excessive thirst?

[absam32]

Hi - can anyone advise if normal? Am 18 weeks and have been super-thirsty for last few weeks. Not really given much thought as just assumed is needed for all the extra blood etc, but today at work someone commented it could be a sign of something more sinister like gestational diabetes. Am now a bit worried...anyone else had similar thing and spoken to midwife about it?

It is normal to a degree - I am always v thirsty when pregnant. That said, tell your midwife as it is also a sign of diabetes so worth a check up I think.

it could just be normal i get very thirsty when pregnant but it can also point to gestational diabetes so it is worth seeing what the midwife says they dont tend to test for this until 28 weeks im having one as my dad is diabetic but to be honest i dont think it will be a issue as my baby is being monitored due to being too small so that is the opposite to gestational diabetes.
hope that helps ems xx

Thanks guys - hmm, have an appt next week so will mention it then. Urine tested normal at my 16wk appt and kind of thought that any abnormalities might show up there but perhaps thats a different thing altogether. Do you always have to wait until 28wks to test for it do you know?

A diabetes specialist here.

In this area, symptoms would get you a fasting glucose or an early GTT, regardless of what the urine test shows. Some people can have diabetes without glucose in the urine, lots of pregnant women can have glucose in the urine without having diabetes, so it is a blunt tool.

I do hope it is normal, but it is worth getting checked out as it can have effects on both mother and baby (babies can be too small due to IUGR due to GDM although it is more common that babies are bigger).

i have had extreme thirst on and off. I flagged it to my midwife - along with a 1.5 kilo weight gain within 10 days - and was dismissed out of hand since my urine hadn't shown anything. They also didn't bother testing my blood for sugars at 28 weeks, despite a family history of diabetes. i was told it is not done as a matter of course and I wasn't showing any risks from the urine tests/measurements.

to be fair, i'm measuring smallish and the weight gain seemed to be a strange anomaly and my weight has held steady for most of the third trimester. I also am taking iron supplements that might be making me thirsty.

sorry that isn't terrible useful for you - just saying that if you feel strongly you want it to be checked out, do be forceful with your midwife/GP!

NICE guidelines say that only 'at risk' mothers should be tested for GDM, but lots of doctors, me included, think this misses a lot of women with GDM, so I go for a tactic of screening everyone, precisely because urine can't be relied upon.

Thanks Bartlet - I will def bring it up I think, can't do any harm and better than worrying. They have actually mentioned the poss of a GTT at some stage because my BMI does fall in the overweight bracket so makes sense to chase it up.
Appreciate the responses everyone - thanks!