Gestational diabetes support thread

[NoRoomForALittleOne]

I thought I'd start a support thread for those of us being tested, just diagnosed or being treated for GDM.

So collapse on a sofa, grab a low carb snack and come and chat about blood tests, finger pricks, diet changes, medication and birth plans...

Thanks for the breakfast ideas longest - will try some of those :)

So today I had a treat and had a latte and chocolate caramel shortbread at Costa [again!] - did usual test 2 hours after and it was 4.3??? Lowest reading I have ever had? How does that work?

I had similar on Monday , I had some choc cake on Monday for dp birthday this was after a meal as well and got a 5.4!!!! I get 9 after a slice of toast. Maybe I should start eating chocolate cake for breakfast :)

I'm currently working my way through the thread but wondered if there was room for another one?

I had my GTT this morning (26 weeks) and had a call this afternoon with the results.

My before glucose blood sugar was 5.5, after was 8.5. Apparently the cut off in my area is 7.8 (not sure if it's the same countrywide).

My dad is T1 diabetic but was diagnosed in his 40s so I have no real knowledge of what the numbers mean.

I'm waiting for a call from the hospital in the morning to arrange appointments but does anyone know what I can expect? It's my first baby and I'm a bit worried!

Welcome IceLemonGin. I can't say for sure what your experience will be, but you'll probably be given some kit for monitoring your blood glucose level (the testing intervals and targets seem to vary from area to area - your diabetic specialist will give you your targets), and they'll probably give you chance to demonstrate that you can control your levels with diet. I was worried sick when I got my Dx, but so far it's been ok. You may have some extra scans too, just to keep an eye on how your little one is growing (they can grow a bit larger due to elevated blood glucose levels), but do try not to worry too much. If you're happy to get creative in the kitchen and spend some time planning your meals etc then you may well find you get by just fine on diet alone (although apparently this gets harder as pregnancy progresses, I'm 30w+1d at the mo and managing with diet). Just do what you can, and don't be too hard on yourself. As you can see from some of the posts above, even the odd treat isn't totally off the cards.

seamist gawd do I want a caramel shortbread now...

Thank you so much for your reply Bog, that's really helped. I'm sure I will have lots more questions once I've spoken to the specialist.

It's really reassuring that I'm not alone as I feel a bit wobbly and worried right now.

I'm waiting anxiously to hear from the diabetes team today.

I haven't eaten anything yet this morning as I'm scared. Someone helpfully a page or two back listed a few breakfast ideas, if someone has a minute, could you give me a few lunch, dinner and snack ideas? Also? How many snacks I should aim for. I know everyone is different but think this could help focus my mind.

I'm visiting my DDad tonight and was thinking about testing on his spare kit...is this a good idea or should I just wait for the appt with diabetes team which will probably be next week?

Thanks

Hi Ice - firstly, don't worry - it really is fine!

It was about 2 weeks ago I did the test and they called me back in the next day - my after glucose level was 9. something. I was very shocked I had it but its actually reasonably easy to live with and a much, much healthier way of eating - people have said its much easier to lose the post baby weight if had GD as you will probably put on less weight. I do feel healthier for it - I used to eat a healthy diet but a fair amount of white carbs and cake which I have now cut out.

IMO you are best to wait to be given your kit from the midwife/diabetes team there and getting the info from then firstly. I have to finger prick test 4 times a day and record results. For the first week I had to keep a food diary and after that week had a scan to check growth, and met with diabetes nurse and doctor who were happy with my readings and to let me diet manage it at for now.

They will give you food lists and ideas so have a read of those and then its a bit of trial and error.

My typical day would be:

Brek: linseed toast and scrambled egg

Snack: one cracker with humous or cheese and ham

Lunch: wholemeal pitta with humous, cheese and stir fry veg or salad

Snack: malt loaf and butter or 2 rich tea

Dinner: chicken with moroccan sauce, load of veg ie. roasted courgettes and peppers, stir fry veg, bit of salad and small portion of basmati rice

I swim or walk every day too

You really will be fine, it is a shock to start with, but you may start to feel better without all the sugar - I did

Thank you so much seamist that's incredibly helpful. You sound very confident and as though you've taken it in your stride.

I think I will feel much better without all the sugar, I have a high bmi so feel this will be the kick to sort my diet and lifestyle out. No bigger motivation than the baby, plus it feels as though I have been given a peak into the future so I'm going to embrace that!

Thanks again

ice welcome. I agree it's a shock at first and there are a few weeks that are quite difficult while you get used to it but then you just get into a rhythm and the upside, if you have weight to lose, is you may find it just falls off - I am feeling quite trim now and think I am going to be quite a bit lighter post birth than I was before, and can carry on with the diet if I still need to lose a bit more.

Key for me was stocking up on healthy breakfasts and snacks and making sure you carry the latter with you. I have been eating loads of nuts and seeds (prefer chilli flavoured for a bit of variety but hazelnuts, cashews, pistachios are all good). At first I tried to limit fruit but that made me constipated and turned out to be unnecessary so now I eat all fruit except mango, pineapple and lychees.

