Gestational diabetes?

[Mkmamma]

Hi ladies

Have you been diagnosed with gestational diabetes? If so, please join this thread to share experiences, diet, information on the type of antenatal care to expect, birthing plans etc!

I was recently diagnosed at 18 weeks. Very early indeed! My mum has type 2 diabetes and I'm of Chinese ethnicity so higher risk. I'm currently jabbing myself 4 times a day to test blood glucose levels. Seeing the dietician next Tuesday and hopefully the diabetes obstetrician the following Tuesday. Was scared out of my mind when the midwife told me the complications. I really hope bubs grows to be strong and healthy!

Anybody else been diagnosed early? If you have been diagnosed at all please feel free to join!

[wanderingalbatross]

I have a GTT next week (16 weeks) as I had GD in my first pregnancy. DD is now 20mo and is a very happy toddler - we only had some minor issues in the first days with her having low blood sugar. I expect I'll test positive this time, but even if not I plan to follow some of the diet advice from last time. I think the complications are rare if the diabetes is well controlled, so in that sense it's better to have been diagnosed early :)

[snickers251]

I'll join! Currently 32w with dc2 after having being tested for gd with my ds who is now 2.4yo.

I have to admit despite this being my 2nd pg I have no clue what I'm doing with watching my diet (its diet controlled ATM) as I find my consultant and dietician utterly useless at advising me on anything!

I haven't even done the gtt this pg as they are just assuming I have it as before. My readings are pretty average and touch wood have been successful in doing this diet controlled only
Have an appt on Friday with the dietician and suspect they will tell me the same as previous pg ... I'm measuring big and will need a growth scan.

I must mention that despite only being diagnosed in late pg last time, my son was born a happy and healthy 8.9lb with no signs of problems with his blood sugars. The only noticeable thing I had was my excessive waters during labour

What are the risks? I don't actually know

[talulahbeige]

I was diagnosed at 29 weeks, currently 31. I saw the consultant this week and in his words.GD is at the end of the diabetes scale and was made up by drs so that you take it as a warning for the future to do something about weight and to eat healthy during pregnancy. He also said that baby was likely to be bigger due to bmi, not GD.

[SlightlyBabyCrazed]

Hi, I am now 37 weeks having been diagnosed at 28 weeks due to measuring over at routine mw appt. I now have polyhydramnios too, despite being diet controlled and having been uber careful! I was told by consultant that if I went to insulin controlled I would be induced at 38 weeks, so have worked hard to keep in control, with the base knowledge that I would then be left as a normal pregnancy, however I have now had it all thrown out the window due to the fluid levels and baby tummy still measuring bigger than the rest of him.
BMi has nothing to do with it - I am normal before and lesser now, it is purely to do with how your body can cope with insulin production with the added need of baby, and the baby will get fatter if he gets too much glucose.
Where I am they send you to a clinic and go through diet and glucose testing, which was actually really good. I have to send my readings weekly to my diabetes nurse and if needed your can see a dietician.
It's not that bad to manage, I find eating more is better than eating a little as your body digests it slower and so keeps the level easier.
Sugar free jelly is a staple!

[Mkmamma]

Thanks wanderingalbatross. Encouraging to hear your little ones ok. What diet plan ideas were you given?

Hi snickers. I haven't been given gtt either. They tested glucose in my tribe so have given me a monitor and sent me on my merry way. I'm off to see the dietician next week. Hope your numbers ok on your diet plan.

Hi talulah. I'm surprised the doc said that. What are you doing about the GD?

Slightlybabycrazed: sugar free jelly eh? Must try it! I actually find eating more is not good for my readings. I guess everyone's different.

[SlightlyBabyCrazed]

When I eat more, the extra bits are high protein, so if I want toast I'll have a chicken breast with it for example and tend to get lower readings than if I just had toast. Hartleys sugar free jelly - eating something sweet with near zero carbs! Today I've made up a pack of raspberry, but they do ready made pots too for on the go!

[wanderingalbatross]

My diet advice was a couple of years ago, so I hope it's not out of date now. I was told that the idea is to have a diet where you don't eat large portions of carbs in one go. And where you do eat carbs, make them wholemeal and add in lots of protein too as that slows down the rate at which you break down the carbs. Essentially a low-GI diet to keep your blood sugars more stable.

