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Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

The new thread for those with gestational diabetes?

121 replies

happycamel · 27/01/2011 18:34

Just seen that someone has resurrected an old GD support thread. I'm newly diagnosed and would really appreciate a thread where women with GD (or people worried about it) can get support and advice from mothers who had it when they were pg or still have it now.

Jump on board if you feel it's relevant to you.

I've got my first clinic appointment with the diabetic midwife tomorrow so will report back then.

---------------------

Hi there - this thread is a little old. [[https://www.mumsnet.com/pregnancy/gestational-diabetes
If you want to read more about gestational diabetes, we’ve got some information here]]. MNHQ

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debka · 16/02/2011 11:25

Hi everyone,

I was here on the first page with GD diagnosed at 38 weeks.

They tried to induce me at 39+2 but it failed (2 nights in hospital and 4 prostin gels). I went back in at 40+2 and DD2 was born the same day at 8.35pm, 1 hour after my waters broke, weighing in at 10lb5oz!! They didn't test my sugars at all during labout (no time!), but did do DD2's 3 times just after the birth.

Best of luck to all those still waiting, esp angels xxx

Deciduousblonde · 16/02/2011 11:45

Hi all!

29 weeks and just been diagnosed.. sigh homebirth is out of the window now, but I'm not stressed as oldest child was born after undiagnosed GD...9lb 5oz, shoulder dystocia, fractured right arm & nerve damage sustained Sad

I'm pleased I'm being looked after, and have first diabetic clinic appointment next week. Haven't been given any advice regarding diet as yet. I have now been told I won't be allowed to go beyond 38 weeks (instead of the 40 they first suggested due to me being an ancient 43 years old!) however, last two pregnancies resulted in spontaneous early deliveries...35 & 37 weeks.

Good luck everyone, keep well Smile

happycamel · 18/02/2011 13:30

Hi debka congratulations on the birth of your daughter. Sorry to hear that you needed two goes at it but sounds like the overall result was fab. Can't imagine labouring for only an hour, must have been the most intense experience of your life.

Thanks for the good wishes. I think angels is due next, induction on Monday if I remember rightly. Do let us know how it goes.

Hi blonde I'm sorry to hear about your eldest's birth. It's good to hear you've been diagnosed early enough this time, hopefully baby won't get so big it gets stuck this time (making a huge assumption here regarding what happened the first time).

There's a few posts on here with recommendations regarding diet. The main thing is eat less refined food as your body digests it in to sugar too quickly. If you must have something sweet have it straight after a meal so your tummy is still full and digests it all together (the principle of white bread digestion is slowed by baked beans so you might be fine with that but not white bread on its own). Fat slows absorption too so (if you aren't worried about your weight) pudding with cream is better than pudding on its own. A low sugar yoghurt after a meal will mean a lower blood sugar than not having one. Also cheese is a really good low sugar, high protein snack. Apples are a good snack for most people but eat the skins too (fibre slows sugar absorption) fruit juice isn't great but smoothies not too bad if made with yoghurt.

I hope that helps

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happycamel · 18/02/2011 13:37

Angels yes, total shock regarding the scan on Monday. I'm still trying to get my head round it. Basically, a normal baby would have put on 600g, 200g a week between the two scans. Mine has put on 300g so half the amount of a normal baby.

Now I know scans can be inaccurate but that does seem a big difference. They've now made me totally paranoid about how much I can feel baby moving whereas I was relatively chilled before. The "don't change your diet, its more likely that your placenta is failing than that you aren't eating enough" comment from the registrar didn't help!!

So now I have a long wait round 'til 7th March to find out how baby is doing with the prospect that they might want it out the following week (would be 37 weeks).

To make it worse, my 30th is 6th March and I can't quite see myself relaxing and enjoying it as much as I hoped. :(

On the plus side what I thought could be super painful Braxton Hicks/early labour the night before last turned out to be baby's head engaging. My bump has dropped so much I need to pee every 10 minutes but the posh meal we're going for on my birthday seems more feasible now than last week when my stomach felt too squashed to eat more than one small course.

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slowangels1 · 18/02/2011 14:56

happycamel I think babies can grown at different rates though - mine had a sudden massive weight gain within 3 weeks and then just a few pounds the following couple of weeks sort of evening itself out, so I'm sure all will be OK, but it still must eb a worry. I love your hint of pudding with cfream being better than pudding alone - that's my kinda diet Wink

Hope you manage to enjoy your 30th and glad baby is behaving and engaged - my bump still hasn't even dropped yet despite mw saying she is 4/5 engaged (surely baby should have dropped a bit by now?!).

