Tell me about your gestational diabetes

[LuckyMoonstone]

How did you cope? What did you eat? Did you completely abstain or allow yourself the odd treat? What was the effect on your baby? On your birthing experience? Particularly if you were being pushed for induction or CS.
Thanks in advance, looking forward to hearing some real stories.

I was referred to a nutritionist who put me on a diet with a maximum amount of carbs each day. She basically told me what was ok to eat and the appropriate portion sizes of meat, vegetables, and fruit. I wasn't allowed to drink fruit juice or soda.

I also had to check my glucose levels 4 times a day and record them on a chart to show at every appointment. I learnt which foods to avoid that made it too high.

In the last trimester, I had to have an ultrasound every week to make sure baby was growing properly and not in distress.

At 37 weeks, they had a plan to induce me but my water broke the next day. There were no complications and everything proceeded as normal. He was healthy and average size.

Was extremely strict and managed to control it

Easily controlled with insulin.

I tested about 7 times a day (before and after meals and before bed). The awareness of testing made me eat more regular meals which was good for me as I can easily skip breakfast and/or lunch normally.

I saw a fairly useless nutritionist and a very good endocrinologist. I remember telling the endocrinologist that I had succumbed to a pasta craving and expected a spike that didn’t appear. I had had (a lot!) of spaghetti with Marcella Hazan’s tomato sauce recipe. He then talked to me about food combinations and attributed the lack of spike to the huge amount of butter in the recipe.

If I had diabetes again, I would do more research into that.

As it turns out my baby was both early (pre eclampsia) and small (GD was well controlled). I had a c section which had been the plan anyway, it just got brought forward a few weeks.

My GD was diet controlled, my after meal readings never went near 7.8 and my fasting levels were always under 5.

I used the gestational diabetes UK website for meal ideas and it did save me!
I had three meals a day and three snacks, i found snacks to be the hardest (because i put no effort in) and always ended up with pepparami, cheese and nuts. I made sure to balance every carb with fats/protein.

I didn’t allow myself to have a cheat day. I was too worried what would happen to the baby so was very strict, i did however find a desert recipe which was full fat double cream whisked and melted dark chocolate- fake choc mousse! I had it every night towards the end and did my sugars afterwards and it never spiked me! It was a great sweet fix.

I was induced at 38+1 but nothing to do with the GD, it was for reduced movements. As i had managed to control with my diet so well the hospital were willing to let me have any birth and even agreed to let me use the birthing centre for a water birth- this didn’t happen due to the induction.
Induction was easy, i was already dilated and waters bulging so my waters were broken at 11pm and baby was born at 7am (first baby so didn’t expect it to progress so quickly!) I had to check my sugars hourly during labour to make sure i didn’t spike.

Baby was measuring on the 60th/70th centile on scans so not huge, i had growth scans every 2 weeks and the week baby was born i had a growth scan where she was estimated 8lbs at that time. She was born 2 days later weighing 5lbs on the 2nd centile!!

She had two heel pricks and passed both, GD had no impact on baby 🙂

I would say i found it lonely to have GD in pregnancy. I had fantastic support in pregnancy but nobody understood GD so didn’t understand the diet changes i had to make. Speak to people if you need to, you’ll get some good diet ideas 🙂

I’ve had it twice. First pregnancy, diet controlled for most of the time, but had to take metformin towards the end. Was induced bang on 40 weeks. My daughter’s blood sugars crashed and she ended up in special care for a while until they stabilised.

Second pregnancy, couldn’t diet control despite doing same as first pregnancy in terms of diet. Put on metformin quite quickly, but max dose wasn’t controlling morning sugars, so was put on insulin. DD2 was a cs (a little earlier than planned at 37 weeks as my blood pressure was starting to go haywire) and all went well. Her blood sugars were absolutely fine on delivery and we were home 24 hours later.

both of my babies were big chonks (almost 9lbs) but have thinned out now and are both tall and skinny 😁

I second the GDUK website, it has free recipes and also a subscription plan. You will become an expert at food pairing!

