Anyone had GD and can tell me about diet to follow?

[exexe]

I'm not sure but could possibly have GD (fasting result 7.5, 2 hrs after glucose drink 4.5 bit odd)

Anyway, my diet isn't great at the moment so I do realise I need to change it.

Are you advised to follow a low gi type diet?
Reduce carbs and sugar drasticallhy?

[newbie6]

Hi

You are probably best to speak to your MW and consultant but I am Type 1 diabetic so although different to you as in I have had since childhood and am on insulin, I can help in terms of the sort of diet you should be following so hope it helps!

Basically, you need to watch how much carbohydrate you eat and the rate at which that converts to glucose in your bloodstream so without getting overly technical, the low GI is a good diet to follow as it tends to avoid carbohydrates which raise your blood sugar quickly.

Best advice would be to try and eat little and often, try and opt for brown or wholemeal bread, wholemeal pastas etc and try and steer away from high sugar food, overly processed meals etc. Lots of veg etc. Be careful with fruit as although it is good for you, it contains a natural sugar called fructose so can raise your blood sugars quickly. Its fine though to eat fruit, just not too much.

Cheese, yoghurts etc are all okay as long as you just watch how much you eat. I have had diabetes for 23 years and can honestly say, I really don't think it has affected my life for the worse, it just means being careful and healthy about what you eat. I still eat chocolate and sweets etc but I just make sure I don't overload on them and make sure I have enough insulin to counteract it. I'm not sure if you will be put on insulin as your blood sugar results are not that high so I suspect you may be on a diet controlled plan or possibly tablets which probably means you do need to be more mindful as you can't just inject yourself insulin to cope if that makes sense but I am sure if you follow the low GI and healthy diet principle you will be fine. Hopefully you will feel all the better for it too :) It shouldn't be too drastic a change, more just being more aware of what you are eating.

Hope that helps!

x

[exexe]

Thanks Newbie thats really helpful :)

[panicnotanymore]

The only thing I'd add is that although it is tempting to opt for things containing artificial sweeteners rather than just cutting out sugar it is a bad idea. Your palate will adjust and you will stop wanting sweet foods if you don't, and also artificial sweeteners are chemicals that probably aren't the best thing to be eating when you are pregnant.

[exexe]

Thats fine as I avoid artificial sweeteners anyway.
I'm not that into sugary stuff (though if its there I'll have it!) I'm more a bread/chips/crisps/baked goods type which I know are really bad too.

I like pulses and lentils, veg, salad. I'm not so into meat but do have it.
I can switch to brown rice and pasta so hopefully I won't find it too difficult. Its just a bit of effort.

[TinkerMaloo]

You have to limit your carbs earlier in the day when your body doesnt handle them as well. Eat a high protein breakfast (Bacon and eggs and tomatoes and mushrooms with 1 slice wholemeal toast here sets me up for the day!)

Always have some protein when you have carbs as this slows down the processing and avoids a spike in your sugars.

Avoid sugars! Type 1 diabetics can have a bit, they dont have a baby to worry about but GD people cant! And I second avoiding the sweeteners advice.

Brown rice and pasta and lentils and quinoa are great, but still try to have sufficient protein with them at all times.

Eggs are great if you arent too into meat. So is fish. And spinach etc for iron. For a sweet taste, apples are your friends!

The biggest miss for me is lots of bread and tateys :(, I can live without cake easily! but its not for long, and you can still have them as long as you balance them out :)

[newbie6]

TinkerMaloo - I am Type 1 and pregnant so just to reassure anyone that is reading this, we do still need to worry about our baby, we just need to monitor our blood sugars very carefully which is probably the same as someone with GD also. As I said, it may be a little easier if you are on insulin as we can then take insulin if our sugars go up too much. Either way, whether you are Type 1 and pregnant or not, it does take a lot of work and effort as I'm sure it does for GD. Good luck to you exexe - you sound like you are being careful so wish you lots of luck for your pregnancy.

[Emmiedarling]

I have gd and am managing it appallingly. I had a week of doing what u should - maybe a bit over restricted - eating egg whites etc. then since Tuesday I lost the plot and ate everything in sight - all really bad GD related things - sweets chocolate bread crisps... I feel so guilty :-(

Going to get back track tomorrow...

[blackcurrants]

ex I don't have GD but I am 'sugar sensitive' (which means they've tested me twice for GD so far (am 20 weeks!) and they're doing it again at 28 weeks... feel like a bloody pincushion!).

