Anyone want to join in a support thread for those with gestational diabetes?

[CantSleepWontSleep]

Since it seems to be reasonably common, I thought maybe we could have an ongoing thread where we could discuss issues relating to it, and maybe share ideas of meals that work for us to keep blood sugars down.

I was just over the threshold on my GTT nearly 3 weeks ago, and have been monitoring my bloods 4 times a day since last Thursday. Had my first visit to joint diabetic/obstetric clinic this morning, which I found thoroughly impersonal and demoralising, so am feeling a bit low about it at the moment.

I am nearly 20 weeks, so still have a long way to go. Am hoping to control it just through diet, but consultant gave me a prescription for insulin 'just in case I need it'!

Am having the most problem with my after breakfast reading. Have been told to keep it below 7 one hour after eating, but even with the cereals they have recommended, I am getting around 8-9. Dietician has recommended trying baked beans on toast for breakfast instead. Is anyone else struggling with this one, as they said it is a common one to find raised due to steroids produced by the body in the mornings?

wow debs! thinking of you today.
Just think, she might have her baby already, right now....
PR tries to drag herself unsuccessfully out of denial..

Hi again cantsleepwontsleep Im 17 weeks on Saturday so was quite early to be getting GD. Had an appt at the hospital today where they have put me on insulin but i have to go back on Friday as its been such a long time since i used it that i was a bit worried about forgetting what to do so wont actually be injecting it till then. The doctor also said that he felt that i might have already had type 2 diabetes a little before this pregnancy (but after my last one) in view of the fact that my fasting level was so high. Not sure really and the only way to find out is when i have this baby and get another GTT done.

Doc also said that i would be induced around 38 weeks - nothing new there then but i have already had a conversation with my consultant about that and have said that id rather have a c section this time as the last induction went horribly wrong and my daughter ended up in intensive care for a week - they didnt seem overly forthcoming and were still keen on an induction but i guess ive got plenty of time to thrash it out with them

Some good news though, I had my gender scan done today and have spent most of it in shock as was told that my lo was a boy! Gosh thats quite something after 16 years of girls lol - Christmas should be interesting

Hi quick update. No baby as yet went in for the induction had an internal and mw said baby is too high up so not to go ahead. the consultant said thats ok when induced baby will just come down mw not impressed, said too high chance of cord or arm coming first so they sent me home.

Went back today was kept waiting for ages they didn't do anything about gd had a feel forwhere baby was and again a bit high, saw a trainee consultant who suggeseted pushing babys head down, well mw's eyes nearly popped out of her head and she said no we don't do that.. Thought about it and said no to induction so the top guy came he had a fell and said baby not huge and not far enough down, could induce but agreed to wait until tuesday when i will be 39 weeks.

Feel like i have totally lost trust in the drs and not sure what to do, instinct says hang on in there. I just felt like i was being railroaded into things.

Will let you know how things are over this weekemd

New to this thread and GD - was wondering if anyone could answer a possibly stupid question.

I am to check my glucose levels first thing in the morning and then two hours after the three main meals. My question is if I eat lunch around 12 but have a cup of tea with milk or a diet coke [!] half an hour later should i move the time that i test my glucose level? If I don't move the test will these drinks skew the reading? I'm really new to this and feeling really confused and frustrated by not being albe to do simple things like have a drink!!!! argh.

I test 2 hours after meals now and just before meals. In between i have a light snack, i.e. apple or oatcake and drink whenever i need to.
As long as the drinks aren't high in fat or sugar then they shouldn't skew the readings and it is important to keep hydrated. The mlik in your tea should be fine, unless you have half a cup of milk.
Try keeping a food diary so you can show them what you have been eating.

Hope this helps CSWS knows more and will probably tell you something else to stop wottying.

ok thanks. i'll see how it goes.

btw - am i being incredibly bad drinking a diet coke?

Afternoon ladies.

Rosie - another one diagnosed as early as me - thought I was going to be alone in that! Mw suggested that I might have had type 2 already due to early diagnosis, but consultant looked at the results of my blood monitoring for the first few days and said definitely not, and that it was a classic case of GD (high morning readings, better during the day).
A tricky decision re the birth. There are valid arguments for having an induction over a c-sec, but I forget what they are at the moment. Have vague recollection of another thread that had some relevant posts, so will see if I can find it for you later.

