gestational diabetes blood sugar monitoring question

[Spotsondots]

I've recently been diagnosed with GD and have been issued my testing kit today. The nurse said I should test my sugars first thing, then one hour after each meal. Is this one hour after I start eating or one hour after I finish? Does anyone know? TIA.

I got told after I have finished eating, Got given my kit on the 30th of Jan, have you had any diet advice as I havent and am a little confused about it.

Diet wise I found being careful of carbs was as important as 'sugar'. So most of a meal would be veg, plenty of protein, little bit of carbs.
Look for any low gi diets/ foods- these have lowest spike in blood sugar.
Be kind to yourself- sometimes your body needs help doing the amazing job of growing a baby.

It varies by hospital trust I think, some trusts say 1 hour, some 2 etc. So best to check with your midwife, I don't think it's a stupid question.

Thanks itbeeps, I'll do that then. I was given a leaflet today with some dietary advice in it but not seeing the dietitian for another couple of weeks. I was looking on the Diabetes UK website and there seemed to be some good articles on there. As far as I can see it involves following a balanced diet which isn't too high in sugar and swapping refined carbs for less refined carbs. So less cake (sad sad times) and white bread, substitute for seeded bread, wholewheat pasta and brown rice instead of white varieties, plenty of veg, lean protein.

One hour after. It's to check that your body manages to bring insulin back into the 'normal' range within the hour.
My consultant said I could do one hour or two hours after as long as I was consistent. If you get an abnormal reading after an hour, you should do another one after another hour.,

The dietary advice I got was just basic healthy eating. Granary bread, brown rice and pasta, not too much fruit, not too many sweets/biscuits etc. This is quite outdated advice in diabetes management but (2 years ago) was the current advice.

Are you on medication or just diet controlled op?

Thanks penguin and cantchoose.

I'll double check tomorrow re my local guidelines. Was just eating dinner and pondering when I should actually test!

Just diet controlled at the moment, although my diet is quite similar to what's recommended in the leaflet I was given so not sure what that means for me.

It's an hour after you start eating. I had it in both pregnancies. There's a Facebook group called gestational diabetes Uk and corresponding website. Both are worth a look. A previous poster is right though, watch your carbs. It's not just about cutting out chocolate. The diet it advocates is very similar to LCHF (low carb, high fat), so you might need to re programme yourself for a while. Some NHS advice can be outdated e.g. They advise you to follow the 'healthy plate' which advises you eat a good amount of carbs including cereal for breakfast. The reality is that this is the worst kind of advice because cereal (even a low sugar one like weetabix) will raise your blood sugar to crazy levels. Sorry I'm rambling! Do check out those websites, they are helpful, if a little overwhelming at first.

Thanks Normandy. That's really useful. I'll check those out. The nurse did say that I might find some carbs don't agree with me sugar wise and I may need to watch them. She mentioned eating eggs for breakfast, for example so hopefully fairly up to date advice. I do this already and am not really a carb monster so I guess I will have to wait and see what happens. Thanks again for the links.

I found I couldn't eat potatoes they sent my sugars sky high, weirdly worse than cake.
Luckly I developed a taste for brown rice & bread which I've kept post pregnancy.
I found it was trickier than I thought because I usually have a very potato & pasta heavy diet but I just about mastered it out by the time I had the baby and got rid of the GD!
Mine was never diet controlled and I ended up on insulin but that's due to other Meds I take for other conditions which affected it.
I don't have a sweet tooth usually but by the end of pregnancy I craved a doughnut - I think it's because they were forbidden.

I found bran flakes would send my sugars sky high all day, and that was recommended as breakfast.
Low GI principles are best as pp said because you're trying to avoid spikes in your blood sugars.

I was told one hour after finishing a meal, apparently that's when your blood sugars will be highest...

