Anyone else got gestational diabetes? Top tips welcome!

[Angelico]

Hello all

Currently 35+2, got diagnosed with GD a couple of weeks ago after repeat GTT ('passed' the one at 25 weeks for raised BMI, seems to have come on around the 30 week mark). Got finger pricker etc last week so 6 days in to blood testing and aiming to control with diet only as due for CS at 38+4.

Have't seen dietician yet and struggling to find conclusive info online. Certain foods (pure orange juice, sweet stuff - even a couple of bites! - mashed potato) seem to send blood sugar high (highest reading ever today 9.3 after mash and literally 2 bites of DH's banoffee! ). I was wondering what other people have found useful foodwise? Any good suggestions for meals?

A typical 'good day' for me (ie super low blood sugars)...

Breakfast:
Slice of brown toast with either cheese and beans or scrambled egg. No orange juice.

Snack (11am or 4pm depending on what I'm doing):
2-3 oatcakes with cheese / hummus

Lunch:
Bowl of leftover dinner from night before (see below) or homemade lentil and tomato soup with cheese and ryebread.

Dinner:
Steak stir fry with noodles, spag bol with wholewheat spaghetti, stuffed chicken with roasties and veg, oven cod in batter with oven chips and plenty of veg.

I would love to hear some other good suggestions for meals or any warnings about particular foods. Or if you just want somewhere to vent feel free to jump on board :)

Blonder please don't feel disappointed. I have been told that each week things change and what worked will suddenly stop. At present I have 13-15 units Pre breakfast, 4 at lunch, 6 at tea and 8 units of slow acting at night and I still get high readings. This has slowly increased over each appointment and it may again before IOL. If your body needs it then unfortunately we can't do anything about it ((((hugs))))

Thanks mrsv. Feel a bit more rational this morning but was really upset last night.

I suddenly feel like my baby's not safe inside me and wish it could be born so I could look after it properly. But I know it needs to cook a bit longer!

I am thinking of asking the consultant if I can have a CS instead of going through the induction process. All my friends who've had CS say it's a good idea but my friends who've had induction say it's not too bad and I should try to aim for that as the more natural/easier recovery option.

How many weeks are you now blonder?? i am 36+4 and being induced at 37+6 so next Friday.....Eeeeeek. I hope to avoid a CS if i can for post practical reasons really as i also have a 17month old. My DD was born at 29 weeks with a natural labour but obviously this time it will be very different. I have also had mixed feedback about inductions but i am going in with an open mind and if i end up with a CS then we will cope. My only hope is that i can stay mobile through out the labour despite the insulin drips etc. Speak to your consultant and discuss your fears and hopefully you can make a decision between you.

Blonder you know this isn't your 'fault' :) Blame the pesky hormones! I was warned that bloods may start to creep up as well as we get more insulin resistant the longer we go. It must be a nightmare having to think about insulin as well all the food changes so sending a hug and some

Pork stir fry last night with fresh egg noodles - very nice and stayed well in range. Another ham and mushroom omelette with Burgen toast this morning - also had an Actimel so will be interested to see if the sugar in it sends me up.

Have any of you tried the Patrick Holford low GL recipes at all? He has a few for low GL cereals and stuff so if anyone is really missing their cereal I can put a couple on - they are actually really nice, my friend made them for me a while ago.

MrsV that is really close! :) You've reminded me of another worry - I am having CS but have to fast from 07:00 that morning. How does that work with the diabetes / keeping BS under control? Anyone know? All these questions I think of after I have seen the endocrinologist

Also worried about the hospital food :( Might take in some oatcakes and peanut butter so I don't have to survive on white toast. Love the way they give you white toast after everything - I never eat it any other time because I prefer wholemeal bread. Why give crappy white bread to diabetic mothers?!

i have been told that if i dont feel like a meal or i miss one then dont worry but do your blood sugar at the normal time to make sure its ok. i have done this a couple of times especially if i have had a full english breakfast, i just dont want Hospital food is a nightmare. I was admitted last week with contractions and they bought be a maple/pecan slice, weetabix and a white bread roll with jam for breakfast. I have packed pepperamis, 2 bags of nuts and seeds to snack on, some oatcakes and some sugar free squash.

Wow that is soon! I am 31+2 so a few more weeks till they will want to make a decision about the birth but I want to have a chat now to get some things straight in my head.

Angel that is funny, I had a chicken stir fry with fresh noodles - but obviously my body reacted differently.

Thanks both for the supportive words.

Lunch today: Baxters Healthy Minestrone Soup (full tin) with Burgen toast and reduced fat cheese. I've been eating applewood cheese but started worrying about cholesterol Pre-lunch 3.9, post-lunch 7.3 so all good.

DH out for dinner tonight which means I can make spag bol with Quorn mince - quick and easy :o

Can I ask if you ladies with GD had babies measuring large from early on? My baby is on 95th percentile for all measurements at 20 weeks and I'm wondering if this could be an indication I may have GD (there is diabetes in the family). So far I've been told not to worry as the growth will be checked again later on.

BigFairy my bean was always quite long in the leg but that has nothing to do with GD. They only started all that percentile stuff at 25 weeks and she was 50th percentile then. She only seemed to start measuring big around 30-31 week mark but they weren't worried. By 34+6 she was measuring 6.5-7.5lbs depending on scanner! Consultant still wasn't worried It was only good luck that I ended up being hospitalised because of ketones, weight loss, baby weight etc and GTT was repeated. GD seems to have kicked in around 29-30 weeks.

I'm 36 weeks tomorrow, have a scan next week and hoping she has slowed down a bit now BS seems to be under control (for now!).