I'm veggie and I ate a lot of veggie casseroles/stews with cheese, tofu, beans and lentils, and then smaller-than-usual portions of rice/pasta to go with them. For breakfast I found eggs great as everything else they suggested made my sugar levels rise. I snacked a lot on oatcakes and nut butter, nuts, apples and berries. Often I'd split dinner in two and eat 2/3 for dinner then 1/3 before bed. It wasn't the most exciting diet, but for a few weeks it was manageable :) And I did notice that my energy levels were better once I had my blood sugars under control.

Hope that helps!

[wanderingalbatross]

Oh, and I was told that you shouldn't go too far the other way either, as not eating enough carbs isn't good. The doctors I saw preferred me to eat properly and have insulin than starve myself and manage it by diet alone. I ended up with insulin and it really wasn't too bad to manage, actually less painful than the finger prick test.

[CheapTarnishedGlitter]

Hi folks! I was diagnosed this week at 28 weeks after being given gtt because of family history of type 1 diabetes. Was a bit disappointed - having already cut wine it's a shame to not have a bit more freedom with chocolate! - but don't really mind changing diet a bit for the sake of the baby...

I'm veggy too and usually have meals with some sort of sauce (curry, pasta etc) with a carb - switching too more sauce and less carbs seems to have done the trick. Had to give up the crunchy nut cornflakes though!!

My main concern though is the blood testing kit. I got a shoebox with a meter and a few strips and lancets - enough to last a week or so until I got a prescription for more. Problem is, none of the pharmacies seem to have the lancets in and are saying there's an issue with the manufacturer!! Will have to call diabetes nurse when she's next in but feeling unsure of what I can do... Anyone else found this?

[mumbaisapphire]

I had the one hour glucose test last week and they said I have to go for the follow up 3 hour one which I am doing on Monday. They said it was pretty high so I probably have it and the 3 hour test is more a formality. Am worried about the damage I might have done. My only craving was milk and I drank gallons of the stuff in the first three months - it tapered off into the second semester, but i've eaten eay too much Christmas chocolate! Thought should start keeping a food diary as I have to see someone about diet too. I tend to eat weetabix and a banana or porridge and berries for breakfast and am finding contrasting feedback on the Internet about whether this is good or not. They say some diabetics can handle it and others can't. I always though I was eating a healthy breakfast. Am 26+4.

[Mkmamma]

Slightly baby crazed: I ate some sugar free jelly! :) though not sure whether its good to eat too much sweetener... Hmmm

Wanderingalbatross: thanks for the info. I went to purchase done but butter today (almond butter). Will be trying if out with a slice of whole meal toast tomorrow.

Interesting that berries are ok. I had a kiwi this morning and my numbers went through the roof! 8.3 mmol after one hr. I love fruit too. Trying to eat more veggies instead to get my five a day.

Hi cheap tarnishedglitter. I've not had the issue with the strips but have a prescription to pick some up tomorrow so will let you know what they say. Great you seem to be diet controlled.

Mumbaisapphire: like you I've been worried about bubs too. If you fail the 3 he test, they will give you a monitor to test your blood glucose after meals so you can see how you do with weetabix and fruit. Good luck!

[CheapTarnishedGlitter]

Mumbai - try not to worry too much. If it's made a difference it's made a difference. Stressing over what's happened won't help baby so better to focus on what you can do now on to keep things under control. You'll have your 28 week appt soon so at least then you'll know what's going on size-wise. I was surprised to find out baby was just under 50th percentile - chocolate scoffing had become a bit of a regular thing what with all the Christmas choc in the house, so you never know!

MKMamma - I was told "exotic" fruits weren't so good which might explain the kiwi?

It's tricky I guess as we'll all react differently depending on how severely we've got it, but if it helps my lowest brekky so far has been slice of wholemeal toast with a (hard) poached egg and six roasted cherry tomatoes. Going to see if I can get away with a proper-ish cooked brekky today to try and uphold our Sunday morning tradition!

[Mkmamma]

Hey cheap tarnishedglitter, so what was the verdict of a traditional fry up?

I had 2 slices of toast this morning, one topped with scrambled eggs n cherry tomatoes, the other with almond butter. Got a 7.3 reading so within range but higher than when I eat other stuff. I was v full though.

For lunch I had a large home made salad with a little cold brown pasta and half an almond butter sandwich. 7.6 reading so again within range but a lot higher than other lunches I've had.

Do you ladies eat three meals a day only or have snacks too?

Hope everybody's enjoying the weekend!

