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...

Scan sounds good purple. Did your earlier scan have same sort of measurements? My 27 week scan abdominal was off the scale :(

I have had few morning readings that are just over - they phoned me on thursday and said if any more over readings from fasting over weekend then will go into clinic next week for meds. YEsterday was 4.8 - woohoo, today 5.9 :( :( :( though I did have some aero bubbles last night (my 'partner' had been so nasty to me yesterday needed to cheer myself up) - I took reading one hour after chocolate which was 7.0 so thought I was okay.

Anyway, pre pregnancy I had IBS so understand that metaformin (sp?) could be a problem. At 30 weeks I really don't want to go on insulin and start injecting myself - not sure i can cope as have bad anxiety as it is :(

My first scan post GD diagnosis was measuring about 85% across the board (i.e. big, but probably not because of the GD), then normalised down to 50% now back up again slightly - so can't really be much help telling you whether you could expect to see that abdo measurement to go back in line with everything else, sorry.

I have had high morning readings throughout - very rarely below 5.6 - apparently that's very characteristic of GD in particular - the body just doesn't produce insulin overnight - but not massively concerning if your readings for the rest of the day are relatively normal, according to me consultant anyway. See how you get on with metformin - some people are fine, some have a few days of nausea and then settle down - I just happened to have a very extreme reaction - just one of those things - I am famous in my family for having an iron stomach so who knows why it affected me so badly- you'll almost definitely be fine. And if you're not the insulin is really not a bother - they'll start you on one injection a day, it's dead easy to do and hardly hurts at all - sometimes I don't even feel the needle. East to say but try not to worry :)

Snacks for labour/on ward - any thoughts? I keep reading that I should pack some in my bag but they seem to be suggesting energy (i.e. sugar) bars. Ideas for something packable/portable but low carb? Except rice cakes - can't stand em!!

Thanks purple my daytime readings pretty much all fine, occasional blip. Will just have to see what next few mornings bring with fasting readings, today was good again at 4.9 so here's hoping.

Snacks for labour.. hmm pistachio nuts (or whichever variety you prefer), rich tea biscuits (okay according to my dietician!), also I notice they said Alpen-light bars are okay, not tried one though, hmm not easy is it!

4.9 is very good - I've never had one that low so you're obviously doing something right!

Pistachios is a great suggestion - will look at the Alpen light too.

Hello

Final growth scan today - all looking good on 50th percentile except tummy which is veering off the curve a bit but still around 75th percentile so they're not worried. Induction booked for 4 June at 40+5 - hopefully I won't need it but dd1 didn't arrive until 40+5 so it's touch and go. Will probably start having sweeps from next week or the week after though so will see if they have any effect.

I was going to ask the same about snacks. I was thinking fruit also but can't stick that in my bag in advance. Will probably have to be more nuts and oatcakes/peanut butter. Slightly sick of the sight of them but hey ho.

Am on maternity leave now! Dd is at nursery till 3:30 so although today has mostly been spent at the hospital I am having a rare rest.

My fasting readings have all been low - 4.6-4.9 normally and never above 5.2. Breakfast also always fine - lunch and dinner a teeny bit less predictable but generally OK, especially now at 37 weeks, I seem to be able to eat more or less normally - am just avoiding sugar and fruit juice. So with scans being fine, fluid being fine, bloods being "perfectly controlled" with diet, and long-term blood sugar at 4.7 I feel like I am actually in a pretty low-risk category and am getting a bit annoyed about the blanket refusal to allow me to use the MLU. Consultant didn't seem to think it'd be a problem but they have their own admissions criteria and he can't influence them. Is not important in the grand scheme of things I know and the me of a year ago, after 3 pregnancy losses and wondering if I'd ever have a healthy second pregnancy, would be wanting to slap me, but it's just a bit frustrating to keep being told there's nothing of concern but I am still treated as high risk.

I'd be annoyed by that, too. What were your readings like on the GTT?

Longest - good news re scan. I understand why you must feel frustrated - though from someone who had a emergency c-section when everything went tits up last time (when i was low/normal risk) i would always err on side of caution and hospital feels like a safer place to me.

Your readings are great - are you on meds, I can't remember?

Thanks both. My fasting reading and the 2 hour reading on the gtt were fine but the 1 hour reading, which not all hospitals do, was quite high at 13 (meant to be under 10). I am not on meds, no.

Yes, don't think I would be brave enough for a home birth but mlu is in the hospital, just below Labour ward. Oh well.

Oh thats a bit crap then if you are in the hospital already. Our MLU is several miles away from the hospital (on very busy roads) and I know of one lady who died as they couldn't get her to hospital in time when things went wrong..... but downstairs can't see why they won't allow it. Maybe the more experienced midwifes etc upstairs? Does seem strange. You could always challenge the policy if you felt that strongly but might be better for your health to just relax and go with the flow :)

Yeah, that is high - was going to suggest you were misdiagnosed otherwise - weird, really - my GTT readings were 6.0, 9.5 and 6.5 and I was diagnosed on the basis of the fasting reading indicating that I wasn't processing sugar overnight but fine during the day, which seems to be the opposite of what yours say but I now seem to have much higher readings than you...no fair all round, basically, silly bodies.