For breakfast I alternate between porridge with fruit and nuts, full fat yoghurt with fruit and nuts (from the Turkish supermarket - yum) and toast with some form of protein (peanut butter if in a hurry, otherwise bacon or eggs). I think this is good for me as I had got into a bad habit of picking up something unhealthy for breakfast on the way to work, or having sugary granola at home.

Mid morning I have a snack - either oatcakes, nuts or a banana.

Lunch - If I am at home with free access to the cupboards I try and do something like tuna and bean salad or poached eggs on lentils but at work I just pick the best looking option - as long as there is protein, veg and a small portion of carbs I seem to be OK, but I avoid soup as it's a bit unpredictable, and have only one carb (beans and pulses count as a carb for this rule so no bean chilli with rice or lentil curry with naan). Another snack around 4pm (similar to the morning) In the evening I have something like meat with new potatoes (these can be roast) and veg, stir fry, curry, pasta as long as there is plenty of protein in the sauce. Most things turn out to be OK for me really as long as I get the balance of protein:veg:carb right and avoid actual sugar and also carbs on their own like crisps or popcorn. This is a bit personal though and might take a bit of experimenting to get right.

Drinks are a bit tricky. I live on water (fizzy especially) and hot drinks. Cakes in the office is a bit :-( and happens a lot at my work but I make sure I have my fruit and nuts with me so I am not tempted. Going out for drinks is a bit rubbish (even more than it was already in pregnancy) but I think you can have diet drinks, I am just not a massive fan. It's the easiest diet I have been on though because I am not hungry as long as I have my snacks on time and the baby's health is sufficient motivation to stick to it.

36 weeks now - I am still diet-controlled and despite regular blips the midwives are pleased with my blood scores and the scan shows baby is 50th percentile with only a slightly above that abdominal circumference (the one they watch). I can't use the birth centre, which is disappointing, but don't think I will need to be induced before 40+6. Dd arrived at 40+4 so fingers crossed!

Good luck everyone! Any babies imminent?

Ladies, unfortunately on the snacks I think it's usual that you would have a low reading 2 hours later as it's only a snack, not a full meal, but still not great to have lots of glucose highs and lows. It can show up in your fasting readings and longer term blood sugar blood test they do every 4 weeks or so. Don't beat yourselves up over the occasional lapse though. We're only human!

Hi guys

I had my baby girl last week, now she is in my hands.

It was long and difficult delivery, the induction didnt really worked out that great, it took 2.5 days and I got pre-eclampsia out of nowhere, she was also back to back. Ended up with ventouse.

Her sugars were measured twice and it was all good.

I started to eat lots of sweet stuff as I was drained from the birth and needed energy, I still am so honestly I do not care now, I just want to pull myself together as soon as possible so I can care of her the best way.

Had my cake yesterday.

Congratulations zahrah! Hope you feel better soon. x

Yay, congratulations Zahrah.

Ice a typical day for me:

6:30 - 8:30am Breakfast
Breakfast Recipes:
burgen linseed toast w/scrambled egg + salmon/ham/cheese
burgen linseed toast w/cottage cheese
small bowl porridge with nuts
full fat cottage cheese + cinnamon + pecans (tastes like cinnamon buns )

10:00 - 11:00 Snack
Snack ideas
Nuts: Almonds, walnuts, etc
oatcakes
cheese
few squares of green & blacks 85% dark chic
frozen berries
full fat greek yoghurt

13:00 - 14:00 Lunch
Lunch Recipes:
wholewheat pita or wrap w/ hummus + lean meat (chicken, turkey, ham etc) + baby leaf spinach, rocket etc
any of the breakfast recipes

15:30 - 17:00 Snack
(see above)

19:00 - 20:00 Dinner
protein (turkey, chicken, fish, prawn, lamb, beef etc)
complex carb (wholegrain basmati rice, sweet potato - wedges or baked, bulger wheat, chickpeas, lentils - Puy, Chana Dhal, Red Lentils, Green Lentils)
Some sauce I'll invent with toms, herbs spices etc (indian, mexican, moroccan, italian etc)

Drinks:
Sparkling Mineral Water w/slice of lemon or lime
Almond Milk
Decaff Tea
Decaff Coffee
The odd diet cola/soda when I REALLY fancy and if I've been good.

i'm cooking better food and feeling pretty good for it if I'm honest.
So much so a small part of me is almost beginning to think my GDM dx was a blessing in disguise...

hugs

Ooh pecans, I had forgotten about those! Will try and get some over the weekend. I have discovered a local hot nut shop where you can get all sorts of things like wasabi nuts. It's not cheap but I am saving money on cake.

Congrats Zahra

I know what you mean bogwoppit about being blessing in disguise - pre pregnancy i was careful with my diet and did loads of exercise... into pregnancy morning sickness and cravings turned me into mainly eating bad white carbs, ice lollies (loads of) and cake, cake, cake. Think I would have been huge and depressed if I had carried on and struggled to lose it again after

I do look forward to my daily 2 rich tea biscuits though - and i thought i hated rich tea!!

