Gestational Diabetes

[lemontop]

Hi

Just had results of my GTT come back high and have an appointment to see two doctors next week. I think one might be a consultant and the other a dietician. Has anyone had any experience of GD in pregnancy? If so what's likely to happen at my appointment?

I'm a bit concerned that I'll be 31 weeks when I have my appointment which seems a bit late.

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Hi there - this thread is a little old. [[https://www.mumsnet.com/pregnancy/gestational-diabetes
If you want to read more about gestational diabetes, we’ve got some information here]]. MNHQ

Hi everyone dont see the dietician till friday and i am a bit confused as to what i can eat.

Am i not allowed any sweet stuff at all ie chocolate? Also am i allowed apples and grapes cos these were my craving?

I am controlling my blood sugars through diet at moment and have managed to keep them below 8 but havent eaten any sweet stuff at all

Hi MTP

It's all really trial and error I'm afraid. I don't eat any sweets, chocolates etc at the moment cos I don't think its worth it, but there is nothing to stop you having a little bit and seeing how it affects your levels. If you can still get your levels within target while having a bit of chocolate then I wouldn't have thought that would be a problem.

You can still have fruit etc without a problem, its just a case of moderation. I tend to have a snack of fruit in the morning and another one in the afternoon. I have been sticking to bananas and apples but as far as I know any fruit is fine in a moderate portion. Again you just need to see how it affects your levels.

It's a bit of a pain that there are no hard and fast rules cos everyone reacts differently.

I have found a banana and mullerlight yoghurt quite good for breakfast. Another thing I love is sugar free ice poles (not for breakfast though!!)

How are you getting on with the finger pricking?

Did the diabetic nurse give you an idea of target levels?

Glad you're getting on ok so far.

L, x.

The target levels are before meals less than 5.9 and 1-2 hours after less than 7.8.

Do you prick 1 or 2 hours after meals?

I am a bit confused with what would send it high cos said only have to prick before breaksfast then after evening meal, this is making it difficult cos surely if i ate chocolate on the morning it would be clear by after evening meal!! Think it might be a good idea to do midday as well, for my own records.

Fingers are sore cos having to do the deepest prick otherwise i dont get enough blood for the machine to work.

Just feeling bit sorry for myself at mo. DH went to shops and bought dd some cakes and himself a pizza for tea and i actually cried as i tucked into my scrambled eggs on toast - god i hope being hormonal lol

I am 2 hours after meals. Originally they told me just to measure before meals and do some random after meal ones the get a rough idea of how food was affecting me.

However I do 2 hours after meals too because I'm still quite new to this too and am not all that confident in how things affect me.

Usually you can get the test strips etc on repeat prescription so you might feel better if you do some tests after meals so you can find out how things are going BS wise, that way you will feel more in control.

Men just don't think sometimes do they!! No wonder you got upset - its all a bit overwhelming to begin with.

You can have proper meals though, I find things like chicken with veg and 3 or 4 small new potatoes fine, or homemade chilli with a small portion of basmati rice. My latest craving is a bit gross - a banana dipped in thick cream, I'm trying to resist this though.

I'm sorry your fingers are sore, you do get used to it though, I know I keep saying that!

Have a good night, let us know how you get on.

L, x.

Hi ladies,

Thank you for thinking of me while I was in hospital, well I am home now with our new baby girl yay!!!!

Evie Mae was born on 24th October at exactly 36 weeks, she weighed 8lb 9oz and is doing great, her bs levels after birth were 3.0 so all good.

We were trying to get to 37 weeks but the pre-eclampsia got worse so they made a fast decision to induce me early, i'm not going to lie to you all and say it was easy cos it was a pretty awful experience and very different to my first but totally worth it of course

How is everyone else doing?
Take care xxxx

Congratulations MrsR!! Glad everything went ok in the end and you're now all at home. Are you feeling much better now?

Things plodding along here as per previous posts really!

MTP how are you getting on with your levels?

L, x.