[AHen]

I had GD with #2, discovered at about 28 weeks. I had normal BMI and no risk factors for it so it was a bit of a surprise. I tried to control it with diet and exercise but the only way I could keep levels anywhere near normal was by cutting out virtually any carbs. I ended up with high levels of ketones in my urine and was almost admitted to hospital. The Doctor ordered me to eat a large sandwich and put me on insulin. I found the dietician that I saw next to useless. I asked her numerous times to give me an idea about how many carbs I should be having and she kept telling me 1/4 of my plate should be filled with them which was next to useless advice. DD was induced at 39 weeks and weighed a trim 7lb 7oz despite growth scans predicting a whale with a large stomach. Post birth testing and routine follow-up tests showed that although I had impaired fasting glucose I did not have diabetes.

I'm now 10 + weeks pregnant with #3 and because of problems last time was tested very early on. I failed 1 hour test and was referred to an endocrinologist. They started me testing 4 times daily and I am already taking insulin 4 times a day. The dietician I saw this time has been far more helpful. She told me for my weight/height I should be aiming to eat at least 175g of carbs a day. These should be split between 3 meals and 3 snacks. She also broke down how the carbs should be spread through the day - 15-20 at breakfast, 15-20 am snack, 45-60 at lunch, 15-20 at pm snack, 45-60 at dinner, she also said I needed to aim for 30g at bedtime to keep fasting levels lower.

Personally I find that I am better off steering clear of all fruit. If I do have it it is best to have it at a meal time with protein and fats to slow down its absorption. The dietician also advised steering clear of fruit, milk products or cereal at breakfast time and keeping breakfast small. I have 2 slices of sprouted wheat multigrain bread with peanut butter (the real stuff) and that keeps me at a good level. I make sure I eat veggies with every meal and keep my carb choices low gi.

It is frustrating and hard work. There are times when you do everything right, eat the same as you did the day before and still end up with a reading that is through the roof. For me tiredness is a huge trigger for higher levels. If I have a bad night's sleep I find that it throws me off for the whole following day.

I think for me the thing that is making this time easier to cope with is I am letting go of the guilt. Last time I felt like it was somehow my fault (I think that the media has done a great job of linking diabetes with poor lifestyle and being overweight which is not always the case).

[AHen]

Oh and MKMamma try not to worry too too much about your baby. I know its hard but worrying will only make things worse (Stress can raise blood sugar levels). And, although there are risks, do put them in perspective. When I was stressing to my doctor about risks of birth defects etc she said that although there was increased risk it was not hugely increased and was more likely to be the result of very high levels for a long period of time (ie undiagnosed throughout pregnancy).
Has your doctor done an HB1ac test on you? I had one both times and found it reassuring as it suggested that the problem had only recently developed because I was within normal range.

[CheapTarnishedGlitter]

Evening all! In the end brekky was: 2 slices brown toast, a poached egg, 2 oven cooked hash browns, 2 oven cooked veggy sausages, a slice of oven cooked veggy bacon, pile of roasted cherry toms and a quarter of a tin of reduced salt and sugar beans - hour after reading was 7.3. High but ok. Tomorrow will be whole bran flakes with soya milk and a banana which I'm hoping will be fine.

I was advised to have between meal snacks to help keep things regulated. On the first day after diagnosis my afternoon snack was a homemade date flapjack which was part of my up-the-potassium mission, but which turned out to be a big mistake!! Now sticking to plums or satsumas which seem to do the trick!

AHen - what's that test?

[Mkmamma]

Oo, good to know the fry up kept you within range cheap tarnishedglitter. I got the same reading with my breakky! I'm convinced it doesn't help that I have almond butter. Anybody else find this?

Also, what are ideal post meal readings? The guide says between 4 and 8 is normal, what are you ladies typically getting?

Thanks for the reassuring words Ahen. Never heard if that test. I will bring it up when I see the doc.

[Wheels79]

I'm 38 weeks now, diagnosed via a GTT at 28 weeks. Went a bit too low carb at first and ended up with ketones and totally bloody miserable after two weeks. Got told off by my consultant and told to eat more (and take a couple of days off stressful job). Relaxed a bit and now even eat chocolate. Have been able to diet control but my consultant did say that for some people they just have to have insulin and not to worry about it if that was the case.

I am officially fed up of bacon and eggs for breakfast (never thought that was possible) but as long as I only have one slice of wholemeal/ granary bread it works for me. If I was in a rush I would grab a Double Sausage and Egg McMuffin and only eat one of the halves of the muffin.