I wasn't diagnosed until around 31 weeks so didn't find it too hard as knew it wouldn't be for long. I was also used to eating a high protein diet so it was pretty manageable - biggest change for me was consciously eating more fat.

Also had regular scans, last one was day before baby was born - estimated at 6lb6, born weighing 5lb11 so a fair bit off! Prepare to be kept in for 24hr after birth as baby will need to pass tests, mine was fine and unaffected by the GD in that regard.

I had GD in first pregnancy but not in my second. Managed to control it by diet and going for a walk/waddle after lunch and dinner. Baby was 7lb 8 and born at 39wks via ELCS but because of breech rather than GD.

post birth baby failed to latch or feed well. GD babies are monitored more closely than other babies for blood sugars in case they crash and they did many heel pricks in first 24hrs. Her sugars dropped and they whisked her to neonatal but purely to fit a nose feeding tube to get milk into her. She was absolutely fine otherwise just couldn’t be bothered to suckle. Once she got the hang of that she was off neonatal next morning and absolutely fine.

For me it was learning about food combinations. So a lot of fats with every meal and snack. Controlling the carbs too heavily made me go into ketosis which is also bad for the baby.

So for breakfast I'd have an omelet with seeded wholemeal bread. Or avocado and egg or cheese on one slice of seeded wholemeal bread. Or Greek yoghurt with fresh berries and lots of walnuts almonds and seeds.

For lunch, mozzarella and nut salads with sweet potatoes. Soups with lots melted cheese and drizzled olive oil. Baked canambert with veggie sticks and wholemeal seeded toast. A baked potato with homemade beans and cheese or tuna. An omelet with a wholegrain carb.

For dinner, salmon and wholemeal pasta with loads and loads of vegetables and cheese. Mashed potato with skins on and butter and cream with veggie sausages / sausages and masses of veg. Chickpea curries with a tiny amount of wholegrain rice.

And walking or dancing after every meal to keep readings down. I thought I'd be huge with this diet but was back in my clothes within a month after giving birth. I was induced at 37 weeks, but it was okay, and I had my baby with minimal interventions and without tearing etc (my antenatal class had terrified me about it but it was fine)

I had GD diagnosed at a scan at week 32 after passing (only just) the oral glucose test earlier. I’m quite savvy about nutrition and threw myself into food combining, savoury protein filled breakfasts but I couldn’t fully bring down my fasting numbers and ended up on Metformin until my ELCS at week 39.

My daughter had an absolutely enormous head which was my main consideration for ELCS. She came out shrieking before they’d finished pulling her out, nursed straightaway, passed all her sugars, and we were home within 36 hours. My H1BAC has been tested twice since & is normal.

Nothing about my diet and readings ever made sense. I'd eat something that logically should guarantee a high reading and be fine. I'd eat something that should be fine and be way over. It was thoroughly demoralising and my consultant/nurse were utterly useless. I saw the hospital dietician and they just the same patronising advice you give 8 year olds when learning about food groups and couldn't answer any of my questions.

Baby was 7lb 7oz and never measured particularly big.

I relied quite heavily on the GD website for recipes but food pairing gets easy and you don’t have to eat that different. It’s just monitoring your carb intake and make sure the carbs are paired.

People have different tolerances so I was fine with pasta, rice, potatoes. I found after about 34 weeks I couldn’t eat peas as they would spike my bloods. My meals were all under the level needed but I struggled with my fasting levels. I needed metformin and then insulin which was increased until about 36 weeks then it was briefly under control.

As I was on insulin they wanted to induce me no later than 39 weeks, probably between 38 and 39, but my 36 week appointment showed baby was growing well, my bloods were stable, BP was stable so the consultant said they wouldn’t do it until 39 weeks exactly. That appointment was on the Tuesday and on the Thursday and Friday my fasting levels went high again and I was told to up my insulin dose. On the Saturday night I woke up because I wasn’t feeling well, did my bloods and they were 3.8 I think. I had something to eat and drink and in the morning they were still low. I had reduced movements that morning too. I don’t know if it was the anxiety over my bloods. Went to the hospital and she was moving fine. Couldn’t get hold of any of the GD team as they only work Mon-Fri, they spoke to the on-call diabetes consultant who couldn’t help me. The doctor said I was being induced at 39 weeks anyway so they could bring it forward to 38 weeks (so the Friday after) and I agreed. I was fed up being pregnant and I just wanted her here. The Wednesday I went in for a sweep, they didn’t like my answer so I ended up having another CTG, she was fine, but did confirm I was better having her here.