As far as I am aware my baby has been within 'normal' limits before and since diagnosis. My 36 week scan has shown the Abdo has just grown outside the median but the consultant not concerned and IOL now planned for 38 weeks

Blonder don't blame yourself for the high readings, as others have said I think they increase as time goes on. I started overnight insulin on Tuesday and for the last two days my morning readings have been some of the highest ever! I have to ring the nurse tomorrow and I have a feeling she's going to get me to up the dosage. FWIW egg noodles send my sugars sky high, even with a stir fry of lots of protein and veg.

Bigfairy my baby is measuring 'normal' and although he has a slightly above average abdomen, he always has had so they said they're fine with the trend. If it was sudden growth then they said they'd be worried, but if the growth is steady they seem happy with it. I don't know if a big baby automatically means GD, but my experience so far hasn't shown a big baby yet I do have GD (we'll see if they're right about size when I start pushing!!!!)

Angelico any links to recipes would be great as I am so bored of the same meals again and again!!! Just on a related note, thought I'd share that last night DH wasn't home and I'd been swimming and was STARVING so put all my energy into making a chicken and vegetable wholewheat pasta dish from scratch, when what I really wanted to do was collapse in front of the telly with a carb-heavy comfort meal... then walked into the living room in the dark, tripped and spilled my food on the floor!!! I had nothing else in the house that I was able to eat, so had to pick up the bits from the top of the pile that hadn't landed on the carpet and eat them... after I'd finished crying!!! I can laugh about it now and laughed with DH when he got home, but at the time I felt like it was the end of the world. This diet is driving me mad!!

On a happier note, I finished work today. Wish I could have some to celebrate!!!

Are you not having wine because you are pg or because of the GD. I have found a glass of wine with a meal hasn't really affected my sugars.....I have had red and white but haven't tried rose. Have also had a very weak shandy made with diet lemonade. Since diagnosis I have had 2 holidays and a family celebration, I'm not an alcy really :-)

Bit of both really, I had just a few glasses in total in the months before diagnosis but then thought the sugars in wine would be too much so decided just to abstain completely for the next few weeks! Tempted now though...

Blonder, don't beat yourself up! It's not your fault and the important thing is that your sugars are kept under control and if you need insulin to do that, then you need insulin!

I started on 12 units of slow acting insulin at 26 weeks (was diagnosed at 24) and by delivery (spontaneous labour) at 37+6 I was on 58 units of slow acting unslin each night, 28 units of fast acting pre breakfast, 8 pre lunch and 10-12 pre dinner and I was still getting post breakfast readings of 9's and 10's, it was never under 7.9, I just couldn't up the insulin fast enough. My baby was fine and despite bot getting the drip I was supposed to have in labour, she was 6lb 15oz and although her blood sugar was borderline, she didn't have a hypo, so try not to worry if that's possible.

Oh, a glass of red/alcohol can actually help lower your blood sugar....

Oh, a glass of red/alcohol can actually help lower your blood sugar....

Angelico sits up so fast she dislocates neck... :o

Lovely Quorn spag bol tonight with plenty of wholewheat spaghetti - and had a cheeky bit of dark choc after with a cup of tea. Although my BS reading was fine (6.8) I feel very sleepy now. Starting to feel quite aware of how different foods make me feel.

Smicha - what recipes would you like? A breakfast cereal one? A dessert one? A main? :) Will maybe try and add one a day so will give you first dibs!

Oh - and just one happy thing about GD! Going to optician this weekend - and my eye test is free! They asked if I was entitled to free eye test, I said didn't think so but had GD. They phoned some health agency and I qualify!

I was going anyway as haven't been wearing contact lenses, my glasses are about 10 years old and bloody awful looking and my mum has said the bean will disown me when she's older and sees me leering out of her first photos with Harry Potter specs on :o

Homemade chickpea curry with a decent portion of whole grain basmati..... My usual 6 units and a reading of 6.8 :-)

Hello fellow GD-ers. Had much more positive appt today, saw 2 doctors and the new diabetic midwife at the hospital, much less drama this time and they were quite unalarmed by my high reading last night, just said, oh see how you go tonight and add insulin if you need it, but it's probably a blip.

Also had lots of questions answered about induction, drugs, CS options, breastfeeding, antenatal expressing and feel a lot better about the possibilities and just much better informed.

Then both my readings for lunch and dinner were under 6 with no insulin so maybe I had something on my hands last night! I know it's likely to get worse but at least it doesn't seem to be escalating quite as quickly as I feared.

Thank you all for your support, I know I need to get a grip a bit and put the hormones aside. You're all being super practical so I shall follow your lead. Wow, 53 units! That's like half a tube at a time. I know I am not that badly off and what needs to be done must be done.

Glad you had a good appointment Blonder.....

Thanks mrsv, your curry sounds lovely.

Morning ladies. Had a cheeky second slice of toast this morning for no better reason than it being there... My will power is a true inspiration...

4.8 this morning pre-brekkie, let's see what astronomical level it reaches thanks to the second slice, gah!

Morning! Being off work rocks

Any recipe you like would be good Angel, I like the idea of cereal or a main. I've actually gone off desserts since weaning myself off my sugar addiction!! (Although dark chocolate is on my shopping list for today!) Oh and thanks for making me giggle with the idea of Harry Potter specs in newborn photos .

Glad to hear you had a good appointment blonder.

Just wondering, what are your average morning readings? I've been put on this insulin because mine were high (lowest ever 4.7 but mainly 5.2-5.5) and since starting it they've been 4.9 or higher, which doesn't make a lot of sense to me...