Yes, induction for monday night - very nervous about it all. Feels like I've been pg for so long I can't believe it's nearly all over.

Deciduousblonde · 18/02/2011 19:21

Thanks for the advice Happycamel! just had a readong of 9.9 after an hour of eating a tuna sandwich...sheesh.

Yep, my first one got stuck so desperately trying to avoid it this time. I had my first appointment with diabetic nurse yesterday and it went well, and was great to meet others in the same boat.

My fingie hurts a bit today, though. I'm not a good bleeder and have to use the bigger lancet Sad

Deciduousblonde · 18/02/2011 19:22

reading..not readong..lol...I need my bed already!

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 21/02/2011 18:38

Deciduous - hope your readings were ok over the weekend, and :( about the finger.

slowangels - hope your induction has gone/is going well! Fingers crossed for you.

happycamel - I cannot believe that comment from the registrar - how insensitive! Shock

I've got another growth scan on Wednesday, feeling really nervous incase the baby has piled on a huge amount of weight. I am 35+2 today, so a c-section anything from 3 weeks from now is a possibility...

happycamel · 21/02/2011 22:35

Hi Ali good luck for Wednesday. It is worrying, isn't it. It's funny cos I was totally fatalistic about the 12 and 20 weeks scans but now I know there's something different about this pregnancy I worry.

Do let us know how you and baby get on.

I'm mildly traumatised about how close we're all getting. Angels was due to be induced today, you're just over a week ahead of me (34 wks tomorrow), I can't believe I get to lose the bump and gain a baby soon! It all seems so theoretical !

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noeyedear · 22/02/2011 21:00

Hi all
hoping someone can give me a bit of advice. I have high glucose throughout my pregnancy in my urine, yet I have had 2 GTT's, both of which came back as normal. My consultant wants me to have another one at 38 weeks, next week. I was a bit annoyed at this. I don't know what good it will do. What can they do if this one comes back as positive, or if it comes back negative, as the others have? I have been refused an induction, but will ask for a second opinion. I thought, as some have said on this thread that as baby is full term (37 weeks) it would be better off out than in. hat way it would have time to normalise and blood sugar problems. The high sugar in my urine is really getting me down. I have really cut down on sugar and I don't eat excessive amounts at all. I did a food diary for my midwife and was meticulous. I went out for a meal and had ice cream for dessert and the next day my urine sugar was sky high! It's really getting me down. I'm afraid of eating anything!

happycamel · 22/02/2011 21:35

Hi, so sorry to read your story. It does sound like your body isn't always managing your sugar levels correctly, even if it can cope with a GTT.

I can't post more now, my mum's just turned up but will answer more fully tomorrow.

Hopefully the diet bits and pieces on here help.

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happycamel · 23/02/2011 18:47

Sorry, back now noeyedear, hope I'm not too late for you.

Glucose in your urine is only an indicator for GD. I have GD but have never had glucose in my urine. Having said that, controlling your blood sugar through diet isn't a bad idea for anyone because it puts less strain on your pancreas, which is already working hard producing all the hormones your body needs.

Most GD women are induced at 40 weeks, intervention at 37 weeks or more is only done if baby is getting too big or has other problems (for example, mine has slow growth which may be due to an inefficient placenta caused by GD). Women with GD have extra scans to diagnose these problems but I guess you may not have been offered this. Your midwife should be measuring your bump though and if it is too big or too small should refer you for a growth scan.

Please don't let it worry you too much. You've had two negative GTTs so you don't have GD. I'm going to run you through the risks of people that do so you can see it isn't that bad. Firstly, the placenta may fail sooner, which is why they induce at 40 weeks. The baby may have a bigger tummy, as it stores the extra sugar as fat so may be bigger than normal. The baby may have a hypo after birth because it has higher insulin to cope with mum's higher blood sugar and once on it's own blood sugar that's too much insulin. The best thing here is to feed as early as possible and have skin to skin to encourage and stimulate this.

If you get as far as 40 weeks you could point out your high sugar in urine history and ask if they'd consider induction earlier if it would make you happier.

Now, diet. The main thing is to reduce the speed at which your body turns food in to sugar so that it has time to produce enough insulin to manage your sugar levels. This means that you need to avoid refined sugars. Basically if something is white, beige or sugary be suspicious. So white bread is a disaster (very easy to digest, huge sugar spike) wholemeal bread with seeds is much better. Ice cream is basically milk and sugar mixed with flavouring so that would have caused your high reading. You'd have been better to have a fruit salad (fibre in fruit slows release) and double cream (fat but no added sugar). Avoid white pasta and white rice, choose basmati or brown rice and brown pasta. Eat fruit but avoid fruit juice. The fibre slows the digestion.

