn't give me any advice re diet she just agreed that we would leave it for 4 weeks. I'm starting to think I don't really want to see her any more + want a second opinion even if I have to pay for it.
I know it sounds like an excuse but I also have 3 other children including twins aged 2.5 so trying organise things like sitting around for 2hours is not easy. BTW I had no problems in my other 2 pregnancies