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 :)

Last week, wow! How are you feeling mrsv? Excited?

Last night's curry gave a 6.2 so I'll be making that again!

I made the muesli this morning, just 25g of oats and then lots of nuts. Had it with unsweetened soya milk and got a 7.3 reading...not too bad especially as it kept me full all morning. Thanks for that recipe!

Went out for lunch with friends and had a chicken salad and got a 4.9 afterwards! Very low for me and I did feel hungry so maybe I should have had one of the more carby things on the menu.

Enjoying hearing how everyone is getting on...before we know it we'll be having our babies!

I am excited and nervous...... To me this has been a long pregnancy as DD was born at 29weeks but apart from the GD it's been a healthy and easy pregnancy. I feel huge and uncomfy. Can't sleep, keep getting sciatica down my right leg so would love this baby to arrive. On the other hand I am scared about labour as DD was tiny at 2lb 9oz and worried sick about having a baby whist coping with a 17month old. So I feel full of mixed emotions........ But I guess that's the same as anyone at this point in their pg.

Yep, I fluctuate from excited to s*ting myself about birth and a baby on a daily basis, so we're all full of mixed emotions. You'll be fine! Do let us know how it goes.

Looks like my insulin is starting to work - 4.6 this morning, lowest ever pre-breakfast reading and I was so pleased I did a little dance round the kitchen when it showed up

Ooooh, must make that curry Smicha - glad the muesli worked well, 50g of oats is loads, I would pop! Also a for the 4.6! :)

MrsV sounds like you have loads to contend with but hang in there - the end is in sight! :) My sister just had her second baby a month ago and she has found that she's very busy but is loving having a little newborn again too. Just think, in a week... no more GD, sciatica, hugeness... :o

Heading out for lunch today to a really good carvery where I can have plenty of meat and veg and just a few roasties - yum yum! :o

MrsV I'm apparently on the homeward straight too, so I'll join you in feeling terrified!!

I saw my consultant at the end of last week and they booked my induction for 23rd September (2 weeks today!!), thats the day before my due date, so I know one way or the other it won't be too much longer. Having said that everyone keeps saying 'oh well, not long now' but it feels like a very long time when I can't eat cake/biscuit/chocolate etc!! Was really hoping to avoid induction as I really can't handle the syntocinon drip. They used it with my first to 'speed things up' and it was horrendous. I know the 'better safe than sorry' arguments inside out - I'm just hoping to either go into labour before the induction date comes, or that I'll be ok with just the gel and having my waters broken. Will see what happens!

My readings have been ok, so I'm hopeful that things are under control, although did get a bit freaked out by a couple of 7.somethings after eating carbs, and really need to keep that in check. My diet list of suggestions said Fruit and Fibre and Muesli were ok for breakfast, so I've been alternating those, although I realise a lot of people seem to be having higher protein stuff? Readings are around 5 after breakfast so I'll continue for now. Snacks are killing me though. I've got those oatcake biscuity things which I have with cottage cheese to keep me going, but can't really face anything else. Going to try to have some nuts later and see what that is like.

Read somewhere further up thread about keeping fats in your diet - does anyone know any more about this? I feel like I'm on the most extreme diet ever, and keep thinking is this going to be good for me or the baby - I know in terms of sugar levels it is, but I don't want to lose weight too dramatically if that makes sense. Perhaps I just need to eat some more meat!! Hope everyone else is having a good weekend, and managing to find the right things to eat, and getting the right scores!!

Hey happy :) That is so cool, 2 weeks today you'll be on your way to a bean! :o

I was never a great protein eater but have to admit it makes me feel a lot better having protein every meal, even if it just a quorn sausage or some beans or houmous. On the fat thing - dietician said it slows down carb absorption so good for GD but they are quite strict with long-term diabetics as they don't want them eating lots of fat OR sugar. Which tbh sounds really harsh!!! It does make me think about type 2 diabetes and how I don't want to get it.

