Gestational Diabetes at 28 weeks

[Helpdesk3]

Hi,

I had a GTT test and found out that my glucose at 0hrs was 5.2 and at 2hrs 7.8

I have always been healthy and can't seem to understand why this is happening.

Does GD affect my baby?

Just to add I am on 50mg of levothyroxine.

Hi,

Anyone can get GD it isn’t something you can predict and doesn’t mean you are “unhealthy”.
As I understand it, it’s something to do with the placenta that causes it.
It won’t necessarily effect your baby so long as your blood sugar levels are regulated which you midwife will explain to you how to do. I assume you’ve been referred to a diabetes clinic to explain everything to you?

Please don’t worry so long as it’s controlled there’s not reason it should effect either of you x

It's hard to control. I just made a lentil and spinach such and had a slice of bread with it. Checked my level after 1 hour and it was 9.5

I mean, what am I supposed to do, not eat at all

Sorry I mean *Lentil and spinach soup...

Unfortunately there's nothing you can do to prevent gd. It's just one of those thing caused by your hormones.

Sounds like you're very borderline so you may be able to keep it under control with just diet. Speak to your diabetes team and have a look at the gduk website as it's full of reallt useful information about diet ideas too. It's a lot to get your head around but we'll controlled your baby should be fine. They'll also keep a firm eye on your mow too

Was it white bread? If so it was probably that. Have you been referred to a diabetes clinic to help with the diet aspect?
I know it’s hard but it’s only temporary and you’ll be able to eat what you like once baby is here.
I’m sure there’s loads on info on Dr Google about what are good foods to eat and what to avoid.

It was seeded bread. 9.5 seems High fot just soup and seeded bread.

The diabetic team will call me in 2 weeks.

Any input from ppl who have had GD and what their levels were and how they managed it, would be great.

Is one allowed to drink milk before bedtime

I had no risk factors for GD and had it in my last pregnancy. Getting tested again on Wednesday. It’s hormonal. It can affect the baby if your blood sugars are uncontrolled but if that happens they will give you medication. Tips that can help manage your sugar levels:

• drinking water and going for a walk after eating
• having carbs along with protein and healthy fats

Otherwise it’s a case of trial and error. I could tolerate pasta if I didn’t have too big a portion but not white rice so I had to switch to brown and have small portions. One thing I did regularly is have a big salad with an olive oil vinegarette before eating carby meals. Apparently the fibre in the lettuce, healthy fats in the olive oil and vinegar are all things that help to slow the release of sugar from carbs.

Re your meals both the lentils and the bread are carbs. I could have whole meal toast if I had something like full fat philadelphia, avocado or egg with it. Things like bread and breakfast cereal are hard to tolerate. It is hard but just remember it’s only temporary!

I managed my GD through very careful monitoring of what I ate. Absolutely no refined sugar, portion control (75g of pasta looks very small!) and noticing which foods made levels spike and avoiding those; mainly white anything and processed foods. After the birth, I had lost 2. It's made me much more careful about what I eat now.

2 stone!

Oh yes also reducing portion size does help but don’t go hungry - have regular snacks. Nuts are a good option. I wouldn’t say I was especially unhealthy before and wasn’t overweight but definitely helped me to cut down on sugar and the more refined carbohydrates (though I will never give up pasta!)

Ok thanks everyone

There’s a brilliant website and Facebook group- much of the NHS advice is a bit outdated (low fat stuff is terrible for GD as it often has higher sugar). I think your meal was ok but I think lentils and bread would technically be a double carb as although healthy lentils are quite carby. Try to pair your carbs with some healthy fats like cheese or bacon or avocado. Look at some Keto recipes, but add a few carbs in too. Don’t go near cereal and be careful of porridge, beans and tomatoes for the same reason- if you do have them, pair them with a healthy fat. In answer to your question it’s very unlikely to harm your baby if managed well so please don’t worry too much.

www.gestationaldiabetes.co.uk/

www.gestationaldiabetes.co.uk/recipe-index/

This really helped me when I was diagnosed. I had to be so rigid with what I ate otherwise my levels would spike and I found that I couldn’t tolerate some of the foods that others had already mentioned. I agree with PP with it is trial and error, you will see what works for you. Good luck.

Oops, was too slow and cross posted!

I had GD in both mine. In the first one I followed NHS guidelines and ate the NHS diabetic diet. I ended up on insulin. With my second pregnancy I did my own research as PP has said before lentils and bread together a total No no! You need to look at the carbs you’re eating.

Fats/proteins with carbs helps keep your sugars down! So egg and toast /avocado and toast. Veg with meat but also some fat with that too.

Limit fruit portions. Have maybe 6 small meals a day rather than three big ones.

I should add my sugars stayed normal on my own researched diet

I was diagnosed with GD at 27 weeks, currently just hit 37 weeks.

GD is all linked to hormones from your placenta that makes you insulin resistant. Doesn't mean your 'unhealthy' at all. I'd never heard of it before having it, but soon heard about lots of friends who had had it whilst pregnant. It's more common than I had realised.

The gestational diabetes uk website is the best place to start it really helps with understanding it and knowing what you can do to try and stay diet controlled. Unfortunately my hormones didn't allow that over time and I've ended up on metformin and multiple types of insulin to try and keep my blood sugars regulated but its not a failure to be on meds (although feels like it initially) just means we need a but more help.

You'll find that what you can tolerate changes at different times of the day. For example many people find they can't have bread for breakfast but can have a bit at lunch. I found it really useful to keep a diary of what I ate for each meal and in what size portions so I could see what I was eating and when and how readings I was getting. I found as pregnancy progressed food I could eat at 30 weeks I couldn't eat at 35 weeks for example.

It can effect Baby, but if sugar levels are controlled it's reduces that risk. My baby's growth rate went from average to off charts due to the GD and she was over 8lbs estimated at the 36 weeks growth scan last week.

They said to me when I was diagnosed that I'd have to give birth up at the hospital rather than a midwife lead unit and they would induce me around my due date if she hadn't come by herself before then, this changed for me after my last growth scan and baby is now being brought at 38 weeks. I have read of women on the GD UK website having home births and not being induced though so definitely worth talking to the diabetes team when you see them in a few weeks.

Was it a pre made soup or a homemade one? I had an awful reading after a Covent Garden veg soup with some bread. Turns out there's quite a bit of sugar in those soups. I can have bigger portions homemade soups. But adding grated cheese and buttering the (wholemeal and seeded bread) really helps lower the reading.

For a quick breakfast, peanut butter on everything - seeded bread toast, ryvita etc. The thicker the peanut butter, the better the reading for me. Or plain yoghurt with walnuts and pecans and blueberries (berries are an easier fruit to tolerate).

Best treat food for me right now is baked Camembert. I have it with a small chunk of wholemeal seeded baguette and then chopped peppers, cucumber etc and it really is delicious.

Be careful not to restrict carbs too much. I started to, but got ketones in my urine, which is bad for baby also. But also as pregnancy progresses, you may find diet alone isn't enough. I'm starting medication next week as can't balance the sugars and the ketones

And yeah the NHS dietician advice was ridiculous! My levels were ridiculous when I followed it. From my own research, I was a lot better with a lot of nuts, avocados, seeds, tahini, eggs and dairy etc

After a few days of monitoring. My fasting bloods seem stable, I usually get around 4.5. And after meals I range between 6.4 to 7. However tonight after my dinner my result was 7.7 - maybe the portion was slightly higher. Its difficult to always maintain it, takes lot of energy

Can others share their results, so I can see how I am doing?

Any input 🙃