Yep eggs for breakfast is good advice. Your midwife may well be up to date in her thinking, sadly not all are and they peddle the shredded wheat for breakfast line. I also used to have full fat Greek yoghurt with nuts/seeds and a tiny handful of berries for breakfast. Breakfast is the hardest meal of the day so sometimes just fat and protein is the only option. Also be aware that your tolerance levels can change as your pregnancy progresses and baby places more demands on your body. So one week you might be ok with a small portion of wholemeal pasta and the next week not so much.

I used to eat loads of cheese. Any excuse! My nightly snack (a bedtime snack is a good idea) of cheese and a couple of Nairns oatcakes was a nice treat.

so far I have found it has been a combination of things or over eating certain things that have caused my levels to go up. And grapes I dont think they agree with me much at the moment

Id love some diet tips...been looking on Pinterest.

I found testing 1 hour after food was unrealistic for me with a young baby, it just wasn't accurate so they have changed me to 2 hour testing but have moved the parameters, so now my target it 6.4 post meals...

Yep, I'm a Greek yogurt breakfast fan too, Normandy! Might need to scale back on the huge pile of fruit I usually pair it up with though and go for more nuts and seeds... good news about the Kate night cheese snack, I'll keep that in mind. Why is a late evening snack a good idea out of interest?

I've been diagnosed a few weeks now. I have email contact with my diabetes specialist midwife a couple of times a week. Started diet controlled only- but my fasting sugars are too high still, so started with metformin, and then on insulin now. I have found that large protein and veg portions, combined with small low GI carbs to work best for me.
Breakfast is hard- eggs with cheese or full fat Greek yogurt with berries seems ok at the moment.
Lunch has been pulse based protein, and dinner meat or fish based. Can have a small portion of rice/sweet potato/ new potatoes (eg 3) or pasta with it.
I can't tolerate any bread or fruit juice. Apples and satsumas and berries are ok atm

it beeps I'm a bit dubious about what the mango I ate after my supper will do to my sugar reading! I'll find out in a minute when I test I guess!

I was told to test 1 hour after finishing my meal btw.
And I'm all of a sudden starving (lost weight due to hyperemesis ) so having a handful of nuts/ veg sticks with hummus /apple and cheese as a snack twice a day too.
I've found a couple of squares of quality dark chocolate is ok with my evening meal- but not on its own.

Teacakes. That's what kept me going! I found fruit hard to manage as I instinctively wanted to eat lots of fruit but it can be quite high sugar. You will find your way, with trial and error. The first weekend was the worst - we were away for the weekend and wanted picnic stuff. I remember being in Waitrose, looking at all the lovely things I couldn't have, sobbing ... Seems silly now!! It did get much easier and I'm sure I was healthier for it. Had GD with both my pregnancies, now have an annual blood test to check for diabetes (and try to eat well and keep fit to stave it off...) Good luck!

Yup an hour after you've finished here. I started monitoring yesterday, I'm carb sensitive anyway as I used to low carb and have experience in monitoring! Bloody carbs! Although I'm ok with local seeded bread and brown rice. Potatoes are out for me

I've been eating really well this pregnancy so I've not had to make many changes, other than potatoes :(

I've been having avocado on seeded bread with 2 poached eggs for breakfast and amazed that my levels have been ideal. I find breakfast the hardest meal to get right

Late night snack is good to keep your levels steady. Eating regularly is important. So a long time without food can muck up your levels. A snack before bed just helps to avoid a high fasting reading before breakfast in the morning.

Fruit can be tricky. Berries are usually fine (especially with double cream!!) tropical fruits are tough to tolerate so the mango might be a no go. Same goes for melon and pineapple I'm afraid.

yoghurt banana and nuts/seeds. or really grainy multi grain bread with peanut butter is working for my breakfast, scrambled eggs with the toast, also works for me. Its evening meals/lunches i am struggling with

Ooo yes fruit doesn't mess with mine a fair bit so I tend to avoid much of it. I can do apples because the skin balances that out.

Really is about experimenting and seeing what works for you

Carrots are good. They taste relatively sweet but are low in natural sugars.

It's the carbohydrate content in foods, not just sugar that's the problem.

If you do end up insulin controlled, the calculations are based on total carbohydrate content.