Just been told I have GD but not given any info...

[JustTheOneSwanActually]

I had my second GTT yesterday at 31 weeks, requested as baby is measuring on 97th centile.

I've just had the call that I do in fact have gestational diabetes and I would be referred to a diabetic midwife. I asked when that would be, they don't know. I asked what do I do in the mean time, what should I eat, not eat, was told to 'just eat healthy'.

I have been in to pick up my monitor but not been told how to use it etc.

Surely these things should be dealt with straight away, if my baby is now at risk because of having GD. Feel like I've just been left in limbo.

Fwiw, I do eat fairly healthy and balanced anyway. But I do eat white carbs, I love chocolate and my craving has been Diet Coke!

Any advice from anyone who's had GD, what sort of diet should I be following?

There's a very active Facebook group called Gestational Diabetes U.K.

Diet wise, you can look for low GI foods and recipes for ideas. You don't want to cut out carbs completely, you still need them as they are an essential food group but you do need to limit simple carbs like white bread and rice.

The idea is to control your blood sugar levels, so try to reduce snacking and evening eating. One of the best ways to control your sugar level is to have a solid period of time when you are not putting any sugars into your body. Lots of people advocate a solid 8hr window late evening and overnight with no food or drinks except water.

Whenever you do have carbs pair them with protein, so if you want an apple, have it with cottage cheese or dunked in peanut butter. You're better off having 1 slice of toast with scrambled egg on it than 2 slices of toast with jam, it's more filling and the protein in the egg helps your body process the sugar in the toast.

Protein and fat are your friends, embrace the cheese!

Also exercise, nothing vigorous or crazy, but a 20 minute walk after a meal makes a pretty dramatic difference in glucose readings so really worth trying to build it into your routine. Walking is great for hips and thighs too so could help with Labour and general aches and stiffness.

Your glucose monitor it's harder to advise on as each diabetes service seems to use slightly different thresholds, some want you to test 2 hrs after means with a top limit of XX, other want you to test 1 Hr after meals with a top limit of YY.

It's great you have a monitor but how silly of them to not demonstrate how to use it! When I was diagnosed with my first pregnancy they were very good at showing me ASAP how to use it with my target bloods quickly explained but I did have to wait a few days for a proper appointment to go over diet and the ins and outs.

Most peoples ideas of healthy probably won't work well with GD unfortunately. You will likely be told to restrict your carbs and carbs are in pretty much everything. Everyone's tolerances will be different also so whereas you might be able to get away with a small amount of white carbs still, otherwise won't. For me, I can't have bread. Even lower carb breads seem to spike me. But I can have a big plate of pasta no problem! (don't use me as advice - a big plate of pasta is generally a terrible idea for gd but I've had it since 5 weeks this time round and I've been a bit more experimental).

What you will probably want to do is use this time in limbo to check your tolerances. Are you checking your bloods at all yet or waiting to be told how to do it? I've read that some areas have different guidelines on when to check but the majority seem to be check your fasting bloods upon waking (and aim to be less than 5.3) and then check an hour after each meal (and aim to be under 7.8). If you use these guidelines you can get a feel for what meals work for you and what don't. Meats, cheese, eggs are your friends right now because they are all carb free. When eating any carbs you will want to pair them with protein and healthy fats to help slow down the breakdown of the carbs into sugar. Be careful with fruits and some veg - root vegetables tend to be higher in carbs such as carrots. Peas and sweetcorn are also quite high. Fruits obviously are sugar so pair them when you eat them. Berries tend to be easier to tolerate. If you're having something like toast for breakfast then have it with perhaps peanut butter for fat just as an example. First pregnancy I ended up having a cooked full English every day (minus toast and beans) just cos I couldn't think of anything else to eat for breakfast that wasn't loaded with carbs. So yeah, not exactly healthy but great for my blood sugars 😂 After eating, it's a good idea to try and fit some exercise in the hour before testing as this will bring blood levels down, as will drinking a pint of water. If you find yourself having a high reading, try having lots of water and going for a quick walk or having a boogie around the house to bring it down.

Good news - diet coke won't affect your blood glucose levels! It's a life saver for me when I go out. But it does have caffeine in it so just be wary of how much you're drinking and don't use it to bring your blood levels down.

As pp mentioned, check out the gestational diabetes UK Facebook page and website under the same name. So much invaluable advice there and definitely better explained than I have tried here! You can only do what you can do, and with little information it can be hard. I remember being told I was borderline before my first diagnosis and when I asked what I should do i was just told to go on a low carb diet. Which is all well and good but no one really explained to me what and how to eat and when you just cut down on carbs you find yourself absolutely starving! It's also not great advice for anyone growing a baby to cut out any food groups so please eat carbs! Just eat them smartly.

