The GD thread for the GD Ladies

[CherLW]

Just a little group for the ladies with GD to talk, ask all the questions and be there for each other

@MyGrassIsBrowner no symptoms here just sent for test as routine due to bmi.

@MyGrassIsBrowner, no symptoms here either, in fact I have been feeling really well! Had a GTT due to BMI and family diabetes (father and grandmother).

No symptoms either, but had high bmi when registering with midwife. Although I'm missing lots of lush food, I'd rather the baby was safe & healthy. Even if I do have to prick my finger 4 times a day!

@MyGrassIsBrowner no symptoms from me either.

I just had a really good 3.5 hour online workshop about breastfeeding. A bit of that was the importance of trying to hand express colostrum in the lead up to the birth so baby can have it. I was going to try anyway as heard it was good but it’s apparently even more so with GD as it helps with the babies sugars and they might need more feeds.
I’m going to talk to the diabetes team when I speak to them next about getting the syringes etc.. I think you can’t start this until you’re over 37 weeks. I was also worried as I heard it can bring on Labour but the lady today said it’s a very very small chance this can happen, otherwise everyone would be hand expressing instead of being induced etc!

That's great information, thanks @CherLW.

Yes the diabetic midwife should be able to advise about colostrum. I got an info sheet about it from the dietician who told me to speak to the midwife about it when I see them (in about 4 weeks) because she didn't know much about breastfeeding other than to give me the sheet. I think it helps regulate the baby's blood sugar after birth?

No symptoms for me either, felt fine and still do to be honest!

@Bubbles1st so much sympathy, I had my first high breakfast reading today and from the exact thing I've eaten before which was previously fine, it's so frustrating!

All my numbers were low enough last week which I think is just luck of the draw but I was strict with carbs - I want to experiment a bit this week but whenever the numbers are high it puts me in a really bad mood.

@bewitchingnight I’ll definitely do that.. I’ll chat to the diabetic midwife when I see them next month and also my own midwife.

I’ve had a day today… just al got on top of me and really just want to have something sweet but I’ve resisted! Also my mum has invited me round for dinner tomorrow and I just feel like it’s such hard work! I don’t know what to suggest to have and I would hate to put them out.

Ahhhh thank you ladies! They told me I would hear by Monday if anything cropped up. I'll keep this thread close by as it's informative! Good luck with the rest of your pregnancies ladies!

Hoping it all goes well for you @MyGrassIsBrowner but we’re here if needed x

Hi ladies can I join please? I got diagnosed at around 30 weeks and am worried that it's too late :( I have been trying to cut carbs but had a high reading today post lunch. What have you all been eating for breakfast?? I have been eating eggs and getting a bit sick of it!

@DressyGerbera it’s hard not to get caught up on those high readings isn’t it!

I always find breakfast hard and i know a few others think the same.. today I had grilled a grilled tomato, mushrooms, bacon, an egg and 1 piece of buttered toast. I love avocado so sometimes have one piece of toast (or two some days) with avocado and scrambled eggs. I’ve heard a full fat Greek yogurt with berries and some nuts are good too. I also had marmite and cheese on toast the other morning 😊. Tomorrow I’m going to make an omelette with courgette, broccoli, mushrooms and cheese.

Anyone got any thoughts on the bedtime snack thing…. Tonight I’m going to have strawberries, fage 5% yogurt and some almonds… would you have this straight after dinner or after your last test for the day?

@CherLW what works for me is dinner, check reading after an hour, if I'm having a pudding or snack have it then. Then before bed I take my bedtime reading, have snack after that and insulin and morning readings are always better than if I didn't snack. Eating regularly works so much better for me although we are all different of course!

Thanks @JewelGarden I’ll give that a go… I still very new to this so any tips like that I’ll willingly give a go!

Thanks @cherLw! I've definitely been borderline obsessive with the readings! Thank you for your ideas! I haven't been able to cope with normal toast but got some low carb ones yesterday and that seem to have worked!

I don't usually have snacks after dinner as my dinner is pretty late but I had some meat dumplings once and that didn't spike my fasting levels the next morning. I haven't been asked to take bedtime readings though.

@DressyGerbera I take mine 6 times a day…. Before breakfast, lunch and dinner and then 2 hours after each of them.

It’s good finding a food you like and it doesn’t effect you! I’m going to try some dark chocolate in this weeks shop!
I didn’t know about the low carb bread, I’ll have a look… I’m just using a seeded one but it’s a small style loaf/slice

@CherLW my trust advised us to take 1 hour post meal readings and 1 fasting reading in the morning. the low carb bread I found was the livlife bread, it only had 10g of carbs per 100g! mind you, each slice is sooo tiny though - even two slices are hardly enough! i haven't dared tried chocolate yet, i hope it works for you!

I had GD with all 3 pregnancies. Eating cheese with everything really kept my levels low. Sugar free hartleys jelly won't affect your readings at all if you're after a sweet treat.

I'm also having to test 6 times a day: pre breakfast (fasting) and then before lunch and dinner & one hour after all three meals.

@Catlady21, thanks for the jelly idea! I've been having cheese with sweeter things like you said and thinks it helps. Or nuts when I eat strawberries in the evening etc.

@DressyGerbera @CherLW, I've had some dark chocolate twice when I've really fancied some & it didn't make a difference so far.