Adding protein (eg beans, eggs, meat) slows sugar release. Fat also has this effect (butter, cream, cheese) but if you have a high BMI you might want to avoid high fat options. If you google you'll find lots of advice on GI and GL (glycaemic index and glycaemic load) diets, which are helpful to follow. Diabetes UK also has diet advice.

Do let me know if I can be of any more help.

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Alibabaandthe40nappies · 23/02/2011 20:43

noeyedear - I'm sorry you're having problems :( happycamel is right, if you can cope with a GTT then you don't have GD. I have GD, and my urine is always completely clear of sugar - it is only one possible indicator and on it's own doesn't mean much.

I would imagine that if your GTT next week were to come back positive, they would want to do a scan to check the baby's size, and they might talk about induction.
Has your midwife been measuring your fundal height? If that is all normal then it's unlikely that you are growing a whopper.
I can completely understand your frustration though, you are between two stools here for sure - having to take dietary precautions but with no actual diagnosis. Take care, and do let us know how you get on :)

Quick update on me - had growth scan today and growth has slowed right down and the measurements have dropped back down towards 50th centile rather than being up around the 80th as they were a fortnight ago. Estimated foetal weight is 6lbs, which is very much in normal range for 35+4.
My consultant is really happy, so much so that I don't need to have another scan now. Next check up is with the diabetic midwife in a fortnight.
So, I am booked for c-section on the 28th March, at which point I'll be 40+2. If I go into labour before that then I will attempt a VBAC.

happycamel - this is your first isn't it? I remember that feeling of unreality when I was expecting DS - I couldn't imagine how life was going to be. It is a huge culture shock that's for sure! My advice is to watch any films and read any books now, because it may be some months before you get to do it again! Grin
If you are only 10 days behind me, you should be on the April ante-natal thread? Pop over if you fancy it :)

noeyedear · 23/02/2011 20:55

Hi! Thanks fo the advice. It's a real relief to get some that isn't watch your diet without anything else! I have a feeling I don't drink enough either, actually, as I was admitted wth dehydration recently and had to drink gallons of water- The urine came back clear for the first time. My first son had low blood sugar as well, so I'm a bit concerned! I'll take your advice and keep you posted- have consultants appointment on Monday

noeyedear · 23/02/2011 20:56

Oh yes, fundal height is 1 week ahead, but nobody seems overly concerned.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 23/02/2011 21:01

I honestly wouldn't be too concerned. But do make sure you drink enough water, that could be the whole reason for your urine coming back with sugar - and there is nothing else wrong at all!

Good luck for Monday :)

happycamel · 27/02/2011 19:42

I've got my next GD clinic tomorrow and my anti-D injection (which my MW won't give cos of my allergies so I have to have it in hospital. It's still another week until I have my next scan. I've put no weight on in the last month (was diagnosed 5 weeks ago) so either I'm losing weight as fast as baby is gaining it (unlikely) or baby really isn't growing properly. My bump measured small last week too and MW said she'd refer me for a scan if I wasn't already booked in.

Ali I'm a lurker on the April thread but I find it hard to join in. Not sure why - I'm not usually shy or short of opinions!!

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Alibabaandthe40nappies · 27/02/2011 20:21

happy - ah well as long as you are lurking then you'll pick up tips for your hospital bag etc :)

I haven't put on any weight for ages, even though scans show that the baby is growing. Your metabolic rate increases in 3rd trimester so it may just be that you are using all your calories. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you though - will they scan you tomorrow if they're unhappy?

happycamel · 27/02/2011 21:08

Ali, a reply in under an hour, and on Sunday night too! You're as bad as me for always being on here Blush (I'm hiding from the ironing at the moment Grin

Not sure regarding the scan, I certainly hope so although I can't say baby's movements have slowed down, it currently trying to get out via my belly button again.

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noeyedear · 28/02/2011 15:19

Hi all,

Hope you are all doing OK? I have to go for yet another GTT because my glucose is still high. They will induce if that is high, but I don't know what they will do if it comes back normal again??!!

Does anyone else have endless advice on how their aunty/uncle/brothers wifes nephew got rid of their diabetes by eating spinach all day or whatever random treatment they come up with? It's driving me potty!

happycamel · 28/02/2011 16:44

Hi, sorry to hear you've got another GTT noeyedear. I guess you're nearly term now so I guess induction would be a good idea, especially if your baby is on the large side.

