Gestational diabetes ... fucking sick of it and is it even dangerous??

[immstat]

I am so fucking sick of this. The GD process / journey is making me absolutely hate being pregnant.

I have had it with my 2 pregnancies. I am only 18 weeks and already been injecting insulin for fasting for around 2 weeks (I have a phobia of needles so this is a rigmarole every night). Sometimes my bloods are good sometimes not. Makes no difference what I eat or if I exercise. I can eat exactly the same thing on different days and have wildly different readings during the day or my fasting bloods. I can't make head nor tail of it. I am constantly confused.

1st pregnancy they told me my baby was going to be massive. He came out 7lb. From what I've read online, on forums etc, this happens ALL THE TIME. Women being told their baby is going to be huge but actually they aren't? Wtf is that all about?

I don't understand the risks to baby. I'm becoming more and more convinced that high blood sugar isn't actually that bad and the midwives are shitting us up for no real reason. Which doesn't make sense but neither do my readings 🤷‍♀️

I just feel like giving up. I just feel so trapped and down about it. I feel like not eating so I don't have to go through the process. Or just eating what the hell i want because really...what's the worst that can happen?? I think I am trying to convince myself it's not dangerous because I can't seem to get it right.

I can't do this for another 5 months 😢

Can someone please give me a gentle shake, or a hand hold, or something. My husband is great, supportive, trying to help with my diet and moods...but he can't fully understand how I feel. Does anyone relate??

DH has done a meal plan and gone the shops to pick up the ingredients.

Thank you everyone for posting. It has been helpful on a practical level. Emotionally and mentally though I am still completely drained and I am beginning to have an unhealthy hatred for food and eating. Which is so unlike me...I love my food, always have. Loved cooking, trying new recipes, tastes, restaurants etc etc.

Now I hate it. Hate thinking about it, talking about it, typing this out. I resent it.

Like I am going through the motions, trying to be enthusiastic because poor DH is trying his best to excite me with the new foods but I am just so down abotu it, so negative, so sure the meals he's suggesting will spike my bloods...I am obsessed and my head hurts with it all.

Wish I could sleep until the due date

thankyou for the diet cheat sheet btw x

It is really really hard but you're doing the best you can for you and your baby.

I did have one huge plus which could help motivate you a bit. Once I had DD, within 24 hrs of birth I was 1 and a half stone less than my pre-pregnancy weight which was pretty fantastic.

I mean I then ate all the brownies and Danish pastries over the next 6 years and put it and more back on, but the better eating diet did wonders for a while 😁

HalfShrunkMoreToGo -same with me and my last pregnancy nearly 10 years ago! Not so confident this time around but I hope you're right!

Also currently going through GD and being medicated. My life seems to revolve around food and fucking blood tests. If I’m going out, what time I have to eat so that I can test. When I need to snack. What I can eat as a snack, especially if I’m out for the day. Trying to work out what works and what doesn’t work. Trying to work out why the same meal is significantly higher a couple of days later.

To be honest, I’ve already had one growth scan and got another 3 booked and I’m even getting fed up of the scans even though it’s obviously another chance to see baby. No advice, I’ve not got a handle on what the hell my body is doing. I seem to be able to tolerate most food but can’t get my fasting readings to be even remotely in range. But I can offer solidarity in being obsessed, emotional, anxious, feeling like I can’t control it and crying all the time.

*Metformin made me so sick I had to come off it

Have you asked for the slow release form? The glucophage brand?

InTheNightWeWillWish - ah, a kindred spirit. Everything you say - I feel too. Its a fucking massive PITA faff, and takes the joy out of everything.

When are you due?

@ActonSquirrel

*Metformin made me so sick I had to come off it

Have you asked for the slow release form? The glucophage brand?

I think it was the slow release one...it made me sick and didn't make any difference to the blood readings.