Do any of you think you will keep up your 'good eating habits' post pregnancy? I'd like to think that I will but just allow myself the odd bit of chocolate or cake. I do actually think I am eating really well at the minute, skin and hair look great and much less tired than I would expect to be given my disturbed sleep. See dietician tomorrow and when I phoned to confirm appointment I asked about seeing them post-bean to see about weight loss etc and avoiding type 2 diabetes. That 50% chance of type 2 diabetes figure really shocked me.

happy can I ask what was so bad about the drip? I'm getting nervous about induction and really hope that baby shows his face naturally beforehand! It sounds like induced labour is a lot more painful than natural...

I have learnt a lot about food from this diet angelico and will definitely keep elements of it in mind post birth. I am nowhere near as tired as I thought I would be at this stage - just did a 2 mile walk in the sun today! Admittedly that was the absolute most I could manage, but that's still pretty good for 36+3!

I've skim read this but just to say I'm a Type One diabetic and so my first pregnancy was a blur of testing blood sugars. I have to giggle at Angelico who refers to the 'dreaded over 8' as after eating my blood sugars go up to around 16 before coming down to around 9 two hours after eating! My first baby was perfect and I'm pregnant again. I suppose my message is that you guys seem very well controlled so although there are obviously risks try not to worry too much :)

My top tips for diabetics in general are:

1. Eat half a plate of greens, a quarter of protein and a quarter of carbs.

1. Try and stick to low GI foods

1. Try camomile tea to even out blood sugars - although research yourself first as to its safety in pregnancy. My GP reckons it's fine.

1. Exercise and more exercise!

Oh and I will be induced this time too - the drip is awful as it brings labour on harder and faster. I will do everything I can to avoid it this time around.

Thanks mylittlepuds :) I guess we're all kicking at different goalposts - friend in work is a type 1 and she said exactly the same - her readings are like yours. The tea thing is interesting!

Watched that Horizon episode today 'Eat, Fast and Live Longer'. Very interesting! Hopefully GD will go away fairly quickly post-CS and once life settles a bit I might look into that whole intermittent fasting thing. One thing it does say in the programme is that high protein is linked to cells being in 'go-go' mode instead of optimum 'cell repair' mode - just as I was starting to love the whole protein scoffing thing

Simcha I just found the intensity of the pain unbearable and ended up with cascade of intervention and really hated it, had two natural labours since and anxiety from first birth has not disappeared, but am trying to tell myself it might not be so bad, might not need drip, or might not agree to it unless I have epidural in place, although don't want that either because worried about exacerbating SPD, am an awkward one!

I'm the same as you happynappies. I will be refusing the drip unless absolutely necessary. I ended up having pethadine and I think it's caused me so many problems. It just totally screwed me up.

Thanks ladies. That's what I heard. I have two friends who've had the drip, one is in France where they basically come in and give an epidural along with it as they're aware of how horrible it is, and the other was here and she ended up having one of the worst labours I've ever heard of which ended with failed ventouse and then c-section.

I'm on my birthing ball now trying to get little one into position and am hoping he comes before I have to be induced!

Morning everyone, hope you all had a good weekend. Angelico like you i have been loving the amount of protein and fats i have been eating but i understand thats not a long term plan. I hope that i will reduce my carbs down and change to healthier bread / snacks than i used to have. Maybe i wont eat as much refined sugar........i can but dream i guess.
5 days to IOL for me.....the Drs never discussed a drip with me at my OPA, they said......pessary, gel and then discuss options including a CS. Im hoping that my positive fFN test 11 days ago will mean my cervix is favourable, but as labour hasnt happened naturally since then, i doubt it.
Risked cereal again this morning and off out for lunch........

Fingers crossed that pessaries work for all of us who are being induced!

Just repacking my hospital bag and wondering what you're all putting in there in terms of food? Nuts and oatcakes are all I can think of that can stay in there for a long time...

Hi everyone! I know Angelico :) (the OP) from another thread but to introduce myself to the rest of you, I'm 35+1 with my first (at 41 years old), a Brit now living in Norway (with my Norwegian DP) and was diagnosed with GD on GTT at 31 weeks. I'm managing on diet currently and hopefully now that's not due to change as with dietician/endocrinologist help, I've adjusted my diet to keep my sugars fine. However, despite good levels, and until recently, a normal-sized baby, in my scan last week, baby is now measuring 26% too big - 3kg/6.6lb then (possibly - they admitted they find it very difficult to measure as she doesn't stop moving at all!) - and I've been told that at my 36 week scan I'll likely be given an induction date for week 37/38 if she doesn't decide to come on her own by then. I'm ok with this - she's very healthy & well developed - practicing breathing all the time and here in Norway they're very loathe to go to CS unless absolutely medically necessary and also allow induction to proceed as naturally as possible unless the baby is in distress.

