Gestational diabetes

[wingingit1987]

I’ve been told today that I have gestational diabetes. I’m 26 weeks pregnant. Can anyone tell me what I should expect? Did you need extra scans? Was your birth plan different? Did you need medication?

Im not due to see the diabetes team until next week so I feel quite overwhelmed with it all.

Hi,

I was diagnosed at 26 weeks. As other have said you'll get a finger prick kit ans they will show you what to do. I had to download an app that they had access too and I entered my readings in there. I remained diet controlled throughout, it was pretty boring but I changed to wholemeal of everything and obviously nothing too sugary. At the beginning it is a bit of trial and error though.

I had scans at 28, 32 and 36 weeks. I was also due to have one at 39 week but he arrived instead

Despite having a high bmi, being over 35 and have GD I was still able to have a natural birth in the pool so don't rule that out and think you'll automatically need a c section or induction.

I think it’s individual. The c section is more likely to make this challenging but I persevered and exclusively breastfed.

Had GD nearly 30 years ago, I think mildly, no meds, extra scans or any of the follow-up PPs have described.

Baby was normal size, but jaundiced.

30 years later, I have been teetering on the top edge of pre-diabetes for some time, with no other reason (e.g. weight, diet, family history) for this.

I have also read that the baby in utero at the time of GD has a higher chance of developing diabetes themselves down the line.

so follow the advice, and look after your diet and the baby’s once s/he’s here.

That was just me though and he was my first so I had no idea what I was doing. Plus it was because he was a CS and early rather than GD related

Just because my DS had low BS doesn't mean yours will. sorry I did not mean to imply that GD means BF unlikely.

I had GD with my youngest. I had to inject insulin and they ask you to keep a diary of your blood sugars which you have to record and take with you to appointments. You won’t necessarily have to take insulin - sometimes it can be managed with either tablets or even diet changes (cutting down on carbs and sugar, basically).

My daughter was on the 99th centile but she’s still very tall to this day. I had scans every week from (I think) 30 weeks.

The other thing to bear in mind is that they probably won’t let you go past 38 weeks. I was induced at 37 weeks. Quick, easy induction. This probably varies from trust to trust, though.

There is a Facebook group as well which I found to be really helpful whilst I was pregnant. I was diagnosed at 29 weeks - mine was picked up late due to three previous pregnancies where I didn’t have GD.

I had GD and can understand how you’re feeling.
first off, you need to know this isn’t your fault and you can’t control how your pancreas is reacting to the presence of a placenta. What you can do is manage your diet and exercise and keep check on your sugar levels to respond to this condition. If you end up needing medication then that’s not a bad thing, it’s just another tool in your arsenal.
Diet:
Carbs are not evil and should not be eliminated, they do need to be controlled though. Complex carbs like whole seeds, grains and from green veg are the best sources, they come with additional vitamins and minerals and they take longer for your body to breakdown which means you don’t have the sudden spikes in blood sugar.
When you do have carbs you should pair them with protein, it helps your body to breakdown the sugar and convert it. So egg on toast, apple slices with peanut butter, pasta and meatballs.
You may find there are certain carbs that you just don’t do well with, potato has always been one of mine. Half a jacket potato raised my sugar level sky high.
Steer clear of ‘low fat’ marketed products, one of my worst ever readings was from a Muller Light yoghurt. Full fat Greek yoghurt (not Greek style) is a much better option and delicious.
if possible try to stop eating after your dinner and avoid evening snacks, it gives a nice big window of time for your body to just work through the sugar it’s got rather than having to keep starting over. If you are really hungry then have something carb free, boiled egg, babybel, yoghurt, cottage cheese…
Exercise:
A small amount of exercise can do wonders, a 20 min brisk walk after a meal made a huge difference for my readings.
You should look at the first week or so as research and calibration. Write down what you eat and what your readings are, see if you have any trigger foods or any really good meals. You should be set up with contact with the diabetes team who will want to go through that log and will make the determination on whether you need any medication.

I had it with my second despite having no risk factors. They were very surprised. It was absolutely fine, the NHS were fab. They give you lots of advice on diet and you check your sugars regularly. I was induced a couple of days early and despite the risk of a large baby my boy was only 6lbs! They will check baby's blood sugar after birth and it may be low. I expressed colostrum and took it to hospital with me - they kept it in the fridge. After 2 doses of that his blood sugars were normal. The midwives said colostrum is fantastic for this so it's worth doing if you are able just to give a helping hand . I was then able to breastfeed as normal.
It can feel hard to manage by diet but there's loads of advice out there. Don't let yourself get roo hungry or you'll crave sweet things. Apple and peanut butter was my snack of choice!

Also just to add, after baby is born you are unlikely to need the kit and strips anymore. There are charities you can donate them to for women in developing countries who have GD but don't have supplies. I was happy to get rid of mine and glad it could help someone else!

What charity is this please? I'm sure I've some supplies left which I'd gladly donate.

This is a really important point so thanks for raising. If your sugars do go high (which they can from time to time no matter how careful you are) then absolutely go for a walk. Your sugars will come down.

One of the things I found interesting having experienced GD was being told that the mid afternoon slump where people reach for caffeine and chocolate is actually because your sugars are high not low. Doing the above will make it worse but going for a little walk really helps.

And how high in sugar juice is - still don’t drink any to this day!

I had it, but controlled it very easily with diet. I had to do the pin prick tests and submit my readings but for some reason I don’t remember any additional monitoring or interventions. It was all completely forgotten about after the birth and was pretty much a non event apart from me discovering hummus is like instant blood sugar.

I sent mine here https://www.iddt.org/here-to-help/helping-developing-countries/
At the time all supplies were being sent to those in need in Ukraine at the outbreak of the war. I think the send supplies to other countries as well.

On the topic of ‘After GD’ you do need to ensure you are set up with annual HbA1C blood tests at your GP, you are at higher risk of developing T2 diabetes now, 10 years post pregnancy is when I was diagnosed with T2, I was not offered annual blood testing or told it was recommended, so based on my results I had it undiagnosed for a while and do now have nerve damage to my feet and 1st stage retinopathy in my eyes, so do the tests and keep on top of it.

I’ve got it since the first appointment at 8 weeks. They gave me the stuff to measure my blood sugar 4 times a day. Only thing I had to change was no juices or high sugar drinks. I now drink flavored water with 4g of sugar per 100ml and I’ve got no issues. For food I had to switch breakfast from white bread to wholewheat so I have that or a yoghurt bowl with fruit, for lunch I eat the same as before just always add a salad and for dinner I eat whatever I want even sugar because for some reason my sugar level don’t rise in the pm.

Thank you so much everyone. This has been incredibly helpful.