Our MLU is the floor above the labour ward too. Frustrating, knowing it's so close.

I think it might be because you have to have 1:1 midwife care which they can't offer on mlu. But it still seems a bit silly that you're suddenly in this rigid system after one test result - especially as in other circumstances I might never have been diagnosed. Never mind. It's only a very small part of this whole journey really.

I am seeing the diabetes team at the hospital on Friday and just wondering if I will be put on metformin or insulin, I have had 8.5 reading every day for 6 days now sometimes after breakfast, sometimes after dinner and sometimes after tea. Will they start to medicate me if it's just 1 high reading a day?

I honestly don't know mummy. I have had approx 2 high readings per fortnight and they have not been worried but one per day might mean they try metformin if you can't see a reason for it.

Hello ladies. I had a call yesterday from the hospital, to tell me that I tested positive for GD in my GTT test. I wasn't given all of the figures over the phone but she said my fasting result was fine, but 2 hr was 8 vs 7.8 threshold, which she described as borderline.
I've been asked to go in on Monday to learn how to test blood sugar, see a dietician and have a growth scan; i'll be 29+6.
In the mean time I've started to read through this thread but only got a 1/3 of the way so far; i'll try and catch up over the weekend. I've been looking on the internet for diet plans and wondered if my food choices for today sound ok:
Breakfast - oats with semi-skimmed milk (I'm overweight so the nhs sheet I found said ss was best), and a small amount of ruby grapefruit segments (juice rather than syrup).
Lunch - prawn salad, 2 oat crackers and a weight watchers yoghurt.
Snacks - apple mid morning, small banana mid afternoon.
I haven't really planned dinner yet.

Welcome ohlordy. It's a bit rubbish being diagnosed but you'll soon get into the swing of things and it becomes easier when you see the benefits (I have lost weight and various health niggles have cleared up). Your food choices sound good but maybe lacking in a bit of protein. You might get hungry with just fruit for snacks so I would invest in some nuts and seeds (these are useful to sprinkle in your porridge too) and maybe switch one snack to something like cheese on oatcake.

For dinner, key for me has been portion size (hence needing a substantial snack) andcrestricting carbs to no more than 1/4 to 1/3 of a plate, with the rest protein and veg. This for me has been more important than exactly what I eat, but watch out for beans and pulses. These are low gi but if i have them in addition to rice or potatoes they tip me over.

Good luck and don't be afraid to do a bit of experimenting.

Thanks longest. I've been to get some mixed nuts, baby bells and milled seed mix. Made a turkey curry with brown rice last night and had scrambled egg with tomatoes and oat crackers today for lunch.

I just wanted to come back and say a huge thanks to the posters who gave me excellent advice and reassurance when I was diagnosed the other week.

I had a growth scan on Wednesday (28 weeks) and the baby is sat just under the 50th centile. I have to keep my bloods below 5.3 for fasting and 7.8 1 hour after meals, so far all my readings have been under so I'm hoping I can keep this up and stay diet controlled for as long as possible.

Meal planning isn't quite as simple and although I'm craving sweet things, I manage with a small bowl of strawberries and some double cream.

Just had my GTT today at 20 weeks due to previous GD. I should get results tomorrow. I hate the test though, so half of me is hoping it's positive so I don't have to do it again. They're convinced I'll be diabetic again, so it might as well just start now!

I'm having my test on Friday. Not looking forward to it! Does anyone know how quickly you normally get the results?

I got mine the next day this time, after five days last time. Unfortunately the quicker result meant that I had to alter my diet sooner. I was hoping for a few more days to wean myself off the sugar!

I had my test at 9.30am - had a call late afternoon same day to say results showed GD and to go back in the next day.

So thought I would give those being newly diagnosed some positives: yeah, GD is an absolute pain but 6 weeks in I am used to it, and I have not put on any weight in the last 6 weeks despite being currently 32 weeks pregnant, I even lost a half kilo to start (had normal BMI pre pregnancy). Its a much healthier diet than I was doing.... I had developed a real cake fetish!!! So I guess I am healthier, and will lose pregnancy weight quicker. That's what I remind myself when the others are having Ben and Jerrys and I can't have any! Having said that I brought diabetic ice cream and its really quite nice.

I second seamis. My ds is 9 weeks old now and I got back to my pre-pregnancy weight 2 weeks ago. (With dd it took over 3 months as I had gained more weight.)

I also felt really good on a low gi and lower carb diet and had less low sugar moments. Since giving birth I had a bit of a rebellion and ate loads of sugar but now trying to get back into eating more protein and fat and less high gi carbs.

Just registered a little GD bonus (all about seeing the bright side!) - baby being monitored for glucose after feeds for 24 hours means I will know if she's feeding properly - had serious worries about how I will know before my milk comes in, since it's such a small amount at first and when I asked midwife she said "you won't" - but now I will!

Had my test today - drink was absolutely disgusting and I really thought I was going to bring it all back up but I didn't and now just to wait for results. They said I should get a call Monday.