I'm looking forward to reading through all your posts but diet wise right now, I find I have to keep carbs quite low. We have these thick, seedy crackers here (a bit like DR Karg in the UK) and I have 1.5 of these with each meal as my carbs, unless I'm having pasta (usually vermicelli - 2 'nests'), rice (long grain - 2 heaped dessertspoonsful) or bulgur wheat (again, 2 heaped dessertspoonsful). I try to eat some pulses as well - lentils or chick peas and find blood sugar responds really well to these. Other than that I eat lots of protein, lots of salad and veggies, quite a few thin slices of cheese with breakfast, for calcium (they've said no to milk/yoghurt etc.) and, if I really need something that tastes sweet - half a mango with lime juice on or lemon flavoured fizzy water. I find even dilute fruit juice sends my sugars up. After long consultation with a diabetes/renal dietician I was assured I'm eating enough carbs and doing all the right things (despite having ketones in my urine one morning - thought to be down to dehydration). I was also told to not go 'low fat' but keep up my fats as they help lower the GI of foods, especially the 'good fats'.

I found I could eat more carbs and a greater variety of foods in the first week or two but as my blood sugars got a little harder to control I had to tighten up the carb side of things. I think everyone's different with the pattern their GD will follow though (although the endocrinologist did warn me that control gets worse in most people as the weeks go on).

The blood sugar levels required here in Norway are quite strict: fasting or pre-meal I should be below 5.5 and 1.5 hours after food, below 7. Looking forward to reading all your posts and I'm sure I'll have lots of questions! Must rush off to eat now as, after a long ante-natal class, my pre-food blood sugar is just 3.9!

Smicha i have nuts and oatcakes in my bag but also some pepparami sticks as they are ok out of the fridge......only put them in this week though.
Welcome Fjordmor....

Ugh ? was having v uncomfortable frequent BH so plonked on sofa. Mental note to self?back to back episodes of ?Cake Boss? not the best thing to watch when suffering from GD!

Please excuse a sudden rash of posts from me . I tend to not get much time to get on MN properly these days so when I do, I tend to spend like a whole afternoon reading, catching up and finding loads I want to comment on! I?ve just trawled through this whole thread but I?ll try and put my thoughts in several posts!!

teaandchocolate - I started out thinking ?low GI? but soon realised my problem too was more portion size (although I find I can only tolerate low GI carbs at all). I have found out that what I thought was a normal to small portion of carbs is about double to triple what I should be having .

Smicha - I?ve also given up sugar completely. I find staying away from anything tasting sweet is safest for me as I had been craving lollies & ice cream as well as orange juice (the only thing I miss, daily) before diagnosis. I find I?m craving sweet stuff less (except orange juice ? my preoccupation ) for not having anything any sweeter than lemon water. I also seem to tolerate carbs less well in the morning ? I couldn?t even dream of porridge or any cereal. It?s ironic as it was my big carb meal of the day before all this! Glad to hear your baby?s measuring normal size! I know what you mean about freaking out that it?s all going to be so soon. Had BH today and it all suddenly dawned on me! I don?t even have a hospital bag packed, a Moses basket or a car seat yet! Trying not to panic but the days are ticking by. Strangely, I?m more worried about baby arriving so soon than the going into labour/induction/process of it!

rumtumtugger - agree about the exercise. I find days I?ve endlessly trailed round shops or walked for 30 mins I have much better readings ? can even have a couple of small slices of grainy bread (although I?m tending not to chance it these days). However, now baby is more or less engaged, I?m finding it less and less comfortable to do much walking so I?ll admit I?m a bit lapsed in that department at the moment .

Angelico :) glad to hear you?ve finally seen the dietician and that you?re managing so well! Looks like we?ll both be meeting baby similarly early as well!

