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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

Gestational diabetes support thread

859 replies

NoRoomForALittleOne · 29/01/2015 18:12

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...

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

OldBloodCallsToOldBlood · 09/08/2015 13:43

No, I haven't. Good idea, I'll pick some up.

scarednoob · 09/08/2015 15:23

I had a packet this morning (a mini packet within a packet I mean!) and houmous, reading of 5.0 after an hour so they might work for you!

PosterEh · 09/08/2015 15:34

Yes what oldblood said. You can't get hypos on metformin. Even life long diabetics find managing their insulin difficult whilst pregnant so it can be tricky for newbies to get the level right. I had to test a lot more especially before driving etc. I did have some pretty scary hypos (mainly at night). Also, I over treated the hypos because they scared me and so my blood sugars veered from low to high.

quesadillas · 09/08/2015 15:51

Does anybody know if having a cold can increase your blood sugar readings? I'm wondering if that's the reason for my high readings the last few days.

frangipani13 · 09/08/2015 19:38

Depends on what you're taking for it?? I found vicks steaming worked absolute wonders when I was suffering last week. I'm on four metformin a day and readings have come right down so praying they don't want to put me on insulin this week

PosterEh · 09/08/2015 20:54

I think illness can increase your blood sugar levels quesa.

quesadillas · 09/08/2015 20:56

I'm taking nothing for it. Had a couple of paracetamol yesterday. No high readings until this week, and now I've had two. I'm hoping it's explained by the illness and there won't be talk of insulin or anything.

scarednoob · 09/08/2015 21:01

I was wondering the same thing. I braved fish and (a handful of) chips last night, reading was fine. But then I was very very sick in the night, think it was just too greasy for me after a month of super healthy food! Anyway lunch today was a kale and chickpea salad with red cabbage, a bit of haloumi and one small piece of granary bread. Reading of 8.0! I'm wondering if being a bit poorly/dehydrated affected it, or if bread is now just a total no-no.

I know it's not for long and I'd do a million times worse for the baby, but man it sucks when your partner is tucking into a burger and skin-on fries and treacle tart!!!

OldBloodCallsToOldBlood · 09/08/2015 21:35

Dehydration will definitely not be helping. I was thoroughly told off for my awful fluid intake and that it can make your sugars much higher if you're dehydrated.

I definitely can't do bread at breakfast any more, but it seems to be fine at other times of the day as long as it falls within 40-50g carb allowance per meal and I mix it with fat/protein.

We went out for the afternoon and I had a panini in Starbucks - readings all fine. Tea was at Pizza Express and I had one of the Leggera pizzas (the ones with a hole filled with salad) that was within 40-50g carb - all fine again! I'm hopeful now that I might be managing enough on diet alone to avoid insulin, but I'm also wondering if the metformin is lingering. I took my last dose at midday on Friday.

PosterEh · 09/08/2015 21:45

I always got high readings from chickpeas (falafel and hummus) scared.

LadyStark · 10/08/2015 12:08

Hello all,

I had a borderline result, 4.2 fasting and then 7.8 after glucose drink/two hours. I am seeing the diabetes clinic on Friday afternoon and they would like me to do two weeks of testing my blood to see if I have it.

Couple of questions, does the blood monitoring hurt?

Secondly, the midwife said carry on as normal, I am nervous about doing this if it might mean sustained high blood sugar levels. Have any of you been in this situation?

This is my second pregnancy but had no problem last time so in the dark a little. Thanks in advance .

cheezypeas · 10/08/2015 12:14

Hi Ladystark, I had almost exactly same results 4.6 and 7.8. I was given all clear and not asked back for any monitoring or follow up but like you am a bit concerned and wary now about my blood sugars .

Probably not much help but just thought I'd let you know I'm I the same boat!

PosterEh · 10/08/2015 12:16

lady it sounds like your body is still doing ok with glucose so don't worry about sugar levels in the short term.
The blood monitoring can be a bit ouch but you get used to it. Try to use the smallest size you can get away with on the pricky thing (forgotten it's name). Drinking plenty of water and washing hands in warm water first to get blood flowing helps.

scarednoob · 10/08/2015 12:26

and me - I was 4.4 and 7.6 and told to treat myself as if I have it. not to worry you if you get conflicting advice; I think this is because I'd already had a growth scan at 27 weeks and the baby's abdomen was just below the 95th centile when everything else was almost bang on 50th, plus slightly high amniotic fluid, so they thought if I didn't have it on the day of testing, it was only just around the corner.