Congratulations Zahra - enjoy baby and cake :)

What were your growth scans like?

I had one at 27 weeks, a week after GD diagnosis, baby's belly is off the scale! Rest is ok around 50th centile. On my personal chart my bump is big which mw said is because of gd. Now that GD is managed should baby slim down a bit... well not slim down but belly stop growing so big?!

Next scan is 32 weeks

Congratulations Zahra! Hope the baby is doing well and you're enjoying your cake.

Thanks lurker and Bog - makes things much easier for me especially at this early stage while everything feels up in the air. I see the diabetes nurse next week, I presume I will get my monitor then?

I have a question about growth scans too seamist? How many did/will you have? I seem to have 5 booked (28, 2 x 32, 34 and 36 weeks) - I already had two booked before I found out I had GD

Will GD mean I no longer see the community MW?

Sorry, I feel a pain in the bum for all the questions!

If you had other scans booked they will probably be cancelled and replaced ie. I can't see you would have 2 scans at 32 weeks? I had scans booked pre-GD also but they changed them to fit in with days diabetes doctor and nurse are in so I see them at same time - same as you though ie 28 (although had this at 27), 32, 34 and 36.

Have you not seen someone re the diabetes yet? I had my test on the WEds morning - they phoned weds pm, I didn't get message til late, phoned back Thurs morning and they wanted me in the same day to get the kit and go through everything, with a scan and meeting diabetes doc and nurse a week later. Do you have an appt booked to see diabetes nurse? I still see community midwife = a lot of appointments!

Have posted this on the main board as a separate thread too - hope that's allowed!!

Was diagnosed with GD at 26 weeks - diet controlled for a few weeks, then Metformin which I had a terrible reaction to (couldn't keep anything down for a week and got multiple infections within days of starting it) so moved over to insulin - initially Levemir in the evenings at 2 units which has been gradually titrated up to 12 units to keep things under control and last week diabetes midwife added 2 units of Novorapid with meals (which has worked well although I have titrated up to 3 in the last few days as it was still a little higher than ideal and now seems about right). I have a growth scan tomorrow and am wondering whether it's likely that they will give me an induction date/week - I have been told that in an ideal scenario (which, given the above, I am clearly not!) I would be induced at 40 weeks but no idea what the other options/outcomes are likely to be. At the last scan (about a month ago) baby was measuring more or less exactly 50th percentile on all measurements (including torso) and liquor was also normal so I am hopeful that all of this isn't affecting her too much. Any ideas from any GD ladies/midwives? I am at St Mary's, Manchester, if that helps.

Hi All I'm 15 weeks today with my 2nd. DD1 is approaching 14 year old but was a 'big' baby 9lb 6 at 39 weeks elec c section due to size. I'm now classed as high risk due to that experience, my weight (although was bigger 14 years since) and age.. 40 I'm having shared care and reg BP checks due to me having pre-eclampsia last time and they have said I will need a glucose test. Am totally coolio with that having it approx 26 weeks but what are the symptoms of GD? Looked on line and says no symptoms? Surely you must feel/notice something? Thanks if you can advise xx

Welcome purple and empem.

purple I am diet-controlled so not entirely sure what the procedure is for insulin but I was told they would induce me at 38 weeks if my scans showed the baby was big and I was on medication and 40+6 if I was diet-controlled and scans were normal. They were less clear about the intermediate scenarios but I think the new NICE guidelines say the scans are the most important factor, not whether you are on insulin. What would your preference be? They should take that into account.

empem - Normally you wouldn't have the GTT until 26 weeksish which is when the glucose levels become harder to control. If you've had diabetes in a previous pregnancy or any symptoms they might test sooner. Symptoms would include high levels of glucose in your urine, extreme thirst, tiredness (though obviously that could be lots of things). I didn't knowingly have any but after I was diagnosed (at 27 weeks) and started the low glucose diet I noticed that my eye infections (blephartitis), mouth ulcers and dark urine all cleared up and have not returned so I think in retrospect those were symptoms but I don't think you'd necessarily have them.

Hi all - update: scans went well - 75th percentile on abdo measurement, about 50th for legs and head - consultant said they were comfortable with baby staying put until about 39 weeks - she said 40 would be better but DP and I are both very tall and looking at a 9lb baby by 39 weeks and she said it was more for my benefit/less likelihood of tears/episiotomy/EMCS than because of the GD. So am now booked for a sweep at 38+5 and - if that doesn't get things moving - induction at 39+2. Consultant tells me that they will aim for me not to have to be on insulin drip in the labour so I can be active but if test strips show highs (unlikely since I won't be eating once in labour!) then they may have to. Other than testing, though, and having to be induced and in hospital (hospital was my preference anyway) I anticipating a fairly "normal" labour. She even said I could have the pool if it's free and I want to (I don't particularly).

I am nearly as excited by the salted caramel brownie I am planning on eating post-delivery as I am about meeting my little girl!!