Debs - what a nightmare to not know whether you are coming or going, but good that they didn't proceed with the induction when it was clearly not going to work. Hopefully your body will be more ready by next week.

Mimsy - welcome to the thread, and sorry about your diagnosis. That's actually a very good question, and the kind of thing that I would have asked if I took milk in my drinks. I did in fact ask whether the time should be taken from beginning to eat my meal or finishing it, and got the impression that it wasn't something that was often asked (but end of meal was the answer).
I'd be inclined to agree with Debs that as long as it's just a splash of milk then don't worry about it. Diet coke and other drinks containing no sugar (do label check, as even things like fanta zero contain some sugar) are okay to have whenever. I normally try to avoid much aspartame, but have been living on Tesco diet cherryade for weeks now!
I would ask your consultant at your next appt why you have been asked to test 2 hours after meals rather than 1 hour. Eating little and often is recommended for pregnancy, and having to wait 2 hours after meals before eating again goes against this.

csws - thanks for the info. i have a lot of questions and the devil really does seem to be in the detail. i'm going back to the diabetes clinic next weds and will hopefully get some answers. i'm going to hold off on totally slagging off the dietician i spoke to but suffice to say i got some conflicting and just plain confusing advice. thank goodness for mn and those like you who have practical advice!

Hi - am new to this thread too - not been able to read all of it though

I was diagnosed with GD last week, and am now on insulin, before meals. My readings are still quite high though, my diabetic midwife said that they should be below 6 before a meal and below 7.8 after - is that about right?

I'm nearly 30 weeks pregnant with non-id. twins and have two other children (no GD with either of those pregnancies)

Just thought I'd say hi and would welcome any tips/help to get the blood sugar levels down - not sure what to eat really - quite confused as many of the posters say no carbs but the dietician at the diabetic clinic said to have carbs at every meal - aaggh it's a minefield!!

Many thanks for reading

Ohh im with you on this nimbs - diabetic nurse said to cut out sugar but have plenty of slow release (non refined) carbs but ive heard that they can play havoc with your levels so i dont really know what to eat as the diabetes nurse was quite vauge and gave me a leaflet - its almost as if they are relying on the insulin to keep them down and not what you eat too . Just started the insulin and was told to measure just before meals then an hour and a half after plus first thing in the morning - i guess a proper pattern of my levels should start to emerge fairly shortly.

CSWS glad to see that im not the only one with early onset GD although im peeved to b poking holes in myself so often so early on in my pregnancy wheras i go away with it in the last three all the way till 6 or 7 months. As for the C Section unfortunately i know that an induction is better for me all round but i have such a phsycological issue with a fourth induction (simply because of the way the last one one managed and as a consequence how poorly my DD was) that i want a C section purely on the grounds that i cannot under any circumstances right at this particular moment face another induction - hence the huge gap between DD and this lo. I know its riskier but i also know that if i was induced and ended up with an emergency C section as opposed to an elective one ( and the risks are higher for a c section if you are induced ) i will be pretty peeved to say the least so better to avoid that situation methinks, but, as i said there is still lots of time and i might just end up with 4th induction after all although reading debs75's post doesnt seem like much has changed. Good luck with that anyway debs75 - hope it all goes smoothly for you and you have a lovely lo soon enough

CSWS Your are due quite soon arent you? How exciting, how have you managed with controlling your blood sugars for such a long time? Just wondering because 4 and a half months seems like bloody ages to be doing this ...

rosie & nimbs, I find it's a case of choosing how your carbs are either cooked or selecting the right type of carb. So potato for instance has a scale of mash at one end and boiled at the other. Mash and jacket potatoes do me no favours but as a treat I can have boiled potatoes with butter (oh, hold me back!)
Rice - I love arborio or basmati, but I really have to have the really chewy long grain brown rice.
I try only to drink water between eating and tsting - but I'm drinking gallons at the moment, worked out I've had 8 pints of water or squash today already plus at least 3 big mugs of tea, and will probably have at least one more pint before bed and drink 2 overnight...... It's no wonder I don't sleep well!
Hope you're both feeling OK. and don't worry about asking the dietician to give you an example menu plan for instance. It's always worth asking what they recommend you snack on as well as that's quite tricky.