My readings have been lower since I started the increased tablet dose. But I sometimes get a high one. I have to send my results on the app this evening so they can review them tomorrow morning. I missed some morning tablets as I was getting into the new routine of morning and evening, so hope they'll let me continue and see how it goes for another couple of days now I'm taking them twice a day. But actually think they'll put me on insulin. So nervous about the injections but also don't want to have high readings so if it will stop the placenta being affected with sugary blood then I guess it is best to do it soon really.
It's funny, lots of my readings are 4.something and then I'll get a random 8... and not sure why!

Has anyone had their consultant appointment yet? Was it with the nurse and Dietitian too? (I'm still waiting for an appointment to come through.. they said it seemed I was missed somehow but looking forward to talking through my options after they told me I would be induced at 38 weeks latest).

How are you all? Hope everyone is having a good weekend x

@Catlady21 I never even thought of the sugar free jelly! That’s straight on my shopping list!

@AdventuresAwait hopefully they give you a few more days so things can settle more. I guess either way whatever they do is for the best… that what I keep telling myself.

Luckily my appointment for the Consultant, Diabetic Team and Scan was all booked the day I initially got called in to see the diabetic midwife. It’s not until July 7th tho.
I have also got a call between 23rd-25th June from the Dietitian.

Yes @CherLW, they said mine should have been booked then too. Just got missed and both the Nurse and Dietitian have chased it up. Clinic is this Thursday so if I don't hear tomorrow, I'll try and look into it again. And yes, got to trust that everything they're telling me to do is for the best. Just want baby to be ok xx

@AdventuresAwait - how many weeks are you now? if you have been having mostly 4 readings would you still have to be induced? i would have thought that means you are controlling it really well.

i haven't had my consultant appointment yet, it's in just over a week! i had my 32 week scan a few days ago and so far so good so fingers crossed. the meeting with the dietitian and midwife was done earlier though when i first got diagnosed, and they told us what we can eat and how to prick our fingers etc. i don't think i have another meeting with them actually - but then i was diagnosed later than the rest so maybe it's different?

@DressyGerbera I'm 28+4 now and was diagnosed two weeks ago.
Not had my consultant appointment yet but was told on the phone by the diabetic nurse that I "would have to be induced before 39 weeks at the latest. Your due date changes as soon as you begin medication, whether that's 1 tablet, 4 tablets or 4 injections per day. "
I was really surprised and said I'd like to see how the growth scans and blood results go and she said it is regardless of these...
So definitely want to talk to the team when I get an appointment.

I'm not pregnant but I have had two back to back GD pregnancies in 2 years. First diet controlled, second dx at 5 weeks and insulin dependent by 20 weeks. I have done a lot of research and trial and error! I hope I'm not annoying but:

The GD fb page is a bit twee but actually the advice is vastly better than NHS current practice which is aimed more towards standard T2. GD needs lower readings for babies safety. NHS advice works reasonably well to start with but GD is very progressive and their diet will lead to quicker medication if you are trying to avoid that.

High fat low carb / complex carbs is absolutely the way to try and keep it down. I lost a tonne of weight doing that until I could no longer control my fasting levels, at which point I needed slow release insulin. Fasting is not really something you can control with diet. Once that happens you do need a bit more carb which is less helpful for weight loss. The best thing is fat/protein combining with your starch - never eat a naked carb. So a sour apple, but with peanut butter, or 40g brown pasta, with lots of cheesy bolognaise.

The not eating thing is no good, @Bubbles1st I'm afraid to say. Once you go past a certain point, your body will do a panic glucose dump and send your levels shooting up which is not helpful! Little and often. I worked with 3 small meals, 3 or 4 snacks and sometimes a midnight snack. Oatcakes and cheese, chorizo and a tomato, nuts and apple.

Also, spikes! Be aware that some sugary / carby things spike your bloods fat quicker than the hours test. So a Muller lite would at an hour give me a 5.5, but at 30 mins a 10.5. Doesn't matter when that spike happens, it's just as bad for baby so it's worth checking if it's low fat / high carb etc.

My boys were both lovely weights, and my diabetes went straight after birth. Insulin wasn't as bad as I thought although by the end with DS2 I was on mega high doses of slow and quick release and maximum metformin, which is not kind on sensitive stomachs, so better avoided! I also couldn't even eat a tomato or new potato even on heavy meds, so do remember to keep checking as it does get worse. Good luck!

@LimpLettice that’s for the advice and tips on some food pairing too. It’s good to know that both your babies were good weights at birth and that your GD went straight after birth.

I make sure I have some sort of carbs with my meals but then add things like cheese, eggs etc..

I guess it’s just such a worrying thing and where it is so different for everyone it’s hard to follow any sort of pattern.

@CherLW I was inconsolable at first diagnosis! It is manageable though. First time consultant was happy for me to run to 41+ while I was diet controlled, and DS1 turned up at 38+4.

I'm afraid I did cave second time with DS2 and was induced at 38w with DS2, and it was the most unpleasant of all 3 births. However, I was injecting 4 x a day, on metformin and almost 43, so took the bullying a bit more seriously. Mostly they are happy to look at you on a case by case basis rather than just GD = 38w induction in my trust.

@AdventuresAwait I know it's scary but the insulin pens are so easy to use and provided you pinch a good bit of fat, I barely felt them. The more you worry the worse it is, but they are so much easier than those blasted finger pricks, I promise!