Dinosaurdrip - I can relate to feeling shocked and gutted. In the first two weeks I had at least 2 meltdowns about having GD. I got some great support on MN though and have now stopped self-blaming so much as I realise (despite my risk factors) that it can happen to anyone. Getting to grips with the finger-pricking and diet helps. No good dietician should chastise you for being overweight. Their job in pregnancy is mainly to show you how to eat healthily. They may give advice on losing weight after the birth to prevent long term risk of type II but their prime concern should be just to get your blood sugars level while carrying baby, and nothing else.

zoobaby - I was told that the birthing unit would definitely be off limits , even if I was managing my levels well drug-free and if I went into labour naturally. I?ve been told they?ll want to monitor me and the baby (with a scalp monitor thing) but this doesn?t preclude a fairly active birth (even after induction) and lucky for me, here in Norway, even the medicalised birth rooms have baths at your disposal, at least for the earlier stages. I looked round the unit and felt better about giving birth there after the disappointment that the ?natural birth unit? would be out of bounds for me.

blonder - so glad you had a productive appointment. I also had moments where I felt I was letting the baby down but feel much more informed and in control now.

mrsv2 - It?s interesting to hear what foods worked for whom. I thought I was ok with strawberries but I had a few after a meal the other day and they sent me over. Also dietician said I shouldn?t have them as a snack as they are pure carbs so I guess with fruit it?s all about striking the carb balance in the meal to include them? I?m allergic to lots of fruits so kiwi etc is sadly out. I envy your slightly more flexible diet, no doubt at least part due to being on insulin. Sadly it?s not really a practical option for me so I soldier on.

Getting used to the limitations though and I hope to keep up the lower carb portions as a way of getting the baby (and pre-baby ) weight off.

Evening peeps

Saw dietician today finally - and she basically gave me a gold star. Ironically I got my first high reading of the week at breakfast but she said it was probably the stress of driving into Deliverance country to find clinic - apparently rushing about can give an adrenalin surge which releases more blood sugar. Good excuse to take it easy and put your feet up :o

One useful thing she gave me was a list of good yoghurts - low fat ones which use sweetener rather than sugar. It includes: Muller Light, Tesco Healthy Living, M&S count on us, Activia Fat Free, Onken Bio pot Lite.

Best biscuits (if desperate, no more than 2 a day): Marie, Fig roll, gingernut, Garibaldi.

She also recommended this book which you can also get as an app for your Iphone etc. It shows visually different portions of foods and their carb content etc.

More tomorrow :)

Oh - and raspberries and blueberries are good fruit as not too sweet and yum with yoghurt :o

Great tips Angelico - I wish I could have yoghurt and biscuits! Not sure why I had read it like you had already been to the dietician...glad you finally have though :).

Thanks for the welcome mrsv2 :)

Re colostrum harvesting ? are we supposed to be producing anything from our breasts already? I?m 35+1 here and not a sign of a drop of anything, no matter how much squeezing .

Also my endocrinologist emphasised that I should stay on this low GI/diabetic diet as much as possible, at least for the whole period I was breastfeeding. Apparently this will lessen the baby?s chances of tendencies towards obesity and having a greater risk of developing diabetes herself. Anyone else been told that?

Seems, like many, that I?m having a kind of ?fry-up? for breakfast that can consist of 2 or 3 of the following: good quality sausages (1 or 2), eggs (1 or 2), sliced cheese or salmon (pan-fried fillet or smoked ? dietician warned me to get Omega 3 everyday for vitamin D as well). With that, I?ll have half an avocado (I find them great for filling me up) and one Dr Karg style crispbread. For lunch I?ll make a lentil type salad and serve with 1.5 Dr Karg style crispbreads with ham or something and supper can be anything as long as I keep to the carb portions I mentioned before. Last night I made a homemade lamb rogan josh. I am still a bit befuddled by the ratio of masses of protein to (what seem like) tiny portions of carbs as I?ve never eaten that way but I feel ok on it (apart from TMI alert slight constipation ).

Re the labour ?fuel? ? I have a dilemma as nuts are great but I am allergic. I?m thinking oatcakes as suggested by several of you (thank you!) but the dietician said I should never have anything as a snack that?s just carbs without eating protein with it. Should I take some pre-sliced cheese or something to put on them perhaps? My ante-natal teacher today stressed how important keeping your energy up during labour is?I did have another idea. You can get these Turkish ?dry roast? chickpeas here that I really like. My blood sugar is rarely bothered when I snack on a small amount of them. Any other ideas would be welcome!