Google around "the low GI diet" and see what appeals - do NOT cut out 'natural' fats (eg, butter, egg yolks) and don't bother about restricting calories. DO cut out sweets and (alas!) white flour-y things (I WANT A CROISSANT!)
I wake up extremely hungry and a bit woozy, and have found that something like cereal (insta-carb, v.bad for me) makes me feel great for half an hour and then dizzy and sick, something like two boiled/scrambled eggs, some sauteed spinach (often I make up a batch, sauteed with onions or mushrooms in stock and then keep it in the fridge to microwave) with a sausage or two sorts me right out and actually keeps me going till lunch. Ooh, or my latest favourite thing is an omlette with grated corgette in it, and a splash of soy sauce. Sounds weird, I know, but basically it's amazing! I'm replacing the 'toast' part of my breakfast with a base of something green, and it really seems to help.

I snack on beef jerky (mmn) and baby tomatoes/carrots, but something like babybels and other cut-up-veg or apples also works for me. Protein, protein, protein!

I DO still have the occasional sweet treat (DH's birthday yesterday, at cheesecake.. so good!) but I have it after a fairly high-protein, low-carb meal (EG last night's dinner was lamb chops and broccoli, and I didn't have any new potatoes, though DH did...) i've found that sweets or white flour or white potatoes or even fruit on an empty stomach sends my blood sugars rocketing and I don't feel my best. Tacking them on at the end of a meal, maybe once a week, is less detrimental (though still not ideal).

Obviously, you should talk to your MW or GP about it. I hope some of my main thoughts (Low carb mornings, protein, cook up nice veggies in advance so it's easy to microwave them. have lots of tasty meat/cheese on hand and snackable) are helpful until you do!

[panicnotanymore]

Whole grains are one of the main sources of folic acid and B vitamins, so if you are cutting right down make sure you are getting adequate from elsewhere.

[panicnotanymore]

Another thing - eat the egg yolks as well as the whites. Yolk is one of the best sources of choline which is essential for foetal brain development. One large egg has about 112mg, and pregnant women need about 450mg (disclaimer I got these numbers off the web, so double check before relying on them!!!!)

[Smicha]

I was diagnosed with this about two weeks ago and I'm still figuring out what works, it is tough but it might make it easier for you to adapt to if you know that I actually feel so much better since cutting out sugar and only really eating carbs (brown rice, new potatoes, wholewheat pasta) in the evening. I'm 32 weeks and suddenly have so much energy, which I'm putting down to cutting out the bad stuff! Like blackcurrants it seems I can't handle carbs in the morning at all, I tried porridge or one shredded wheat or one slice of wholemeal toast, and they sent glucose levels sky high. Prior to diagnosis I was getting sick and dizzy an hour after breakfast and couldn't work out why! So I've switched to eggs and bacon or cheese and ham as breakfast. Not ideal and I do get hungry, but I love the suggestion of adding spinach! I'll try that in the morning.

I'm finding cottage cheese or philadelphia with veg sticks is a great snack. Also keeping some nuts in my bag provides an instant snack. And babybel or any other small pre-packed cheese is good to have in the fridge for an instant fix.

The main thing I've learned is planning is essential. I got caught out longer than I planned on Saturday and ended up having to buy a bag of crisps as they were the only thing on offer that I could eat. Since then, the nuts have been a permanent fixture in my handbag!!

Good luck! And just think, cutting out sugar and carbs may mean getting back into the pre-pregnancy jeans sooner (I hope, I hope, I hope!)

[exexe]

Thanks everyone.
I'm still trying to get to the bottom of my results. My gp friend said the test results don't make sense as you can't have post lucozade result thats so much lower than the first one.
In the meantime, I'll start sorting out my diet which is something I've been meaning and needing to do.
I'll start doing a bit more exercise too - walking and my pregnancy pilates dvd.

[blackcurrants]

Smicha I am lazy and just use frozen spinach sometimes, spooned straight into scrambling eggs.

For an even quicker morning I sometimes make a frittata / crustless quiche with lots of spinach and mushrooms and onions (ok, whatever's going a bit limp in the veg drawer!) and bits of bacon and masses of eggs then bake that, and just grab a big wedge in the mornings. Getting DH to work, DS to daycare and myself to work can be a real stress, so having a 'cold' option that ISN'T bread-based makes me v. happy!