Hi Laura Levels have been ok I think, was 4.6 afetr tea last night and 6.2 tonight i assume they are ok x Going to hospital tomorrow to see consultant, diabetes nurse and dietician so hopefully will be a bit more clear what i can eat after that x

Congratulations Mrs r on the birth of your daughter x Can i ask if the pre-eclampsia was a result of the diabetes? I had pre-eclampsia with my dd and am worried it will def come back now got diabetes in this pregnancy (didnt have diabetes in previous opregnancy)

Also can i ask is anyones baby much more active since they stopped eating sugar? Mine has been kicking like mad since i took her sugar away!

Hi MTP

Good luck at the hospital today. Let us know how you get on.

I can't say I noticed much different in movement after I reduced my sugar, I was worried about it going to other way!!

It may just be that you're at the stage where movement would be increasing anyway.

Good Luck again.

L, x.

Morning All

Hope you are all well.

MTP How did you get on at the hospital on Friday?

L, x.

Hi Laura sorry i didnt get back have been away for the weekend x It went ok at the hospital, they are going to try and keep me off insulin for anphter couple of weeks but htink i will need to go on it cos they said its very rare for me to get diabetes (apparently i dont meet any of the criteria) so they are expecting my sugar levels to rise quite quickly x

I have been given a sick note today which is good cos i am worried about it turning into pre-eclampsia like i had last time x

Are anyones blood sugars higher before eating than 2 hours after, cos mine quite often are?

Hi Ladies

Just thought I'd stop by and reacquaint myself...

I'm only just pregnant (5 weeks) but I know I will have GD as I had it with my PFB. I had/have a BMI of 19, eat a diet gillian McKeith would be proud of and have no family history of diabetes but I am 40 (and was 38 when diagnosed last time). I was SO shocked and very upset about it for about a week so I know how you all feel.

Mummytopebs I saw your post about sore fingers...I had the same problem until someone told me to let you hand hang down by your side after you've pricked and just wait for the blood to flow - it did and I was able to go back to a little prick and no sore fingers. You may already be doing this but I thought it was worth a mention...

I managed my GD through diet alone and as I am a nutritionist know all about what to eat etc. In simple terms if you are going to eat anything sweet (fruit)or carby (bread, potato, pasta etc) eat it with protein (nuts, eggs, meat, fish etc) and make sure it has high fibre ie wholemeal bread, fruit, brown rice/pasta. The combination of the protein and the fibre slows down the absorption of the sugars so your blood sugar doesn't spike. Sadly cakes, biscuits and chocolate don't have any protein or fibre

Hope this helps

Hello ladies x Wondering if anyone has had experience of this x Went for a scan today and the baby is measuring around 9 days small, is this ok as i was expecting it to be big with the diabetes?

Morning All

Hope you're well

MTP no experience of this, sorry but just wanted to say that if the hospital think its ok then I would try not to worry, I know that's easier said than done.

It may just be that you have your sugars back under control so the growth has stabilised. I think the only reason the babies grow bigger is because of the excess sugar and it may be that factor has come not come into play yet.

Hope you all have a good day

L, x.

Hi folks - may i join you?

I'm 29+2, and had my GTT done on Tuesday. Apparently it came back at 12.7 which means it's quite high and i've been told i probably have GD. I go to see consultant about it on Weds. This is my 3rd pregnancy and i've never had GD before so it's all quite new to me. The midwife is quite concerned as my dd was 10lb 2oz and thinks this one may be even bigger - i'm measuring 35 weeks already!

Any words of wisdom and or advice?

Of course you may join us - welcome Dee. We're all fairly new to this but are blundering through together!

You may be able to curb the growth by altering your diet to bring your sugars down but the consultant will tell you everything specific to you.

Easier said than done but try not to panic, its not as bad as it sounds. It may be that they induce or section you early if they think baby is going to be too big.

Are you testing your own sugar levels yet? You could always make a start on things by reducing your sugar intake and looking into low GI foods (no more orange juice or oreo cookies for me unfortunately!!)

Let us know how you get on on Weds and if you feel like a chat in the interim feel free!

L, x.