Thank you both for your replies, that's really helpful advice and will tide me over until I can get an appointment with the diabetic midwife and dietician.

I rang the ANC for some more clarification, I've got the monitor but told not to use it until I have the appointment. I asked when that appointment is likely to be, to be told end of next week at the earliest . I know the NHS is on it's knees, I'm in Wales and it seems to be really dire here, especially maternity services.

Is it really as depressing as it feels right now? No treats over Christmas is making me feel really sorry for myself right now.

Don't rule out trays, there are ways and means of building treats into a GD diet you just have to be a bit more thoughtful about your choices.

Xmas dinner is actually a pretty good meal

• turkey, pigs in blankets, sausage stuffing - protein heavy
• roast potatoes might be a no go, but try sweet potato instead which is lower carb and less likely to spike your sugar levels. Carrots and yams are low GI too
• Brussels sprouts or cabbage if you usually have those are not usually too bad either.

For puddings, think cream based deserts, dark chocolate, berries. There are good sugar substitutes now that can be used in baking, along with ground almonds/almond flour instead of white flour. Maybe something like a dark chocolate ganache tart with almond pastry and mixed berries.

GD is not as awful as you may be thinking right now and it's only a few weeks.

I ended up 1 and a half stone lighter at the end of my pregnancy than I started due to eating better so there can be plus sides.

Gestational diabetes UK website mad fb group are amazing. Here's a few tips

1. Exchange all white carbs for wholemeal ones
2. Switch low fat versions of stuff to high fat like yoghurt etc
3. Try to pair any carbs you eat with high protein or high fat foods such as meat, cheeses, high fat yoghurt -never eat a baked Carb!

But the group is amazing and supportive

Yes yes to the yoghurt. Of all the things I ate, my highest sugar reading came from a strawberry meringue flavoured muller light, this was in the early days of me testing. I had assumed it would be ok because 'light' but afterwards I looked and realised it had over a tablespoon of sugar in a small pot.

Definitely join the fb group mentioned above and ask all qs. I got v little info from the hospital too, but essentially you need to “pair” any carbs or sugar (even fruit) with fat or protein. So a small amount of berries with full fat yoghurt and nuts or sugar free peanut butter. Babybel will become your friend. Oppo ice cream is an ok treat, and there are lots of other treat recipes on the GD UK website.

I also recommend the UK GD website and start testing your blood in the morning and
1hr after meals straight away if possible. I was never shown how to use the monitor but just read the instructions that came with it.

If you love chocolate, dark chocolate is OK in small amounts, the darker the better eg you can probably eat a few squares of 70% cocoa chocolate or unlimited amounts of 90 or 100% (although they are too strong to eat much!). Chocolate mousse made from double cream and at least 70% is a good desert. You can also bake with cocoa powder or dark chocolate and replace the sugar with substitutes like xylitol. Most keto recipes are OK for a sweat treat but you shouldn’t follow the keto diet as your baby still needs carbs. Also recommend Oppo ice cream. Some protein bars like the Nature Valley ones can be tolerated by most people for a sweet snack.

Eating regularly is also recommended (3 meals and 2-3 healthy snacks per day).

And fruit is surprisingly bad. Sone lower GI fruits like berries and mandarins/oranges, apples etc are oK if paired with fat or protein but a lot if other fruit is too sweet even when paired (individual tolerances will vary). Avoid juice altogether. You basically need to stick with diet soft drinks or water and check the sugar content of everything.

Drinking lots of water and walking for 20 min after eating bring down blood sugar spikes.

Thank you. I've joined the group and read lots on the website!

I'm not a big eater and generally run off 2 meals a day. Since having HG My appetite has been really low. I actually weigh less now at 31 weeks than I did before pregnancy.

I think I will have to get the monitor out and have a go, as I feel unwell today.

Had 1 piece of granary toast with full fat butter and 2 eggs scrambled for breakfast, and ever since I've been beyond thirsty, headache, lethargic. So strange as my usual diet until now would have been cereal, fruit and orange juice and I would have felt completely fine.

Sugar withdrawal is a real thing, you may find that reducing your sugar intake means you feel a bit crappy for about a week, they call it keto flu when doing a keto diet.

Remember you are not doing keto, you are trying to control your sugar levels, but can and should still have some carbs, good ones though. Rye bread, green vegetables, whole grain.