Induction worked well. Pessary took 17 hours to start contractions and baby was born 12 hours after my first contraction. I vomited all the way through labour, they monitored my bloods but they were stable. I struggled to get DD to latch. I’d done some hand expressing at home and so tried but I just wasn’t producing anything, I think because I had nothing in me. Her bloods were fine straight after but they started to get too low about 7 hours after birth as she’d not eaten so we gave her a bottle.

Thanks all, this has been good reading. My reading after the glucose drink was only slightly above where they want it to be, and my fasting level was normal, so I don’t think it’s that bad. Currently measuring exactly the same as I was with DS at this gestation, on the 90th centile, but he was born on the 50th (and that was at 42 weeks as well), so I really don’t find it entirely accurate. I really really really do not want to be induced (hated it last time) so I’m hoping it’s easily controlled if I cut out all the crap (I admit I’ve been eating too many sweet treats this pregnancy).

And I am having a nightmare with this stupid blood test device already. Just keep getting an error message after every test. I am following the instructions exactly as the video, and now I’ve wasted a whole days worth of strips trying to get one reading. The needle is up to the highest setting and I still can’t seem to get enough blood. What am I supposed to do, start chopping at my fingers?

Also recommending the GDUK website. If you're early/mid pregnancy it's worth paying for membership to get the full range of recipes, but the free ones only got me through a late diagnosis first time round.

The best thing is the newly diagnosed page which gives you all the info you need, and also the shopping list which gives you a great starting point for planning your meals.

I was able to diet control both times. Some people need metformin or insulin. Do not feel guilty about this - it's not a failure, you can't control how your body responds to pregnancy and the level of insulin resistance you face.

Your pregnancy and birth will now be more closely monitored. After birth you'll need to get an HBA1C blood test every year to check for type2 (you're at a higher risk for that for the first 10 years after birth, then it tapers off)

The GDUK Facebook groups are also brilliant for support during and after pregnancy

I had this problem OP, I think people don’t realise how stressful and worrying it was - I was diagnosed the day before I went on holiday and like you wasted a load of lancets and strips trying to get enough blood to test. I found dropping my hand down below my waist (basically putting your fingers upside down so the blood flows) and counting to 10 really helped, then squeezing under where the needle has been to get some bloods out.

I was diagnosed around 28 weeks. Managed to control most of my readings with diet by pairing carbs with fat if I had them - I eat a lot of avocado and eggs on one slice of seeded brown toast for breakfast, or greek yogurt with fruit. Lunch is usually a salad or a chilli, dinner is something like wholewheat pasta with a high fat high protein accompaniment like full fat lamb mince meatballs, or in this weather BBQ’d meat with a small amount of potato salad or just salad.

However my fasting (pre breakfast) levels are still high so have been on Metformin for the past week. If this doesn’t sort it out I will have to go onto insulin. I’m hoping for a VBA2C which everyone has been supportive of, but facing up to the likelihood of induction.

I won’t lie, I have really struggled as I have a sweet tooth and found it really frustrating that what I ate didn’t make a difference and still ended up medicated. But I keep reading this is not something that is our fault, it is a pregnancy thing. I felt so guilty when I was first diagnosed I cried!

Baby is currently measuring on 90th centile and breech.

Thank you to everyone who has shared their birth stories, all seem positive which is really reassuring.

@wonderinglywondering I’m glad it’s not just me being stupid with it. But I have been squeezing to get the blood out and it’s still not enough, and if I do it for too long it just dries up. I’ll give it one more go after lunch, if it doesn’t work then I’m giving up for today.

Are you sufficiently hydrated? A phlebotomist mentioned this to me once. When I started paying attention to this, it really made a surprising difference.