Anyway I reckon the MW will be calling me soon because all my readings the last few days have been high. Maybe I will double check

For breakfast I have Greek yogurt with either strawberries or raspberries and a bit of Skinny Co sugar free maple syrup for a bit of sweetness and flavour (B&M have started selling skinny co products)
For lunch I have salad and fish or chicken or something equally boring.
For dinner, I just have what I’m cooking for my family but have a tiny carb portion and huge veg portion.
I think I’d go mad making myself an extra dinner. If my husband has a takeaway I have my ploughman’s or find something GD friendly (e.g lettuce wraps from the Chinese)
I’ve been able to have two slices of pizza with a huge portion of salad.
Pasta bolognese with a tiny amount of pasta and huge portion of broccoli the side.
Swedish meatballs with a tiny bit of mash and mountain of cabbage.
I think it’s trial and error mostly.

Good luck, OP. Please take it seriously. I won't add my family's experiences to the scare stories on here because I think you've got the idea.

But don't beat yourself up about not getting perfect readings: it is hard to do.

BTW Chocolate eclairs are quite low carb and so are cakes made with fruit sugar and ground almonds. (Be careful about the fat intake though!)

I’m due early December. So my Christmas present is going to be eating all the foods pregnancy has taken away - either because they’re unsafe, because of GD or because they give me too much acid reflux. When are you due?

I’m still struggling with the effects of the metformin but the hospital are pushing for me to start insulin and I’m not sure how much my stomach can take. My nausea has come back with vengeance and I think it’s the metformin. So the “safe” GD meals were the ones I avoided in early pregnancy because they made me feel so sick and now I’ve just got to battle through it. I also keep having keytones in my urine so I’m not eating enough carbs and my sugars are still doing whatever the hell they like 🤷‍♀️ We need to go shopping so have little food in and so I’ve started the process of trying to work out what to have for tea. It’s the worlds shittest Venn diagram - what I can eat (won’t make my sick, won’t spike my sugars and won’t fuck with my acid reflux or delicate stomach), what we actually have in and then what I actually fancy.

Never had GD. But type 1 since birth and Keto guru , so stick with it.
Bacon and eggs, avocado, chicken And salad, chilli with cauliflower rice.
You can do it.

@InTheNightWeWillWish Metformin was horrible on my stomach, slow release too. Insulin was absolutely fine and doesn't seem to have the same effect at all. I really struggled with my fasting levels last time and kept the Metformin to help that. Honestly, take the insulin, it may reduce your need for the Metformin if you are really struggling and will definitely help you to tolerate enough carbs to avoid ketones.

Also, really don't worry about the fat. You wouldn't want that diet for long, but the last 2 months of pregnancy won't hurt and it definitely does help with processing your carbs.

I had GD with both pregnancies and I hated every minute of it after being diagnosed. The constant paranoia about what you can eat and what you can't, the 'big brother' monitoring, it felt like it would never end.

But, it did! Mine was well controlled (needed insulin with no 2) but my ds still had shoulder dislochia (sp) even though he wasn't big.

I did join the GDUK fb group and used it mainly for food ideas. The GD brownies with double cream and a few berries are the food of the gods!

Food pairing was the only thing that worked for me - so a small green apple with peanut butter and a babybel. Or a couple of oatcakes with the same thing for snacks.

Breakfast - eggs, eggs and more eggs (I was bloody sick of eggs) or plain Greek yoghurt with berries and nuts / seeds

Lunch - salad with chicken, more eggs if you can face them, salami, bacon, any type of full fat cheese. Or leftovers from the night before.

Dinners - creamy sauces are good with just a very small amount of carbs - 25-30g of dried wholemeal pasta or brown rice or a couple of potatoes.
Limit starchy veg like peas, sweetcorn, carrots, parsnips and mainline broccoli, cabbage, courgette, aubergine.