Went back to hospital for monitoring today was there for nearly 2 hours, all is well baby is active and doing well, her heartrate is towards the upperside of normal but mw didn't seem worried. When i saw the top consultant he thinks that baby is not really big and will probably be same as other 2 (both 8 pounders) so that sounds ok.

One of the newborns on the ward was getting blood testing for sugar, is that one of the things they will do after baby is born??

mimsy - I hated my dietician on first meeting, and have not been to see her since, so can relate to your sentiment!

nimbs - I have carbs with just about every meal, but it's about making sure that you have the right carbs (unrefined, so wholewheat pasta, wholegrain rice, wholemeal bread etc), and in relatively small portions.
How long after meals have you been told to test?

rosie - yes, due in 2.5 wks now . It has been rather a long time, and the novelty has worn off now, but I've got a certain amount of satisfaction out of managing to control it, and out of not gaining any weight! I have been a bit more relaxed with what I've eaten in the last couple of weeks though, so have to keep reminding myself that it's not long before I can have my chinese and cheesecake feast!

Debs - great to hear that the monitoring went well. Yes, your baby will need to have blood tested after birth. This is because it will potentially be producing lots of insulin to counteract the sugar passing to it from you, and this can cause a dangerous drop in blood sugar after birth. Blood sugar takes a while to stabilise after birth anyway, but early feeding can help with this, so if you are planning to breastfeed then try and do so within the first half hour or so after birth. The blood sugar shouldn't be tested until at least 3 hours after birth (unless baby is symptomatic) to give the levels a chance to stabilise, and if that level is ok then they will need testing again 3 hours later. If both of these levels are high enough then there is no reason why any further testing should be done, and you should be free to come home if you want to. If the levels are too low then you might need to decide whether you are happy for baby to have formula or dextrose, or whether you can give some previously expressed colostrum.

rosie - I know - it's so confusing isn't it - i have to measure before meals and have my insulin then than measure an hour afterwards too - a sort of pattern is already emerging so hopefully the insulin will get it under control

pepper - thanks for the advice - i love mashed and jacket potatoes though - never mind if it's only boiled pots for the next few weeks will do it - hopefully it'll be all fine after babies are here so can go back to mash - with loads of butter and cheese - yum

CSWS - have changed all our 'normal' stuff to wholegrain - actually quite like the pasta which surprised me- think will now try smaller portions - it's a real pain isn't it that when you are your hungriest - ie feeding these babies you have to cut down on portion size -

Anyway hopefully not too long to go - have a meeting with my consultant this weds so hopefully will have a better idea of when these babies will appear - at mo not sure how they are coming out - lol - am hoping to avoid a c-section as am worried about the recovery time afterwards with 2 other kids to look after - has anyone had a c-section previously? Had the other two naturally so don't really know what to expect

Anyway got to go - 2yr old wants a drink

Thanks CSWS Went to my last slimming session today. Yes I know dieting whist pregnant is so naughty but I weighed 16 stone when got caught so had loads of extra weight to lose and the diet is basically eating government guidelines such as 5 or more portions of fruit or veg 3 portions of dairy 3 of fibre and meat etc. and by the time you have eaten that there is no more room for goodies. The good news is I have only put on 3lb in the last 2 months and am still over 1/2 of a stone under what I was when I got caught which means I have only put on a stone with this pregnancy (sorry if anyone has ballooned, I know how that feels put on 3 stone with ds). Hopefully this is a good sign for the gd and can't wait till baby born and I can see what I have lost overall.

Sorry if you think I am a bit smug and feel free to say so but have struggled with weight for years and feel so proud of myself. I had huge slice of chocolate cake at dinner so prob put on a lb then, was worth it tho.