Make sure you drink before testing.

I found certain fingers were better bleeders than others (my baby fingers on the fleshy part to the side were particularly good!). Also make sure you're keeping up water intake especially if it's warm where you are.
I controlled GD through diet. I was pretty strict but I remember the midwife saying it's not that you're doing anything wrong if you can't control it with diet, it's just some people struggle to control it more than others. I ate eggs for breakfast, something like chicken and salad or veg (no dressing) for lunch and dinner was whatever I would have had anyway but fewer carbs. I also found a snack before bedtime helped lower my morning reading so I'd have some greek yoghurt with a handful of blueberries or something like that. It was quite easy to follow once I figured out what worked for me, but repetitive as I basically just ate the same thing every day. I also went for lots of walks!

Drink lots of water.

Run your hands under the hot tap before pricking if it's come (not a problem today I guess).

Massage your finger once you've pricked, almost like you're milking it, to get more blood out

Sometimes you need to go for a deeper pin so select a higher number on your pricier.

Still not working. I am using the highest/deepest setting. I am doing everything. No amount of squeezing, or massaging, or dangling my hands around upside down or whatever is getting enough blood to fill the window. It literally starts beeping and counting down as soon as the strip touches my finger, there’s not enough time. I don’t know how I’m going to deal with this piece of shit every day for the next 3 months, it’s just one more thing to have to worry about and obsess over. And I can’t even get this fucking right.

I felt like this in my first few days, it did get better. I was googling the libre sensors utterly convinced I couldn't do weeks of pricking but then something clicked and it's so second nature now. I usually make sure my hand is warm, give it a vigorous rub, then half slide the strip into the machine. Then prick, start your rubbing and put the strip fully in once you've got more of a droplet on the go. Make sure your hand is dry otherwise the droplet seems to spread too thin. It's really shitty I know, but you'll get through it.

I had the same issue at the beginning. Then I had to press it into my finger a bit more. Or just get the bigger lancets which work better. I use Agamatrix so got 28 gauge ones instead of the original 33 gauge ones given by the midwife. Good luck!

Thanks guys, I feel a bit less stressed than this morning. What an utter faff. Will try again in the morning.

I also struggled at the beginning with finger pricking. Keeping hydrated, running my hands under the hot tap and massaging the chosen finger worked for me. I still occasionally have to repeat but normally it's because I rushed it the first time round.

I was diagnosed at 28 weeks with my second baby. I'm 39 weeks now and have managed to stay diet controlled. Baby was measuring on 90th percentile but at 36 weeks was down to about 60th. First baby was 9lbs 6oz which I think was 97th percentile.

I'd agree with PP - find the GD UK website and Facebook page. There are loads of sweet treats and tips which have meant that I've not felt like I've needed a cheat day. I'm addicted to whipped cream mixed with dark chocolate now as well as no added sugar angel delight 😋

Obvs not delivered yet but my consultant has said they're happy for me to go to 40+6 as per NICE guidelines given growth scans and diet controlled GD. I had an emergency CS with first baby following an induction so have booked an elective CS at 39+5. When baby was measuring 90th percentile, they were recommending a CS but were open to me trying for a natural.

I was upset on diagnosis but after the initial few days, it's been fine and absolutely manageable.

Just echoing what others have said above, the GDUK website is amazing, I couldn't have got through my last pregnancy and this one without it. I ask lots of questions on the FB group too.
I struggled when I was first diagnosed, I couldn't get the finger pricks right and was crying a lot, but I promise it gets better! The pricks do become a part of everyday life and now I don't even think about them.
I managed to stay diet controlled for my first pregnancy (exercise makes the world of difference), but this time I'm on metformin. I was so determined to remain diet controlled last pregnancy, but when I reflect, I probably should have gone onto something around week 32 (apparently week 32-36 are the hardest), as I was miserable and struggling to tolerate the most basic foods. Meds make life easier, so don't be afraid if it comes to that, and just know it's not your fault! It's our damn hormones :)

ah thank you both. I feel a bit better now I’ve had my scan and it appears im not having an absolutely massive baby, just a slightly bigger than average one