Blood sugar levels. Please humour me!

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

I've bleated on about this loads and loads but I can't get past it so here I am again.

V briefly, diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 38 weeks last time. I wasn't convinced and they never directly told me that was the case. It's bugged me ever since and I'm pg again and already being pestered about it, lots of appts with diabetic clinic coming up and it will affect the birth and feeding etc as it did before. Long story, crap hospital.

I've just found the list I made of my readings at that time, would someone who knows about these things please tell me what they think of them.

Waking
Min: 3.5
Max: 4.4

2 hours after lunch
Min: 3.8
Max: 7.8 (that one instance of 7.8 was after massive Christmas Day lunch which I think makes a difference. There was no other reading near that, average was 5.6)

2 hours after dinner
Min: 4.4
Max: 6.8

Before bed:
Min: 3.6
Max: 5.4

Does that lot point to GD? If someone said yes it does, then I'd shut up. But it doesn't fit in with what I was told or what I've read since.

Thank you :)

I don't get the min-max
did you test twice at diff time intervals

oh ok I get it now these are over a few weeks..yes?

look entirely normal to me
Ask for an explanation at the diabetic clinic.

Yes, sorry, this was over 2 and a bit weeks and I've just listed the highest and lowest readings in each category.

Tested four times a day; after waking, 2 hours after lunch, 2 hours after dinner, and before bed. All times on clinic's instruction.

That's not GD.

That's what they did to me with my first baby because she was big (10lbs). None of my readings were ever in the 'diabetic' range, i tested for 3 weeks.

They accused me of GD, in fact, blamed me for it - i was told 'well if you'd had that GTT at 28 weeks we could've been doing something about this. All we can do now is damage control.'

With my second baby i told them to fuck off under no uncertain terms and if they even mentioned the words 'gestational diabetes' to me i'd go to another hospital.

My second baby was smaller than my first (by 1/2lb) and that was that. I never had diabetes.

I'd love to do that nicevideo. DD was 8.10 at term. I had the GTT at 28 weeks and passed with flying colours.

I can see why they're cautious, I'm overweight with a type 2 diabetic father. I expected to be kept an eye on. But that's all. If there is cause for concern then of course I'm happy to comply, but I don't want to be bullied for no reason. It turned a normal, happy pregnancy into the worst time of my life before and, as is probably apparent, I can't get over it.

Thanks.

I had mild GD with DD1 and (at my hospital) was therefore assumed to have it (with no testing) with DD2.

Targets I had were between 4 and 6 fasting/before meals and below 8 one hour after meals (I wasn't given any 2-hour targets).

The potential issue I'd see with your readings is that your minimums seem a little low all those three point somethings which could indicate some sort of problem (although if you only had occasional readings that low less likely to be an issue), but generally with GD it's too-high readings that they are worried about in terms of effects on the baby.

DD2 eventually arrived at 6lb 10oz and skinny, so I suspect it's highly likely that I didn't have GD at all that pregnancy.

NICE protocols for GD, by the way, are lots of breastfeeding and no buggering around with formula (unless the mother chooses to ff, obviously) unless the baby is displaying actual symptoms. And if your readings are too low rather than too high it seems unlikely that your baby would be at risk of hypoglycaemia (generally results if the mother's blood sugar levels are too high so the baby's insulin levels adjust to cope with those levels and cause a blood sugar crash when blood supplies are separated).

If you've passed your GTT and your levels are normal eating a normal diet then keep pointing that out and tell them to go swivel. They've tested you for GD. You don't have it. You don't need to pretend that you do just to make their preconceptions fit better.

All sounds fine to me. Do you have a good GP? Maybe you could have a chat to him/her about it.

Thanks, this is all very reassuring. Just to clarify, I'm only 14 weeks now. The GTT I had was last time. I am booked for one again this time.

I've bought a monitor and intend to take the same readings for the next week before my first diabetic appt next Friday. If those readings are similar then it'll give me an extra push to be more assertive and question what happened last time. I want to go in forearmed.

GP is really good, have to see her about something else, will mention it.

Now off to google low blood sugar...

At work so got to be quick.

Have you read the NICE guidelines (I know they were linked to on the 2010 GD support thread as I was on there under a different name and I'm sure they have been linked to since).

I think the key thing is going to be your after meals readings as that is going to be the driver for determining impaired glucose tolerance outside of an official GTT. As someone said above the NICE guidelines are for 1 hour after meals and (I'm 99% sure) are looking for a reading of under 7.8. Will check for you later if you can't find it.

In my (non-professional but reasonably well read!) experience 7.8 after 1 hour is a pretty tough target. I would think if you are remotely susceptible you would possibly get a higher reading than this if you didn't watch your carbs etc. Several professionals that I spoke to when I had GD expressed the opinion that many many women have some degree of impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. What seems to be happening is that there is more of a tendancy at the moment to set a reasonably tight line in the sand ref blood sugars and label everybody who crosses that line as having GD and treat them according. As you know, that's not an easy place to be.

Would suggest you get some readings for 1 hour after meals, try to limit or spread out your intake of the real "baddies" such as white bread and cake and try to stay under the radar that way.

Hope that helps and good luck

Gwen: i am overweight with a thyroid disorder and BOTH of my parents are overweight type 2 diabetics.

I still DONT/didnt have diabetes. I am not my parents, I am me.

"It turned a normal, happy pregnancy into the worst time of my life before and, as is probably apparent, I can't get over it."

Gwen: it did that to me, as well. being ACCUSED of GD by the endocrine consultant and blamed for my daughter's size ruined the last 4 weeks of my prengnacy - i was sick with worry, utterly sick, terrified of the behemoth my body was growing instead of celebrating the last few weeks of my child-free life and rejiocing in growing a baby, etc.

And it bullied me into consenting to a CS at 40w when i probably could have had her myself, but she'd have been 12lbs by 42w. And that consigned me to a repeat CS when DD2 didnt appear by 41 weeks - i was 'risking rupture' etc.

You're not alone in your experience.

I took 4.5 years between pregnancies and was strong enough emotionally / recovered enough by then to refuse to repeat the horror of my first pregnancy - so i told them they had no permision to test my sugar, no GTTs, no random glucoses, and if they even mentioned it, or that bitch consultant showed her mug, i'd be off like a shot to another hospital, i wasnt putting up with it this time.

They never, ever brought it up.

oh, and my readings were average, across those 3 weeks, fasting 3.5 - 3.8, 1hr pp 6.8, 2hrs pp 5.8 ...

Have just downloaded the NICE guidelines, thanks. They do say below 7.8 1 hr after meals so that's what I'll stick to and we'll see...

At least it'll give me some idea of whether I can tell them (politely) to get knotted next week or whether I should stay and listen.

Thanks all.