Smicha, happynappies, mylittlepuds and anyone else I missed ? I?m looking at induction too ? I?ll find out the exact date at my 36 week appt in just over a week but I?m looking at a date in my 37th, perhaps 38th week so probably looking at Sept 24th ? 4th Oct latest. Am also willing LO to come on her own ? she?s very active and ?sociable? (goes nuts when I?m around lots of company :)) and I?ve seen on scan that her lungs are ?mature? (she ?breathes?) so I?m hoping I can coax her out before any induction date (lots of sex perhaps??). I?m quite lucky here in Norway. They will use 2 pessaries and also a ?balloon catheter? method on the cervix. They?ll only proceed to the drip if nothing takes or she?s in distress. My ante-natal teacher thinks that as she?s so well developed and looks engaged, the pessaries may well work (I might be a little further ahead anyway than they make me ? UK made me over a week ahead at 12 weeks, as do my own calculations based on known ?conception? date ?). Try not to be too worried about the drip. I?ve heard as many ?good? stories of the relief of a hard and fast labour (a lot shorter) than a long, drawn out one. They can easily put an epidural in the drip in fact it?s often encouraged I think. There are lots of threads about good induction experiences - as many as there are good and bad straight birth stories. It doesn't have to be bad but I can understand dreading having anything 'the same' if it was like that for you before and you experienced it as really bad.

Insulin in labour - I feel very lucky to have avoided the insulin ? my endocrinologist said that as my morning fasting sugars are always so good (4.0 ? 4.7, if I sleep longer than 7 hours they?re usually 3.9) that it would probably be inappropriate for me and if I needed medication I?d be put on Metformin. I?m glad to have avoided both so far although I understand that it?s possible I?ll get fed some through a drip during labour if my blood sugar doesn?t stay stable? Although I imagine, with not eating much, it will be low-ish rather than high? Anyone who?s been there before know about that?

Morning everyone.
fjordmor i was told to start trying to colostrum harvest from 36 weeks but not everyone manages to harvest any. I find a hot bath and plenty of breast massage first works although i only get 0.3-0.5ml i feel thats better than nothing and i now have 5 syringes in the freezer.
For me it was a relief being put on the insulin i was so stressed by the diet alone and the high readings i was getting that the flexibility the insulin gives has made me relax and enjoy my pregnancy again. yes i stick to the diet 90% of the time but it means that i can relax at times. It also means the baby has stayed at a 'normal' size as my sugars have been controlled. My hospital dont use tablets ie metformin, its either diet or insulin........
The insulin drip is a sliding scale......its a 1unit /ml ratio of fast acting insulin that they titrate to your sugars, you also usually have a Dextrose drip going at the same time. Your sugars is taken every 1-2hrs and the dose adjusted. During labour the stresses and hormones will affect your sugars so it means they can be controlled safely.
Glad you got to see the dietician angelico and some good tips given

Hey all. MrsV where did you get the syringes for harvesting colostrum? I would really like to try that.

Had good chat with endocrinologist on phone (she's lovely) and she is v pleased with my bloods. Not really any clearer about the steroid thing as she said they will send my blood sugar loopy for a couple of days so I will either need to ride it out or be admitted to hospital for insulin (which I REALLY don't want). Don't really feel any clearer about what to do but leaning towards a no. She said where BS is well controlled there tends to be much lower risk of complications with baby.

Two weeks today!!! Giggling here as baby just booted me and my stomach growled in protest lol!

Angelico the hospital supplied me with them and caps and labels for the freezing process. Worth asking the midwives.....

Hi everyone - re the colostrum harvesting, my gd midwife mentioned this... so the hospital provide the syringes and instructions for freezing, do you just bring the syringes in when you come into hospital then? And they keep everything frozen then prepare them for you? Can't imagine how it all works but it must do!! I think she said there was a lactation specialist at my hospital who deals with this so I think I'll get in touch. Were you advised to do this as a precaution then? Thank you!