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 scans every 2-3 weeks I think which showed that DD was big, so I was booked for induction at 37.5 weeks, which was fine, pessary inserted, waited around for 24 hrs then water were broken. Things ramped up pretty quick after that and DD was born about 4 and a half hours later with the help of a bit of gas n air. We stayed over night then went home at about 8am. DD is now a hale and hearty, health, happy 11 yr old. One thing to be aware of is you will need yearly HbA1C blood tests to check for T2 diabetes as you are higher risk. I was diagnosed last year because I got ill. No one ever told me I was supposed to be having yearly tests and by the time I was diagnosed my levels were very very bad, I already had eye damage and damage to the nerves in my feet, so do not miss out on the testing insist on it!