anyone else with gestational diabetes?

[Shakshuka]

I saw from searching that there used to be some threads but nothing current.

I've just started monitoring my blood sugars and it's hard going. I was shocked that my numbers were as high as they were because I was only borderline on the gtt. I thought I was eating pretty low carb already and I already have trace ketones so don't want to cut carbs further. I'll have to do some tweaking!

Anyone else going through this?

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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

amybelle

I also think you need specialist care and not GP. Management of GD is different to regular diabetes, they want much tighter control of blood sugars.

It's great that you're already on the ball with this.

Just for the record, I'm testing 6 times a day. Fasting and before lunch dinner and 1 hour after meals. the goals are below 5 for fasting and 7.8 for 1 hour after (although I'm trying more for below 7.2 as I read that it's better for the baby). If we miss the 1 hr for whatever reason and do 2 hr then it's 6.7 or below. They also want below 5.6 for pre lunch and dinner.

This is the US though - but here as well it seems there's quite a bit of variation between clinics and doctors as to the exact numbers.

Are you also testing ketones?

It's hard, isn't it violet? The lack of logic to it all annoys me when you're doing it all 'right' and yet you still don't manage to control it not that I'm a control freak .

I also feel guilty passing on our diabetes laden genes to our kids!!! DH's mum, dad and brother all have/had diabetes. My brother has diabetes and my dad is pre-diabetic (although kudos to my Dad that he managed to lose weight and up his exercise so that he's remained pre-diabetic for the last 15 years or so and not gone in to full blown diabetes unlike 5 of his 6 other siblings).

Still, it's a wake up call. We have bad genes as a family so need to make more of an effort than others to stay fit and trim if we want to avoid diabetes.

Raspberries and cream!!!!! I love the sound of that!!!! Thanks for the tip.

The lunch you had shakahuka, were you stressed? Mine go funny when I am stressed.

Also my doctor did say to me at one point that sometimes they do go funny even if you are trying everything. I can't remember exactly how he phrased it but it was along the lines of you could be doing everything right. Sorry hope that is clear.

It was raspberries, cream, pecans and ice-cream :) Don't forget the ice-cream! Sooooo good and about 15-20g carbs. Counting my blessings that I'm dealing with this now during berry season. I seem to be able to tolerate them really well.

No, I wasn't stressed at lunch. I really think it was the apricot but I'll try upping the fat more as suggested. I added a handful of toasted almonds to my lunch today. Hope that'll do the trick!

Shakshuka, I think you're right about the GP, just frustrating I have to go through him. To be fair he pretty much said I needed expert help and that he'd look into it more before next week so at least he realises it.

What you're doing is what I was told last time and I don't think it's changed that much in 2 years. I guess I just continue eating carefully until I know more.

Not testing ketones, haven't had that mentioned yet.

Oh and your pudding sound really really nice. I haven't eaten anything sweet for a week as I'm so worried. Today was the first time I've had fruit. Once it's sorted I might try raspberries-I love raspberries!

I used a sugar-free ice cream that they sell here . They use sugar alcohols and splenda instead (the diabetes nutritionist told us that splenda and aspartame don't cross the placenta so we only have to worry about how it affects us and not the baby if we're concerned about artificial sweetners! she also told us that saccharine does cross the placenta so best not to have that one).

Raspberries are surprisingly low carb. 100g (which is a lot because they're not a heavy fruit) are only 12g of carbs which is less than one serving.

Well we know what's going on my shopping list tomorrow, sugar-free ice cream (if we have it), raspberries and cream! Delicious. I do miss eating my weight in fruit! I believe berries are not too bad, although cranberries are very high carb? If I recall correctly...
Has everyone had good scores today?

I wouldn't bother with the cream if you're getting full fat ice cream as it'll have cream already. The reason I added some was because the ice cream I have is lower fat. I haven't found no sugar regular ice cream yet.

Readings today have all been below target although not by as much as I'd like. How about you?

I'm in my pjs in bed but can't go to sleep as I have to wait for the right time for my bedtime snack, especially now with the glyburide.

I'm putting my list of questions together for the consultant. I've read gd can affect ability to breast feed. Has anyone experienced that?

Hi Jenbee1... I'm not aware of any major reason why GD might affect your ability to breastfeed. I had it and I BF my son for over a year, and hoping to BF this one too. It is arguably even more important in the early hours as the best way to help them stabilise their blood sugars if there was an issue would be through feeding colostrum.

The only thing I can think of is GD may lead to an increased risk of difficult births and/or low blood sugar in the newborn (hypoglycaemia). In scenario 1, BF may be harder to establish (for example I had a bad tear and PPH so was away from my baby for 2 hours after birth which is not the best start to BF), and in scenario 2 the medical team may recommend a formula top up to raise blood sugars. One way recommended to avoid this is to try and express colostrum antenatally, so that this can be given to the baby instead of formula after birth if needed. By direct feeding from the breast is better if possible as that gets the whole BF relationship going, which cannot be started soon enough. You could talk to your consultant about expressing antenatally as it is not recommended until later pregnancy.

Hope that makes sense.

Shakshuka I am glad to see some support for your here from other ladies who are also working very hard to control their blood sugars. I am sorry it all seems a bit random for you guys :( My fasting was 5.5 this morning after a week of being in the 4s or v low 5s.... I think there are very natural up and downs to it all. But some more dramatic than others unfortunately. Keep up the good work!

