Gestational Diabetes

[clairehr]

Hi all,

I'm 28 weeks and have just been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Currently awaiting first appointment, but isn't until next week.

Just looking for words of wisdom/support/advice from anyone who has been in the situation 😊

Hi @clairehr, I've got GD at the moment. I imagine you're pretty upset and pissed off right now.

My GD is considered boarderline, it's controlled through diet and doesn't require medication. I follow a high protein, low sugar, high fat, complex carbs only diet. It's not the advice normally given by the NHS, but it's working really well for me given that I've never had a blood sugar reading over 7 and the doctors don't want to see me for another month.

This is a great resource for figuring out what to do next gestationaldiabetes.co.uk

Once you've seen the mw team or the doctor (depending on your PCT) you'll be asked to check your blood sugars 4x a day. You're aiming to keep them as steady as possible between 4 and 7.8, the best way to do this is to eat regularly, three meals and three snacks a day. You also need to read up on food pairing and slow release complex carbs.

There is also a good Facebook group for support - I had GD in my last pregnancy so I'm expecting to get it again this time.

Good luck, take it one day at a time xx

Thank you ladies! Will get a bit of reading done before my appointment next week. Mine isn't borderline so not sure whether they will put me on Metformin or something straight away or whether I'll be able to try diet controlled first.

You can change your diet right away which makes an immediate difference. I was knocked sideways at the GD diagnosis (also at 28 weeks) but now see it as a blessing in disguise. I cleaned up my eating habits so much in the third trimester and feel healthier and more energetic than any other point in the pregnancy.

Start by doing one huge shop containing only low-carb foods, especially those that you already like to eat (eg. cheddar, bacon, chicken, avocados, nuts, eggs). You can also look online for keto & paleo diet recipes. Traditional diabetes recipes are quite lenient with wholegrain, but I found it much easier to cut out carbs & sugar completely.

Some of my typical meals look like this:

• Scrambled eggs with cheddar, bacon, 1 fried tomato or mashed up avocado
• Bolognese with zucchini noodles (get a spiralizer :D)
• Omelette with bolognese sauce & cheddar on top
• Pan fried chicken with guacamole & cheddar
• Turkey steak with broccoli
• Salmon on wilted spinach baked over with cheese
• Chicken caesar salad (no croutons)
• Mixed salad with balsamic dressing
• Filet steak med-well with grilled veg & loads of butter
• Roast duck breast with red cabbage
• Paleo bacon cheeseburger (many burger places do low carb versions where they might add another patty and replace the bun with a salad leaf & tomato slice)

Snacks/Treats:

• One square of 85% dark chocolate
• One apple / sometimes with peanut butter or cheddar
• Almonds or mixed nuts
• 3 thin wholegrain biscuits spread with cream cheese
• Tomato slices baked with mozzarella with olive oil & oregano
• 2 small sausages with mustard or mayo
• Tomato soup with melted parmesan cheese

Drink

• Still mineral water (sparkling can make bloating or heartburn worse in third trimester)

Hope this helps and good luck!! Mine was quickly controlled with diet, so after 2 weeks they told me I don't need to test 4x a day. Now (at 34 weeks) I only test sporadically such as after eating new meals in a restaurant or other people's homes.

@Pomfluff Thank you SO much, this is incredibly helpful! I've done an online shop this evening full of low carb, high protein, low sugar foods. Hoping that I can get a grip on it. Fasting bloods were fine, but 2 hour bloods very high, so got some work to do I think 😊

Thanks to all above. Had first meeting today, and got my test kit, and have two appointments over the next two weeks.

First reading 4.6, second 8.3 after lunch, dinner 6.7 so don't think that's too bad for starters 😊

It is manageable! I had GD and was takjng metformin and injecting insulin. I had an ELCS a week ago. Baby was measuring big at 32 and 36 weeks. Eventually came out at 10lb 3 at 39 weeks!

Post delivery blood sugars for baby can be an issue so just be aware of that.

I'm sure you'll do fine. Your morning reading is great. I could never get below 5.8 whatever I did.

@orangejuicer Oh wow! Congratulations! Hope you're both doing well?!

Reading this morning was 5.7 so I'm not sure what's gone on there! It's like a mine field trying to figure out what works!

Baby hasn't yet been measured, said they won't do that until 14th December, so another couple of weeks, just hoping I can at least start to get it under control by then!

Definitely do what you can to control it now. I wasn't particularly disciplined but we still got through it. Your levels will fluctuate nearer to your due date, just do what you can and trust your instincts.

We are both ok thanks - if a bit shell shocked!

Congratulations @orangejuicer.

@clairehr Keep a food diary (at least to start with) so you can identify what's causing the spikes. Mine seem to be bread (although my highest reading has been 7.3). Multigrain wraps seem ok however.

Today's food looks like this for me
B- cubes of frittata with cheese (Tesco sell ready made ones. This is particularly useful as I eat breakfast at work)
S- small bunch of green grapes with cheddar
L- wholemeal spaghetti and Bolognese sauce
S- carrot sticks with humous
D- sausages with mashed sweet potato

I think the being organised and prepared is the thing I find most wearing about all of this. Yesterday's readings were 4.9 fasting 5.4 after breakfast, 6.1 after lunch and 6.2 after dinner.