Some ideas for meals:

Creamy chicken curry
Moussaka
Omelette / tortilla without the potatoes
Chicken / beef / salmon stir fry with lots of veg and just a small amount of wholewheat noodles.
Grilled chicken with veg or salad
Spag Bol with spiralised courgette rather than pasta
Tandoori chicken (chicken thighs marinaded in tandoori spice mix and yoghurt) with saag paneer

I'm sure there are more that I will remember

@LimpLettice thank you. I think the insulin just has a bit of scariness to it. It makes it seem quite big and serious, which I know GD is but insulin is usually for when you’ve tried everything else. I’m a bit pissed off at how quickly I’ve ended up being medicated. The diabetes team keep telling me I’m not to blame and did the best I could but I still feel like I’ve failed a test but only because the question was in a different language

I have no specific GD insight but a husband who is type 1. For him sugars will rise if he’s stressed, ill or bizarrely if his sugars get too low they will ‘bounce’, basically his body will release extra glucose into your system from your liver if it thinks things are getting too low. So if you’re keeping a diary then think about noting these things as aside from anything else they could affect blood sugar too. Rice is the devil, cheese is a saviour as is the odd Scotch egg. Maybe you could ask to speak to a diabetic nurse or dietician at your local hospital .

I’ll lay it it for you.

If you don’t control your blood sugar the excess crosses the placenta. The excess glucose literally rots the placenta which is why gestational diabetes babies can be very large, have hypos when born and have a higher risk of stillbirth.

It is not bollocks. Please look at the gestational diabetes uk Facebook page to see the devastating birth complications and stillbirths caused by GD. Its awful to have a GD pregnancy, I know, it what’s worse is causing a problem with your baby that could have been avoided.

It’s not for long and then you can eat all the cake you want. Just keep going for now.

[quote InTheNightWeWillWish]@LimpLettice thank you. I think the insulin just has a bit of scariness to it. It makes it seem quite big and serious, which I know GD is but insulin is usually for when you’ve tried everything else. I’m a bit pissed off at how quickly I’ve ended up being medicated. The diabetes team keep telling me I’m not to blame and did the best I could but I still feel like I’ve failed a test but only because the question was in a different language [/quote]
Nope, it's not a fail. I diet controlled with DS1, knew exactly what to do and felt great. Did exactly the same with DS2 and needed the Metformin at 7w! It progresses whatever you do, it's hormonal, you didn't cause it, you didn't fail. And actually the insulin is super easy to take, the pen is simple to use and the needles hair fine which means a pinch of fat and you don't feel it, unlike the finger pricks. The thing is, if you need it, the more you fight it, the more stressed and sleepless you will be, which will not help your sugars.

I have GD so I know how you feel but ultimately the sacrifices are worth it. The group that people have suggested is great but it also shows the reality and that is that yes some babies are still born due to complications from GD

You need to learn more about diet. It’s not just about eating low carbs/low sugars. You need to pair your foods - make sure you eat more protein than carbs. Seeded batch bread would send my bloods through the roof aswell. Time of day has a lot to do with it. I can’t handle whole meal bread for breakfast but I can handle it at lunch time (as long as I pair it with something high in protein)

Just because brown rice is better than white rice doesn’t mean it’s okay - you might not be able to handle that! You need to eat carbs BUT you need to make sure the carbs you do eat are low AND you pair it with protein. Cheese and meat are your best friends.

Honestly I’m counting down the minutes until I can stuff my face with whatever I want but until then, the arse ache of watching what I eat is worth it to know my baby will hopefully be healthy.

You will find things much easier if you cut out most carbs… eat fatty foods such as cheese and meats - these are ‘free’ foods that shouldn’t cause a spike in blood sugar levels. Eat vegetables and try to avoid fruit. Do not eat large meals, eat little but often. Easier said than done, but try not to stress, this will trigger blood glucose swings. Remember why you are doing this and remember that hard work now will hopefully prevent harder work further down the line xxx

Thank you everyone.

I knew starting this thread would give my head a wobble. I knew that GD is serious and can have serious effects on both myself and the baby. I think I was beginning to spiral into a depression about it, I could feel it happening. I just knew you lot would help, and you did.

With all your tips and advice we made a meal plan, wrote down all the stuff I can eat and when and how much. Little and often. I did it yesterday and after each thing I ate my bloods were good! This morning my bloods were good too!! This hasn't happened in a few days and I am so relieved. Not feeling the effects of high blood sugar is so bloody good.

Thank you for the (kind) kick up the arse I so desperately needed. I do feel so much more able to do this now. I hope my positivity stays high and the blood sugars low 😁

Thank you all so much xx

Well done OP, you can do it!