Thanks sisterofcaleb. It's difficult to know what's right and what isn't when all you've got is the internet. Looking forward to getting some answers next week.

jen I never heard of the breast feeding thing either. I could only imagine it being a problem in the situations sister has described. A lot of what you read might also refer to uncontrolled gd which has very different outcomes to gd where the blood sugars are controlled (which is obviously the main reason for obsessing over blood sugar levels!). My last baby was 10lbs so I suspect I had undiagnosed gd with her and she breastfed like a champ from day one. Thankfully no problems with hypoglycemia for her.

sister I know there's a lot of natural variation in blood sugar. 5.5 isn't too bad though - did you perhaps not sleep as well or slept less? I read that can affect the blood sugar.

I'm finding my whole mood is determined by this bloody meter! Still a good start to today. I woke with a fasting of 4.3! And after a big breakfast was still only 5.4. I did walk the dog for 20 minutes after breakfast (the dog is loving all these bonus walks) which is not how I like to spend a leisurely Saturday morning straight after breakfast - lingering over a coffee and the papers is more my style - but well worth it for the meter reading :)

Great news shak. Sounds like you are getting your levels under control which is fab x

Excellent news on the bloods Shakshuka! It sounds like you're on the ball with it :) my scores are... ok... morning bloods a little high, breakfast fine, I didn't even bother with lunch but got a 7 which is bonkers, and the evening as usual was low. I'm on insulin in the morning too to regulate the middle of the day which doesn't seem to be happening - I'm really hoping I don't have to take insulin more often!
Has anyone had any definitive answers about early inductions with diabetes? I keep being asked by the MW and diabetes nurses if I've been given an induction date yet but the consultant seems to be unconcerned as yet. I'm getting quite resigned to an induction and would almost prefer an eviction date I think!
I couldn't find sugar free ice cream so had raspberries and cream earlier. Bloody bliss!

violet did you skip lunch? Are you sure that's a good idea? We were told to absolutely not skip meals and snacks, even if we're not hungry to eat something small, because that's the best way to keep blood sugars even.

How did you do with the raspberries and cream? Hope it was a success with the meter too :)

Thanks for the kind words on my morning bloods. I was so pleased but my post lunch went shooting up to 7.9. I had a small portion of beef, bean, barley and mushroom stew plus cabbage salad and veggie salad. The number isn't terrible but I thought barley was low gi and I didn't have a lot. Maybe it's the fat thing, should have had avocado with it!!

This is such an emotional rollercoaster!

Ok, I really don't get it now.

Slight freak out because my pre dinner number was 7.4! I'd had a snack of 1/3 (big) apple with peanut butter about 3.5 hours earlier. That number seems bonkers though after not eating for more than 3 hours. And I'd been quite active. And how can a few slices of apple (and with pb) do that to my blood suagr???

So I cut back on dinner carbs and took dog out for 30 mins after eating and my 1 hour post dinner was 5!!!!

Does this make any sense?!?!

Yeah that sounds really bad, at weekends normally I have a big protein based breakfast a little later than normal and thAt tends to keep me full till dinner later. I shall have to take note and have some nuts and something small as a token lunch too.
The raspberries not only went down well but beat the scores too, my dinner score was a wonderful 6.1 which I would happily take every day! Oddly my fasting bloods this morning were that too which was a downer.
There is no sense at all to this blood sugar thing at all, I don't see any way to predict it and to be honest I feel like a fraud when the nurses say I'm keeping my blood sugar under control as I really don't see how I am! I guess we just keep trudging to our due date and take the lessons we can along the way... I am definitely going to keep up with a loose diabetic diet after baby arrives, just in case either she or I develop it later. It seems a pretty healthy way to live. Of course once she arrives I can start running again and thAt might help my blood sugar too!
Enjoy the sunshine ladies! It's a good opportunity to enjoy the outside and keep busy while we can :)

I definitely think you should try and have something small. They explained to us in the clinic that if we go too long without eating, because our body's response is so messed up (they put it more nicely than that!), it starts to think baby is starving and sets the glucose levels high - either from when we eat or from stimulating the liver to release stored glucose.

I'm also finding the regimented eating and eating when not hungry difficult. The last thing I feel like when I go to bed at night is a 'snack'!!

Hi all. Hope it's going ok. I have been having great success with almond flour (ground almonds) recipes if anyone is missing bread... This is yum:

www.cutthewheat.com/2013/05/cheesy-garlic-bread-grain-and-gluten.html

(I used two tablespoons of wholemeal wheat flour as I couldn't find coconut in the shops - I wouldn't make a good paleo!).

My fasting Sat was 5.5 and Sun 5.7 which was worrying me but I was looking up more yesterday about dehydration effecting the accuracy of the readings. I think if drinking brings your number down quickly then this possibly was a cause. On Sunday it quickly came down to 5.3 after a drink and today I drank two large glasses of water before I got up and it was 5.0 a few minutes afterwards. So maybe there is something in that?

I've been using almond flour instead of breadcrumbs - it's great!

My fasting numbers are also going up. Above 5 today and yesterday :( No idea why. Also ketones have gone up again whcih worries me.

I have an appointment at the diabetes clinic tomorrow so hopefully I'll get some answers to all of this.

Good tip on the water, I shall try that! My fasting bloods keep hovering around 6 and my lunchtime bloods between 8 and 9 so I'm expecting an increase of insulin in the next few days.
With luck it won't be much longer, I have another growth scan next week, and going by the bump measurement which is suddenly off the charts, I might get an eviction date soon!
I hope everyone is coping well :)

Hi ladies.

I'm just wondering how long after the GTT did you get the call to say you had GD?
I presuming the next day, or is it longer?

hi Foodie :)
I guess it depends on NHS area, I got the phone call that afternoon, it came back really quickly, and the midwife arranged for my 3 growth scans and appts with the diabetes clinic there and then over the phone. But my hospital seems to get the blood test results back quickly in general, it's rare I have to wait more than an afternoon to hear about test results...
If you've passed the GTT I think you don't get a phone call about it, that's how mine was anyway.