Yes, absolutely agree about the advice side of things. One of my team members told me to eat an egg every day and drink water every half an hour, even through the night, and I'd be fine!

Having said that overheard two v. large ladies in the diabetic clinic at the hospital this afternoon. One says "I can't take my blood myself, I don't like the needle, so I wait for DH to do it when he gets home from work". So her readings must be way off but she's still recording them as one hour post meal.

The other one says "I had my mum's roast at the weekend and got a really high reading. It doesn't matter what I eat it's sky high, so I had some chocolate cos it won't make any difference". Roast dinner with lots of veg and meat and not much potato should be fine so I can only assume she majored on the roasties and yorkshire pudding.

It totally made me realise why they've been walking me slowly through everything and making me feel a bit patronised. Obviously there are people out there who really don't get it or don't care and don't understand the risks to their baby if they don't at least try to monitor and control their blood sugar. I felt so sorry for my consultant, I'd find it so hard dealing with people like that. Sorry, I don't mean to bitch, I just hadn't realised that some people don't take it seriously.

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Alibabaandthe40nappies · 28/02/2011 17:03

noeyedear - eurgh the GTT is horrid isn't it, but if your baby has got big then they are better out than in!
The only person who has given me random advice is my Dad. He is a Dr, but he's a consultant dermatologist and therefore knows sod all about GD. He keeps saying 'ooh that's high' about readings when they aren't. Fortunately my Mum who is a GP and therefore knows about GD and what the readings should be has been putting him back in his box Grin

happy - I think people are just idiots frankly. I will admit that I haven't stuck to the diet as prescribed 100%, but anything which has given me high readings I've cut out and I don't eat things I know will give me a high reading after I've done all my testing for the day which I overheard someone talking about while I was waiting in clinic the other week! That is just stupid, because then you are presenting massaged figures to the HCPs who are trying to look after you.
I'm Hmm about a roast dinner pushing it high, unless it was meat, roasties, mash, yorkshires and gravy with a few token peas or something - which is always possible!!

Last night for late pudding I had Ben and Jerry's chocolate brownie icecream and blackberries. I felt guilty doing it, but I was so exhausted and I wanted it so much! Decided that as long as I tested to see what it did to my sugars then I was allowed, and if it was shocking then I wouldn't have any for the next month.
I was expecting a monster reading when I did my before bed test because I'd only eaten it an hour or so earlier - and it was 5.3! Does all the cream etc actually make icecream low GI rather than dreadful??

happycamel · 28/02/2011 17:15

Hi Ali,

I admit to a Ben & Jerry's indulgence last week. Like you, it didn't shoot my blood sugar sky high and I did check. I think it's the high fat content. My dietician said sorbet is the worst and then low fat desserts because they're all sugar. So actually the expensive creamy ice cream will be much better than Tesco's value stuff. She said even fruit salad is better, from a diabetic point of view, with double cream as I'm not overweight.

Clinic this afternoon was okay. Baby's head is so far into my pelvis (at 34+6) that they've declared measuring my bump largely pointless. They're really happy with my sugar control but I had quite a bad allergic reaction to my anti-D injection so I've got a nice big swollen arm. Just have to wait 'til next week now for my scan.

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noeyedear · 28/02/2011 17:42

Hi,
Reading about all your readings (ha ha) has made me remember something. My consultant said it was worth me testing my blood sugar for a week, but I forgot what she said, and because I'm not diabetic, I didn't get a book or anything. IIRC, I do one test in the morning before eating, then one after breakfast, lunch and dinner. I can't remember how long after though. Is it 2 hours, like the GTT?

I did see the diabetic nurse, but she went to see the consultant I saw last week instead of the one I saw today, who booked the GTT but didn't say anything about the blood testing. I thought it couldn't harm doing the blood tests anyway but then got confused about when to do them! At least they will tell me what I'm eating that raises my blood sugar.

Think I'll have to go on Operation Get the Baby Out! The uncertainty is driving me nuts!

happycamel · 28/02/2011 17:54

It's one before breakfast, one an hour after breakfast, an hour after lunch and an hour after dinner. You should fast for the hour after your meal so you don't throw off the result. You can have drinks but keep it to herbal tea, water, black tea or coffee or diet soft drinks.

Anything with sugar in it (including milk which your body will take the the lactose in and turn it in to glucose and fruit juice, fructose, same problem) will give you a higher reading than you should have.

Good luck and keep in touch.

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