I agree that preparation is key. Bags of jerky and nuts in every handbag and the nappy bag! :)

[exexe]

I've got builders in at the moment so cooking is really difficult (hence reliance on bread over the last few weeks)

Are there any breakfast cereals I could have? Bran flakes or something with plain yoghurt?

Are covent garden soups ok? or are they a bit high in sugar?

Thanks.

[newbie6]

Hi

I find cereals send my blood sugars soaring with the exception of weetabix? Soup should be okay, check the carbohydrate serving on the back before though just to make sure its not too high. I agree with your GP though, for diabetics, after a lucozade drink your blood sugars would be sky high (approx 14) so it doesn't make sense that your result was low. For your info, 7.5 is not that high but probably is a little high for someone without diabetes so that is probably why your GP wants to do some checks on you. Would it be as simple as you maybe had some sort of infection or even you were stressed as stress can increase your blood sugars due to cortisol? Hope they get to the bottom of it.

x

[exexe]

Newbie, I'd had an awful stressful day at work the day before so I don't know if that would have any bearing.
Now I'm worried that they meant 14.5 after lucozade and missed the 1 off!

Whats too high for carbohydrate per serving for the soup?
I'm happy to eat weetabix with yoghurt.

[newbie6]

I'm sure you haven't got muddled up as the doctor would have not said it was lower than your fasting one so don't worry :)

Re soup, most cans are about 400g so the carbohydrate per half can is what you want to look at and if its more than say 30g I would avoid it. It is a personal thing, I have had diabetes for 23years so have learnt what affects my sugars but as a general rule try and stick to soups which state 10g-18g per half can serving? Its important to look at the sugars too which will be listed in brackets under the carbohydrate serving so just check how much of the carb serving is made up of sugars and if its a high proportion, maybe avoid?

Hope that helps, is your doctor still checking your results - have they given you a blood sugar monitor as if not you can buy ones from boots and that might help you keep track of that they are before and after eating?

x

[exexe]

Thanks Newbie. The clinic want me to go in for diet advice and a blood sugar monitor but they can only offer a tuesday.
I really can't do the following 2 tuesdays so I asked them if it would be ok to watch what I eat for the next couple of weeks as the results don't seem to be too bad and I'd come in in 3 weeks.
I've asked them to recheck my results.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

If your post glucose load result was 14.5 you would be on medication by now, so don't panic :)

Have you been given a blood sugar monitor?

Breakfast can be tricky - I did ok with toast and whole nut peanut butter, and also with a fruit loaf that I make in my bread maker that has eggs and milk in it.

Snacks I would have a fruity oatcake and a bit of cheese, eating protein with your carbs helps your body deal with them better.

Exercise is really important, even just going for a walk after a meal will get your blood sugar level back down again.

[blackcurrants]

ooh yes to 'whole nut' peanut butter - get some nut butter (almond is also nice) from a health food shop, so you're just get smashed up nuts and no added sugars - that's good on anything. Another 'spreadable protein' I use a lot is Philadelphia cream cheese - if you're using low fat make sure they haven't got high-carb stabilizers or any other frankenfoody crud in there.

If you're needing some bread get the grainiest nuttiest bread you can find, more like a loaf of seeds than anything else!

[lotsofcheese]

In terms of your glucose tolerance test results, if either figure is in the diagnostic range, then you have gestational diabetes - it doesn't matter which one where I work.

Have a look at Diabetes UK's website - it contains good information.

Also, the sooner you can start blood glucose monitoring the better. This will give an indication if medication (tablets and/or insulin) is necessary.

[lotsofcheese]

Forgot to add: 3 weeks is too long to wait to start blood glucose monitoring - it should ideally be started within a week of diagnosis (at the latest).

Is there a way for you to get in earlier? If it's work being difficult, remember you're entitled to time off for pregnancy-related issues.

Also, you will in all likelihood, be attending a specialist diabetic/obstetric clinic in hospital 1-2 weekly for the remainder of your pregnancy.

Good luck!!!

[exexe]

But surely lotsofcheese, your blood glucose levels dont drop after drinking a whole bottle of lucozade?

I'm off on maternity leave in 2 weeks and need to train someone. I only work part time so can't take the time off really. They wont see me on any other day.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Exex - your health and your baby are more important than you being at work.

The fasting test is looking to see whether you get a blood sugar spike first thing in the morning, and yours was well out of normal range by the looks of it - you need to be tested again asap.

[exexe]

Yes I've got another fasting test on Wednesday. If thats high then I'll have to try to sort something out.
My GP friend said that those results must be wrong and they sound mixed up or something.