Hi Dee and welcome

When I was diagnosed with my PFB I too was measuring big all the way through. But don't worry. You will be very closely monitored with regular check ups at the hospital and extra scans so they will know exactly what is going on. You can try and make the adjustments needed to your diet now - there will be lots of advice on here or a 'beginners guide' can be found on my earlier post on 2nd Nov. If you can manage it through diet rather than insulin it is much better for both you and baby - but it's not always possible...

By the way, DS way born 2 weeks early a shade under 9lbs, very long and with a head circumference which was off the scale, so the diabetes had no impact on his size, or my bump, it was pure genetics

Big hugs coming your way!

I was diagnosed at 29 weeks and managed it all through diet, no probs. I was hungry a lot at first, but then was fine. After the birth I weighed 1/2 stone less than before falling pregnant and DD was 7lb 1oz.

As for diet, try not to fill your head with too much complicated info. Try to stick to protein based breakfasts (sausages, eggs. bacon), small portions of wholemeal carbs, lots of meat & veg. For treats I had low fat yogurts, small bowls of ice-cream & pistachios plus milk a 2 digestive biscuits before bed to stop your sugars from dipping and then spiking in the morning. Remember you're on a low carb diet not a low fat one!

In the end I saw GD as a positive thing as it stopped me living on Nutella and Mars Bars!!!

Would love to help if you need to know anything

Thanks all.

To be honest my heads still all a bit of a muddle right now. The thing that's concerning me most at the moment is how this is going to affect my birth plans. I had a vbac with dd, and it was quite bad, so had settled for a HB with obvious opposition by consultant. Came to a happy medium and was going to the birthing unit, but that was on the proviso that my GTT came back fine, which obviously it hasn't done. I'm worried that they will either try and force a csec on me - which is the last thing i want, or an induction, which i'd prefer not to have as that is likely to compromise my csec scar. I know the end goal is to have a healthy baby and it shouldn't matter how we get there.... but it does matter. To me.

I'm not currently measuring bloods or anything - as i said i go to see GD consutlant next week so i presume she'll fill me in on all i need to know then.

Thanks again for the warm welcome.

Morning All

Don't lose all hope Dee, if you can control it with your diet they may leave you to go on your own, depending on your circumstances.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

L, x.

Hi again honey,

If you can control it with your diet, they should let you go at least to term and probably a bit over. I was induced, but only because I had a bleed and even then they let me go to due date.

Thinking of you x

Hi all,

I had my appt with MW on Wed and shes insisting for me to have this test done because im in a risk group my DM was diabetic lost mum this year! and so now i will have to get the test done!
I have had no issues with my last 2 Pregs but she is still insisting! but she booked it any way! should i do it and get it over with or should i stick with my feelings and not bother!

MTB5 I would say absolutely do it, if it comes back negative you've lost nothing and if it comes back positive you could help prevent additional risks to your baby.

L, x.

Hi All

How are you all getting on?

L, x.

Hi Ladies

Can I join you please? I had my GTT yesterday morning and received a phone call from the diabetic midwife yesterday afternoon telling me I had gestational diabetes.

I have a growth scan now booked for this morning followed by an appointment to see the diabetic midwife, dietician and consultant.

Glad I've found this thread. Will start reading from the beginning to glean as much info as possible.

I have a huge list of questions to take with me to my appointment this morning and am really scared after googling what could happen.

I am 28+4 with my 3rd baby. I have ds10 - 10lb 7 at birth and dd7 - 9lb 7 at birth. Both normal deliveries and had negative GTT with my dd. I am scared this one will be bigger than my first as I was really anaemic after he was born and ended up having a blood transfusion.

Look forward to chatting to you all and supporting each other.

Emma xx

Hi Homeschooler, welcome.

Well done for your list of questions - best thing to do.

Try to stay away from google, its no good for you, although I am very bad at taking my own advice on this!!

You'll be monitored pretty closely now so all should be well, and you may even be able to control it with your diet.

The girls who have had to have insulin have said that's not as bad as you think either.

Let us know how you get on today, at 28 weeks you've got plenty of time to get your sugars sorted before dday!!

Best of luck

L, x.