Gestation diabetes

[Qasidy]

I've been diagnosed with gestational diabetes in my 7th month of pregnancy, I feel so depressed about this, has anyone had this before and did it go away after you gave birth, I've been so paranoid about what I can and can't eat since then and have started to loose weight because everything seems to have carbs and sugar, I just don't want to go on tablets or insulin. Any advice would be great?

I was also diagnosed late with GD. Try not to worry. Have you been shown how to monitor your blood sugars? You will soon get to know what foods you can and can't have. It's different for everyone but for me I found things like chocolate weren't actually too bad. Jacket potatoes and white rice were the worst for me. Make sure you pair any carbs with protein - never eat a naked carb! It went away as soon as I gave birth.

I had it twice. It goes away as soon as you give birth. It increases your chances of developing diabetes in later life, so that's something to keep an eye on. Try not to worry about it - main thing is that it has been caught

I was diagnosed at 35 weeks and was very strict with my diet. Only carbs I was allowed were wholemeal pasta, brown bread or basmati rice. 1 portion of carbs a day only. Just protein, veg or salad otherwise. I managed to control with diet alone this way and didn't require any meds. I had a c-section on Monday at 39 weeks and have been discharged from the diabetes team immediately with a test booked at the gp in 6 weeks and then annually to make sure it stays away. Baby had no issues related to the gd but I did harvest colostrum from 36 weeks in case he had issues with his blood sugars at birth. Good luck OP.

Yes! I have it the second time now and am due in a few weeks, first time it went away after the birth so am expecting it to this time also. It’s a pain but actually at the end of pregnancy tends to get a bit easier to manage! I think week 36 is the worst but those last weeks it tends to get better! I’m at this point now, last week nothing seemed to work. I am on exercise and diet control. This week my fasting levels are fantastic and after meals. As a previous poster said it’s different for everyone and trial and error. I found a low carb diet suited me best, not total elimination but I personally can’t manage oats pasta and potatoes or rice. I make Keto breads though and eat a lot of stir fry’s. I also replaced mashed potato with cauliflower mash which is working well for me. Can’t manage fruit except for some berries and for my snacks I eat a lot of quark and sugar free jelly so it’s a bit like a desert. My first baby, I actually found it harder to manage but she is a happy toddler now. They also told me she would be a lot bigger than she was in the growth scans. She was only seven pounds but they said she would be over eight so I was relieved to have had that experience last time and am not so worried this time! It’s a hard diagnosis to get and very frightening but if you work closely with your team you will get on just fine! I also don’t eat after eight as if I do it tends to have a negative effect on my fasting bloods, and I always go for a walk after my dinner. This seems to make a difference! And drinking a ton of water, especially at night! Please try not to stress too much if you do need the insulin or metformin as sometimes no matter what you do, you just need the extra help! I did last pregnancy but haven’t this one, some of it is pure luck aswell. Once you get into the swing of things everything becomes second nature, and you can still enjoy some really tasty food on the diet!

I had it - baby born at 34 weeks weighing 7 lbs. I was on insulin but couldn’t really get sugars in acceptable range.
Was initially told that it had gone post delivery but glucose tolerance test shortly after confirmed that I had retained the diabetes, so have been on insulin eve since. Low carbs is key to managing and definitely steer clear of rice etc - make cauliflower your new friend - very versatile and cauliflower fried rice is just delicious ...

Eggs eggs and more eggs. They will be your best friend. It’s a bit depressing when you first get diagnosed and trying to get your head around foods you can eat. But I could tolerate a few carbs, sausages but 90% pork sausages like tea on finest or Asda check the back (you’d be surprised how little pork Richmond, walls etc actually have in them!) if you want toast in the morning you need to counteract the bread with something, so lots of peanut butter on. It sounds crazy but you have to pair foods so the carbs and sugar don’t spike. Lots of great websites with recipes and foods. Some good Instagram pages to if you just search gestational diabetes. You haven’t long left so that’s the great thing.

I was diagnosed at 16 weeks and managed to control it with diet all the way to the birth (something they told me wouldn't be possible with how early I was diagnosed). It is intimidating but it is manageable. I found the NHS advice a bit questionable though - they focussed on general healthy eating like lean protein etc. whereas I found a bit of fat really helped. For example a small portion of spaghetti bolognese (with extra veg) put my blood sugars too high but if I had the same thing with grated cheese on my sugars were fine. I joke the DD was 50% cheese by the time she was born!

Different people's bodies react differently to the same thing - for example on message boards some people said they did really well with porridge for breakfast but for others their sugars would be too high (I couldn't have it).

I agree with a pp about eggs - a mini cooked breakfast was by far my best start to the day - eggs, mushrooms, sausages and beans (or some variation of that).

I was diagnosed at 28 weeks with my son, I cried my eyes out! But I managed to stay diet controlled and it was gone by first blood sugar check after he was born and not come back. Got test at 16 weeks this week with second.

The GDUK website is a GODSEND as is the linked FB page. X

I had it and my blood sugar went back to normal pretty much immediately after birth - I was eating white bread sandwiches and drinking orange juice (NHS postnatal ward food ) and having totally normal readings. I have to have an annual follow up blood test which has also been fine since. It sucks, but it’s not permanent.

I had GD with my second pregnancy. Went back to normal after birth. I didn't realise they would test me on the post natal ward so ate chocolate etc and still came back ok.
I've recently read 'Why we eat (too much)'to try and prevent type 2. I'm now hoping to reduce my sugar and carbs for life which is fairly similar to the GD diet.
I did find some foods spiked my sugars and others were fine. Fig rolls and jam on brown bread were fine but muesli sent my numbers sky high. Very odd.
I needed tablets and injections to bring my fasting number down which I was told was not my fault so not what I was eating just the way it was.
I did get very upset at first but then thought right big girl pants on and get through this for my baby.
In my area I felt very well looked after with several growth scans, a helpline for advice and an attentive midwife.
Hope it goes well.

As others have said, have a look at the gestational diabetes page and their Facebook page. It’s full of really useful information, including meal ideas. Some main points from what you’ve said:

• gestational diabetes is caused by the placenta. Once this has been delivered, the gestational diabetes is gone. It’s not advised to keep checking levels immediately after birth as it’s natural for those levels to be up and down anyway.
• you should have an HBa1C test 13 weeks after birth, this can check if you have type 2 diabetes.
• don’t cut all carbs from your diet as going in to ketosis is not considered safe for pregnant women. You’ll need to find a balance of what you can tolerate
• carbs need to be ‘paired’ with proteins/fats to slow down their absorption and keep your sugar levels stable. For example, have a piece of toast with cheese, strawberries with double cream etc

Most importantly, please don’t worry. You’ll get your head around the diet and you’ll get extra scans to see the baby (one perk of GD!)

My best friend had GD and at the beginning was a bit difficult to adapt to the diet, and at the end of the pregnancy she was sick of the diet 😂 But most important thing is that she and the baby were great. She got a check up two months after birth and no signs of diabetes anymore 😊

Thank you so much everyone for the amazing advice and helpful information, I've been watching my carbs much more closely and have already noticed a drop in my blood glucose levels which I'm chuffed about, I feel so much more knowledgeable aswell and more in control, so just going to carry on for the next few months before the little one enters the world 🥰, thanks again 🙏🏻

Good luck! On the positive side, I felt great on the diet, right up to the end, and the diagnosis helped keep me active, whereas I know without it I probably would have sat on my arse eating cake the entire pregnancy. I dodged a lot of the aches and pains.