I'm 37 weeks now, diagnosed at 30, a lot of the NHS advice didn't work for me, eg porridge, cereal, yoghurt etc was a complete no go. I have been following high lean protein, low GI/complex carbs only , lots of veg especially green veg, some healthier fats but nothing too fatty as weight gain can make it worse. Consultant said I'd likely need insulin but I've diet managed and had lowest dose of Metformin in the evening just to manage fasting levels which were slightly over the 5.3 limit. Saw her again today and she was impressed that I'd managed without. I've been ruthlessly strict with the diet though, a friend of my SIL hasn't and her numbers are all over the place and they've just put her on insulin. I also gave up cow's milk and switched to blue diamond almond breeze milk (it's lowest carb and has added calcium) , didn't realise
before but lactose is a natural sugar!

@MrsStrowman That's fantastic!

It's a bit hit and miss with me right now, I was told porridge was ok by nurse yesterday, so had that this morning and my reading was waaaay too high. Do you have a couple of samples of what you eat for each meal just to give me an idea?

Have you had a look at the www.gestationaldiabetes.co.uk website? There are meal plan ideas on there.

Breakfast has been hardest but eggs are good so two slices of wholegrain or granary toast with two eggs poached or scramble, sometimes I have grilled cherry tomatoes or mushrooms with it. For a quick breakfast I've found wholemeal toast with wholenut no added sugar peanut butter (fairly thickly spread) and a small glass of almond milk. Baby Bel lights have been a good snack, or plain unsalted nuts, dinners everything from scratch no jarred sauces etc. Brown rice has been good for me, last night I just did a one pan rice dish, onions, mushrooms, peppers, chopped asparagus and tenderstem broccoli, some marinaded chicken breast (olive oil chillis, garlic and some spices) chopped into chunks all gently fried with a teaspoon of olive oil then threw in a pouch of wholegrain rice near the end, DH and I shared it. I also make kedgeree with brown rice, or chicken and vegetable stew, Bolognese with lots of veg and Turkey mince with a small amount of wholewheat spaghetti, piece of salmon with a few new potatoes (must have skin on) peas and broccoli or asparagus etc. They said to me 40g carbs for breakfast and lunch up to 50g for dinner and up to two 10 g of carbs snacks, you're looking at the but that says carbohydrates rather than the over all weight, I tend to go under with pasta, rice, potatoes as there are some carbs in the veg. I don't always have the snacks and every carb I eat is a complex one

Thank you so much both!

Fab advice!

I will have a look at the website too. It appears I can't tolerate bread or porridge so I think breakfast is going to be my hardest meal too. Will stock up on eggs!

I found it so so difficult in the mornings. I can't tolerate much bread or cereal but have found the seeded warburton thins are great for my numbers. I normally toast them, spread philly, spinach and poach a couple of eggs.

Be slightly wary of hospital GD advice, they basically said all wholegrain was ok but that doesn't work well for most people! It also depends on the food combinations. You can usually tolerate more carbs when mixed with lots of protein. For instance I tried having a wholegrain ham & cheese toastie a few weeks back and got a huge spike, however eating the same bread roll with scrambled eggs produces totally normal numbers. Porridge is probably not ideal because it gets absorbed on an empty stomach and you're unlikely to pair with savoury stuff like eggs, meat or sausages.

Another thing that really helps is exercise. Just going for a 20min walk within 2 hours after eating can burn off loads of glucose. So save up errands/supermarket shops/appointments to do after meals!

Lastly, home testing machines are not always accurate. You can actually get readings that are +/- 0.6 mmols apart by testing on different fingers at the same time. I have to admit I've "cheated" a few times by testing on both hands (same lancet) and then taking the lower reading. This uses up your strips quite quickly so only do it if you're allowed to skip testing slots!

Yes as @MrsStrowman said, cooking from scratch is the key here.

Small amounts of carbs. Brown rice, wholemeal pasta, sweet potato. Pair it with fats. Cheese, cream and peanut butter. Hummus is good too and plain yogurt (flavoured stuff has too much sugar). These fats an balance out some sugars like berries or grapes or carrot sticks.

So if you want a biscuit you can have a hobnobs (oats) with full fat Philadelphia or low sugar peanut butter on for example. Or a Nairns chocolate chip oatcake with a small piece of cheddar.

Eggs are great for breakfast and my blood sugar is always lowest the days I work from home and can make myself an omelet.

I had GD, was induced at 37.5 weeks due to big baby and she was a healthy littld bean, no hospital stay or treatment needed.

I did end up having insulin sh ots as diet and merformin werent controlling my fasting result.

My tips would be to.always pair carbs with a protein, so toast with beans/egg/peanut butter.

Fruit with yoghurt/cheese etc.

Take a short walk after eating, the exercise help s to break down the sugars.

Stay far far away from 'low fat' alternatives they have high sugar levels. My worst ever reading was after a muller light yoghurt, realised afterwards it had 2 tablespoons of sugar in it.

Went in today to find out when I was being induced, I'm 37 weeks today, waters broke there, they're bringing me in first thing tomorrow to induce. Is it bad I'm thinking about the carbs I'll be able to eat after....

Not at all. I'm going to pack cake in my hospital bag.

Also good luck tomorrow, I hope labour starts naturally over night.

My MIL came to visit as soon as we got home and bought a giant caffe nero latte and a chocolate brownie with her. Its my favourite thing she has ever done for me and shes generally a saint so does lots of nice things.

So, seems to be the high protein/good fat, paired with complex carbs helps release the sugars slowly for everyone above, will try and follow your leads and see where it gets me!

With regards to high fasting sugars, is there anything anyone has found that helps? I'm wondering if milk before bed is the way forward?

Good luck @MrsStrowman, hope all goes well 😊

A snack late at night before bed seems to help me. Recently that's been options hot chocolate with spray whipped cream (for the fat)

Once your day to day bloods are more stable your fasting sugars should come down too.

But remember that if you need meds to sort this out, it's not a failure.