I started with the obvious stuff immediately, ie cut out all forms of chocolate, biscuit, cake, soft drinks, until I could see the dietician, and then followed her advice when I got to see her. I figured that it couldn't do any harm to cut out crap foods, whether I had it or not! so if your normal includes some treats, you could cut those without much difficulty, but if you're already a very healthy eater, then you can just do as you are told and they will check you again at your next appointment.

scarednoob · 10/08/2015 12:27

the blood monitoring really doesn't hurt very much; it's a tiny sting. BUT it's very counter-intuitive to stick yourself with a needle. I dithered about for ages the first time I had to do it! got used to it within about 2 readings. you'll be fine with that part.

it's the frustration of readings being fine after something you thought would be a problem and sky-high after something you thought would be healthy that is annoying!

PosterEh · 10/08/2015 12:46

I think the reason they've asked you to carry on as normal for the next two weeks is so they can see how your body reacts to treats though so don't cut them out. They need to see how you react to a range of food, not just low gi diet.

LadyStark · 10/08/2015 13:55

Thanks so much all, interesting scared and cheezy that you have similar blood results have had different advice, it does seem to vary depending on your PCT from what I have gathered online so far.

I tend to eat ok but do like a treat a day, dark chocolate, a pudding etc. It won't hurt to lay off the treats for the next few days and if they want to see how my blood responds when I do eat them I can always include a few when I do the monitoring (probably be gagging for something by then!) - it makes sense to see the full spectrum of foods. Do you usually keep a food diary in conjunction with bloods?

I have a growth scan booked for 21st of this month when I will be 30 weeks, scans so far have been fine and DD was 7lb13 at 41+3 so will be interested to see next scan. I am very tired but they thought my iron levels were low too so that could be anaemia or GD I suppose.

PosterEh · 10/08/2015 14:05

Yes keep a food diary once testing so you can see what is affecting your blood sugars. Everyone gets a bit insulin resistant during pregnancy so it's just a case of where do they draw the line.

ShiftyDisco · 10/08/2015 19:08

Hi Lady and Cheezy, your results are very similar to mine I was 4.4/7.8 which was enough to diagnose me with GD where I am.

I'm glad I was diagnosed really as I seem to be able to tolerate very little carb and was having to exercise after every meal to keep my 1 hour levels below 7.5, so 3 weeks in I've just gone onto Metformin. I dread to think what my levels would be like if I'd come in just under the 7.8 threshold.

I was also fine in my previous pregnancy with results of 4.4/4.6 so skipped out of the GTT this time assuming all would be well! It seems the family history of diabetes has finally caught me..

cheezypeas · 10/08/2015 19:24

It's strange isn't it how diagnosis can vary in different areas? I'm desperate to avoid any problems really as I want a water birth which is only for low risk pregnancies. Trying hard to modify my diet to keep things at bay...

scarednoob · 10/08/2015 19:40

I think it's difficult because on the one hand of course postereh is right, they need to see how you are affected. but on the other hand, the thought of rampant blood sugar raging around unchecked for days at a time is quite scary if your appointment is days/weeks away!

thewebbleyjess · 10/08/2015 21:05

Scarednoob - I'd deal with OH tucking into treacle tart by tipping it on his (?) head! Makes me realise how lucky I am that my OH has been SO supportive! (Time for a big bunch of flowers I think!)

Lady / Cheezy - it's so hard to balance wanting to get potentially necessary support (monitoring/ drugs!) with not wanting to be diagnosed as high risk, isn't it?! I'm sort of glad that I I didn't have a clue about a lot of this at the start otherwise I'd have worried a lot more!!

scarednoob · 10/08/2015 21:24

Haha! My poor OH, I've really misrepresented him there! He's given up all sorts and spends hours cooking me stuff I can have. I insisted on the treacle tart as he'd been so good all week.

But I still wanted to make him wear it out of sheer rage at my pancreas!

Belxan5 · 10/08/2015 21:54

Hi! I'm new to this thread as just failed my GTT- gutted! Was planning a home birth but guess that's out of the question now? Feeling a bit unsupported by the hospital as after having had to chase up the results myself I've now just been given the meter and left to my own devices for next 2 weeks.... Should I be seeing a dietitian? Post meal measurements- is that an hr after starting or finishing?! Some of you are talking about grams of carbs- how do you work out how many grams of carbs there are? Thanks!

Belxan5 · 10/08/2015 22:00

Oh & I've got a contour next meter- the manual says something about using a control solution when you set it up but it didn't seem to come with any contol liquid.... Anyone know? Thx

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