experiences of gestational diabetes

[missdashwood]

Been told today I've got gestational diabetes. Just sat and read the possible complications. Any advice/experiences would be really welcome

Sorry to hear that - been there twice and survived!

How many weeks are you and are you doing diet control alone or insulin - I have also done both!

DD was 10 14 born by section at full term and was ok - she is now a skinny 8 year old! I managed with diet control for her but it was getting harder towards the end.

DS is 3 and was 8 8 at 38 weeks - I was monitored / tested as early as they could and managed 1 week on diet control before using insulin, which was fine. He had to spend a day in the Special Care baby unit as his sugars were low and his body temp too low and wasnt taking milk - but again he is a firery 3 year old - no complications!

I have suffered though - been left as a diabetic - diet control at the moment but struggling.

My only piece of advice would be to not panic - just remember that this condition is temporary and will probably go when baby is born - so you have x amount of weeks to go through - and to try to keep weight gain to a minimum. Eliminate as much sugar as you can from your diet as your body cannot cope. Also you will be closely monitored and scanned for growth of baby - so you will get more chances to see it!

I am sure someone will come along with more recent experience to reassure you!

Thanks for your post, it's very reassuring to here everythings gone well twice in your case! I'm 32 weeks by the way.

I was told i had gd with ds3 - was diagnosed at about 30 weeks - controlled with food.

My blood sugars had to be tested after every meal and i was scanned reguarly.

BUT I did not have any of the risk factors.

Doctor told me all the horror stories - he would be massive, wouldnt be able to birth naturally, more likely to have cs,

In the end i had home birth and he was 7lb 13oz and i have not been left with any problems

Have a loo at homebirth.org.uk under the heading youcant have hb because you have diabetes or something similar - its got all my story on

HTH

I had gd at around 28 weeks. I felt like the floor had fallen away under my feet and my initial reaction was 'panic!'

I was quickly teamed with the local clinic and they talked to me about diet and how to take blood sugar readings. I used to have to do 7 readings a day (before and after meals) and a ketone stick every morning. Each week I would e-mail the results.

The gd was controlled through diet and exercise (walks) alone. It takes a bit of adjusting but it teaches you a lot about healthy eating as well!

The pregnancy was fine, DD was just over 7 lb and, o nthe whole, whilst that initial diagnosis scared me so much, it was positive in that everything went well.

It is a bit daunting at first but gd is a well-known and common complication of pregnancy. There is a lot of knowledge on how to handle it.

I had GD with my last PG, I had a GTT at 28 weeks due to having PCOS which was high then had an all day test where they tested my blood before and after food (cant remember what its called)

Luckily I managed with diet alone and I was very strict with it, Like Mamkoukla says it does make you very aware, my evening Horlicks was making my glucose level sky rocket..

My hopsital has Diabetic Clinic linked to the High Risk Unit I was attending and I used to see the Diabetic Nurse every week and she would go through my readings/diet any problems. I too had to do a lot of readings a day and do a food diary.

My consultant planned to induce at 38 weeks but DS had other ideas

This is the first time that I am posting. With my first pregnancy 18 years ago, I was diagnosed with GD at 28 weeks, and followed the diet and my son was born at term weighing 6lbs 13 oz. They kept saying that he would be a big baby, but he wasn't. Second time around I did the diet and I became Glucose intolerant and then third time around I was just under the theshold for GD. Each time after the pregnancy it has disappeared, however now following tests earlier this year I am now borderline diabetic. I have heard that diabetes returns within 25 years, so I have now returned to doing the diet and exercise in order to delay the onset of diabetes.