Gestational diabetes... Anyone had it??

[CLM123]

Hi ladies,

So I had a water infection last week and the doctor just did one of those dip stick things and it came up that I had a high amount of sugar in my pee. He said this could be a concern for diabetes and that I need a glucose tolerance test asap but the earliest they can do me is right at the end of the month.

But they've given me no information on it so my mind is all over the place and google definitely is not helpful just tells me my baby is going to be huuuge and likely to be obese throughout the rest of her life :o :(

I am 24 weeks and I barely have a bump... In fact I just look a little chubby I did not tell certain work colleagues up until last week and even they said they couldn't notice in the slightest and thought I was actually really slim. So I'm not sure whether I do in fact have it?

But mainly, what can I do to prevent having a massive baby haha... This is my first so really don't want to be traumatised! I do really love to eat junk and do eat it often because pregnancy has taken my appetite away but Im thinner than what I was before I was pregnant and haven't gained any weight! (Lost a lot of it due to terrible morning sickness for 16 weeks) and now I'm probably around the weight I was before I got pregnant.

Has anyone else had any experience with this? And what was your plan of action?

Also what is this liquid like that you have to drink at a GTT? Because I'm such a wimp I gip if I'm being made to even drink water! Haha I can't handle pressure lol

Any replies would be brilliant. Hope you are all well. X

You have to drink a glucose solution then sit still for a couple of hours. You may drink it with little breaks but within a limited time. (Say 5 mins). It isn't a huge amount .

Babies are not necessarily big and in any case the weight goes in in the last few weeks so don't worry that here is nothing you can do.

You need to dump the junk food now. Don't eat sugar. Eat only complex carbohydrates. Cutting out white rice, bread and potatoes is a very good idea (and was essential for me if I was to keep my sugars down) Eat protein and fat. Check all foodstuff for carbohydrate and throw thatbwhichbhas high levels.
Exercise (walking is fine) as this affects the way your body deals with glucose.

You can buy a glucose monitor in Boots in the meantime and test your own sugars. The pharmacist will show you how.

Self management is the key but all you can do is control your food. The problem is your body chemistry which has gone awry and if diet control is not enough to help you then the medical staff will give extra support in the form of insulin.

My young adult daughters are size 8 and my younger ones very slim so no need to assume they will be fat although they were quite large as newborns (some were induced/ born early by Caesarian and they were smaller as they didn't fatten up in the last two weeks in utero)
Good luck.

I'm due DC2 tomorrow & was diagnosed with GD in both pregnancies @ 28/40.

Did the GP do a finger prick blood test or proper blood test to send off to check your glucose levels? Would've
been more useful & accurate to asserts I what's going on than just a urine analysis.

I wouldn't rush to exclude any foods until you know for sure, but just be
careful with portion sizes - might be worth looking up the eat well plate & be careful about how much carbs you eat/how spread out they are in the day.

I carried small through my first pg & DD was only 4lb 10oz @ full term so def not big! This one is predicted to be bigger but still only around 7 lbish.

I've managed both times to control with diet/exercise, have felt much more relaxed this time regarding letting myself have the occasional treat

Hopefully, you'll get more info if it's confirmed.

Take care in the meantime x

I had gd with ds - who's now three months.

I was diagnosed at 30 weeks, the drink is doable- it's not nice and I had morning sickness the while pregnancy but I managed it. If diagnosed they will give you a glucose monitor.

I was diagnosed very late on so they decided against diet only and put me on metformin tablets, was kept under control, was induced at 38+4 (preeclampsia- not related to this) and ds was born weighing 7lb 15. Was a shock to the system as dd was 5lb 12 but was fine and actually the recovery was easier with him than her.

If you can cut down it's not going to hurt, well it feels like shit but it'll help in the long run.

Have you got a daycare at the hospital where you could ask about a gtt sooner? I was on first name terms with them all by the end but they're there to help.

Good luck.

I was diagnosed with GD when i was just 14 weeks, now 31. I found it really tough at first as like you suffered with terrible morning sickness so didnt fancy half the 'good' stuff. Still cant stomach any meat whatsoever Only managed to control it with diet for couple of weeks and have been on insulin since. The whole point of the medication & education is to try & prevent big babies if well controlled. My baby was measuring normal size at 28 week scan & will be scanned again at 32 & 36 weeks. Just have to cut out junk & eat low carb....i can honestly say if there was a positive to be taken from having GD its that i havent gorged on junk so have pretty much maintained my weight since the beginning. The drink they give for for the test reminded me of flat cola, tbh it wasnt as bad as i had anticipated so try not to worry. Sorry for long post, if you want to know anymore just pm me. Good luck x

I was diagnosed at 28 week,
If you do get diagnosed they will give you diet advise about eating a low gi diet, it's all about fast, medium and slow carbs, slow carbs are the best as your body takes longer to turn them into sugar meaning your body can use up the sugar up before it gets passed to the baby fast carbs are turned to sugar faster than your body can use it so sugar is passed through the placenta to the baby that is what makes the baby big. So generally avoid fast carbs, medium carbs are ok but be careful with portion size and slow carbs are good. Also if you mix slow with fast carbs it can slow down the digestion of fast carbs a bit but again be careful with portion sizes
If you google glycemic index it will give you examples of foods in each.

Other than eating a healthy balanced fit I would not cut out any foods until you have been given a proper diagnosis from the doctor. In our surgery you could take lucozade as an alternative to the glucose solution so worth asking before you go if you can bring your own.

My colleague at work has it - she's on insulin now - only has a few weeks to go but has been advised to stop work now. She's about 34 weeks.

I disagree about cutting out food. You should definitely cut out junk food and all food with added sugar. There also is no nutritional reason to eat potatoes or white rice and many kinds of bread have a glycemic load that is higher than sugar which means that it appears extremely quickly in your blood as glucose. Your body then produces huge amounts of insulin to deal with it and the baby's body desk exactly the same which is not great.