On the whole I have upped the protein content of meals - meat, cheese and reduced the carb content. However pasta is not great even the wholemeal stuff which I'm sad about.

In terms of takeaways I go for meaty things with little sauce, e.g. Lamb/ Chicken tikka and daal. Chinese takeaway was a disaster; pizza was not great but I knew I was cheating.

Chocolate really isn't the worst thing to have because there is protein and fat to balance the sugar. Much better than crisps say. I totally agree with sugar free jelly. With plain cream rather than ice cream though!

Mine is totally down to BMI but maybe low carb high protein should be my future diet strategy because I haven't gained weight since my booking in appointment.

[AHen]

HbA1c gives a result which shows an average blood glucose concentration over a period of time (apparently over the previous four weeks to three months). Although, according to a quick google, some researchers state that the major proportion of its value is weighted toward the most recent 2 to 4 weeks.
So it gives an idea of how well your sugar levels have been managed before you started monitoring them.

[mumbaisapphire]

Had the retest this morning and I'm off to see my midwife on Wednesday so hopefully she'll have the results by then and I'll find out. In the mean time For the past week i have been following a healthy diet and avoiding the two C's - chocolate and Coke which I have been mindlessly consuming at work pre and post Xmas. Fingers crossed.

[CheapTarnishedGlitter]

Ooh I'm not sure a past 4 weeks reading would do me any credit... too much Christmss cake and choc and pudding and...

MKMamma - I've only got "must be below" in my orange notes and nurse didn't really mention a range. Wheels has got me wondering though! My brother has to keep glucose tablets on him in case he goes too low so I guess we shouldn't aim for super low readings... I did treat myself to two chocs from a hotel chocolat tasting box last night after my post-tea reading was fine

Mumbai - don't think coke is worth a panic. Assuming you've been on the caffeine free version it's sugar free anyway! I've certainly been knocking plenty of them back...!

[CheapTarnishedGlitter]

Ooh and I meant to ask... what's the strangest place people have been blood testing? My after lunch ones seem to coincide with pretty formal meetings - it's been a bit surreal getting my kit out and casually testing away while we're working through the agenda items!

[Mkmamma]

Cheap tarnishedglitter, I always test in the ladies at work as I can test 1 or 2 hrs post. Sometimes I test at 1 hr 15 or 1 hr 30 but so long as its under the 2 hr target I'm happy.

I've been told 1 hr post meal the level should be below 8 and 2 hrs post it should be below 7. What levels have you ladies been getting?

[middy34]

Hi all,

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes last friday,and my god all weekend I cried and cried and cried!!!! Never been so upset, certainly took the shine of my pregnancy.

I already have 3 kids , 6,8 and 9, and they were all 9lb's + but never had the gtt test back then, Then bang, I get it now!!!! Yes I have a high BMI, and am 35 years old. . Was never mentioned to me with the other 3.

I have seen the diabetic nurse who was totally reassuring, and said that I should look at it as a early warning signal, and to eat healthily not only for my baby but also for my other kids. Started pricking my fingers yesterday and still quite high readings, despite eating a well balanced diet, gotta keep blood sugars under 7 mmols before meals and 7.8 after meals. Though all very well diabetic nurse say eat healthy but haven't seen a dietician yet, so am in the dark.

Anyone got any recipe's tips. My baby is measuring small at 2lb 13ozs for 29 weeks, was told GD means you have big babies, so don't get it why she's small and my readings are high. Been having dopplers of the cord to measure blood flow and am bloody stressed. This will be my 4th c-section, and have already had group b strep and mrsa in the past, and now this.

Am totally stressed out and totally confused, and totally ashamed!!!!

[Mkmamma]

I'm sorry to hear you're going through a tough time middy. Ok now how you feel but it's not your fault. It's the hormones and its good you are diagnosed so can do something about it. I'm only 20 weeks and when I found out I was shocked. But trying to remain positive.

What readings are you getting post meal?

Recipes wise, I made home made fajitas, the traditional Mexican way. I pan fried marinaded chicken, peppers and onions and made my own salsa (chopped tomatoes, red onion and lemon juice). I even had cheese and a whole wheat tortilla (just 1). That was good for me but everybody is different. I didn't use the jar sauce.

I also made home made chilli (still used tinned tomatoes but added lots if vegetables and kidney beans) and served with basmati rice.

Salads are good too.

I've found kiwis bad for me as well as eating out (even if I opt for healthy things). I guess you never know what additives they use.

My dietician also told me to steer clear of fruit juices.

Good luck!