Debs - you can be as smug as you like about weight gain, as long as I can be smugger, as I've not gained any weight at all during this pregnancy (was also fat to begin with).

was wondering if anyone knows if sleeplessness/stress/illness can make blood sugar levels high? i've got a stinking cold and have been looking after a sick toddler for days now. i have eaten the same breakfast for 5 days and today my blood levels were considerably higher than the others. just wondered if that could be the explanation. last night was a particulalry bad night, prob had about 2 hours sleep!

also, csws have defo taken on board your point about the silliness of waiting 2 hours to test. am meeting with the diabetes clinic today and will address this. i am hungry all the time now and basically waiting for my alarm to go off so i can test myself and then go eat. that seems not only stupid, but a bit disingenuous....

I believe that stress can affect levels mimsy yes, but I'm a fairly chilled person, so luckily haven't had to put this to the test myself!

How did you get on at your appointment today?

you are an expert on this csws! thanks for always replying - much appreciated.

the appointment was fine, actually. i was really nervous about it and just didn't feel physically up to it. my hubby came with me to make sure i got some support. i basically got the doc to give me his take on how serious or not my condition was. so far i've been able to control with diet and from that he was very positive and just gave me a bit of perspective on the issue which had been seriously lacking before. i'm not sure if that makes sense, but i've been reading all these horror stories of gd and couldnt' actually tell if i was that seroius or not: i couldn't tell whether or not i should be freaking out or just being a bit careful.

the doc also said that being ill can defo make your numbers be a bit screwy and that i'm just to focus on getting well over the next few days and then maintain the work i've done on my diet. if i keep that up then he feels pretty good about my progess. fingers crossed.

also, maybe this will make other people feel better made me feel a bit embarassed but it seems i've gained 4 1/2 stone this pregnancy. i wasn't overweight before but good god i surely am now . i put most of this down to my first trimester severe nausea and vomiting, when ironically the hcps don't really seem to fussed about how you are feeling. my body/hormones were so screwed up i literally had to eat crappy white carby food to stave off vommiting. it was awful.

sorry to ramble. stilll a bit foggy today.

Hi just thought I should let you all know had baby girl on Friday 19th September 01.16.

Went into be induced on the Tuesday after refusing it the week before, felt quite excited and pleased to have held on till 39 weeks, little did I know. Baby still not quite ready and labour ward full to bursting so 2 attempts at prostin later and 1 painful sweep was finally told labour ward will accept you for waters breaking, when they have a space. That space came about 18 hours later. Why oh why do they bang on about you must have baby early too many risks blah. blah. blah. And then leave you hanging on. Anyway popped waters thursday teatime gave me the drip (Owwwwwwwww) then epidural and out my little angel popped at 01.16. Pretty easy birth no tears or stitches minimal bleeding feel pretty good. Baby on the other hand was wearing her cord like a feather boa which was a bit scary.

MW's got a bit confused after the birth and decided that cos I wasn't on insulin and my bm's were stable she didn't need hers checking, big mistake when the shift changed next morning 7 hours later they started checkinh and they were 1.2, really low so we spent a few hours force feeding her breast milk. To those still pregs make sure they test when baby born i was really worried the next day and wish they had just done it to be on the safe side.

Congratulations Debs. Shocking treatment from the hospital re checking the blood sugar though. I have mention of the tests in my birth plan, so can't imagine it being overlooked, but dreadful that anywhere would overlook it regardless. How heavy was she Debs?

That's a big weight gain Mimsy! Hopefully it will all drop off again afterwards .

Only 8 days to go here til due date - eek!

She was 7lb 15oz, smaller then my other 2. Had waters that probably weighed the same, we flooded the bed.

How are you amnaging to hold on till your due date, I got the feeling they would not let me do that. Still she was only 4 days early so it didn't end up feeling that forced.

lovely news Debs well donw you

CSWS, cannot believe that has come round sooooooooooooo quickly

well am sure it only feels like that for me and not you lol

had my GTT on Tues so back to diabetic clinic on Tues next week to see if its been gestational or if its a keeper

Oh fingers crossed for 'just' gestational dizzy.

Debs - I'm being allowed to go a few days over because my diet control has been good throughout. Due on 1st but induction booked for 6th if nothing happens by then. Will prob ask for sweep on Monday to try and help things along, and have one booked with community mw for next Fri too!

thanks CSWS - how are you feeling now the big day is looming ever closer?