they may put me on Insulin...how will i live?

[forevermore]

I am 29.5 wks pregnant and had GTT levels of 7.5 fasting and 13.5 2 hours after glucose drink. Referred to Diabetes specialist midwife and told that i could try to control by diet for 5 days but rest assured with your readings you will most likely be put on insulin. Growth scan was high side of normal but okay

I am already crying and stressed out thinking of the diabetes diet and high risk labour that i have heard about. I really need some reassurance. Has anyone been on insulin? has anyone controlled GD with diet after such high reading? will i be diabetic after the birth.

Majorly panicking now, any help appreciated.

forevermore, sorry I have no advice, but [[[[hugs]]]]]] to you, and someone who is/has been in your position will be along soon with some comforting words. Try not to worry too much.

gestational diabetes

Forevermore, I don't know too much about this but I am pretty sure that this type of diabetes goes away after giving birth. I'm sure mears or someone else will be along soon and can give you more info. Try not to worry too much (easier said than done I know). Can you talk to the midwife again and tell her you are panicking - she should be able to reassure you.

I can't really offer much except to say that you should NOT be diabetic after the birth, forevermore. You are statistically at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life, apparently though
You poor thing. I was lucky and squeaked through my GTT so I can understand a little of how upset you feel.
I do hope someone who actually had pregnancy diabetes will be along soon to try and put your mind at rest.
The most important thing for you both is that the problem has been identified and you will be carefully monitored until your baby is born.

didnt have insulin controlled GD, but diet controlled. was induced 1 week early. although my GD was under control dd3 had to be taken to special care for 24hours afterwards due to low blood sugars. TBH i could face the finger prick testing each day, and the limited diet, but seeing my dd3 with a tube down her nose broke my heart. sorry if thisnupsets you, but thats my personal expereince of the GD affecting the birth.

please don't panic about insulin. i have pre-existing diabetes & am 36 weeks pg with my second (ds was 7lbs10, born at 39 weeks - not all babies born to mothers with diabetes are huge!). it is hard work being pregnant with diabetes, but with good control you can absolutely minimise the risks to your baby.

the needles used nowadays in insulin pens are tiny - 6mm or so, & really, honestly don't hurt. and being on insulin actually means you have more leeway with your diet. it must be very hard being told you have to go onto insulin, but it really will be the best thing for the baby. and you'll probably feel better too.

you'll probably have growth scans every 4 weeks from now on, to keep an eye on the baby's growth. they do keep a very close eye on you which i find reassuring. you will probably be induced at 38-39 weeks, so it's best to be prepared for that. you're unlikely to be offered a cesaerean just because you have GD (unless you've had one already in which case induction isn't really reccommended). the baby will possibly have low blood sugar after the birth & supplementary feeds might be needed until the levels are normal again. ds was cup fed formula for 24 hours after his birth, despite his blood sugar actually being normal. i was very insistent that i wanted to breastfeed & it didn't interfere with that at all.

the GD should disappear after you have your baby. you will be at higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes later in life, but you can reduce the liklihood of this happening by losing weight & generally eating healthily/exercising.

hth. when is your next appointment?

I think the high risk labour would refer to women who had not been treated and who had huge babies as a result. I imagine that they will be keeping an eye on you to make sure that that does not happen. Good luck and I hope everything goes well.

A close friend of mine was in a similar position. She had GD with her 2nd pregnancy and looking back they were pretty sure that she had it also with her first since she had such a large 1st baby.

She had no joy with controlling it with diet and was put on insulin which she got on with just fine, she was monitored slightly more during the pregnancy, but not more than my 1st which was an ICSI pregnancy.

During the labour she wasnt monitored at all (sore subject, hospital problems), she reckons she had a better labour than her 1st and gave birth to a gorgous little girl 9lb 2oz. By the way my dd2 weight 9lb10oz at birth and I didnt have GD.

She doesnt have Diabetes now but was told that she probably would suffer with GD with any more pregnancies.

I had gestational diabetes that I controlled through diet - so didnt need insulin. I was retested after giving birth and my levels were totally normal. I also panicked when I found out.
The only difference with my birth a somebody without gestational diabetes was that they wouldnt let me go over term (something to do with the baby being bigger if the mum has gd). SO they may induce you if it is looking like the baby is big. Also they look for signs when the baby is born to make sure that there are no insulin withdrawal symptoms in the baby (if there is this isnt a massive problem).

All of my appointments were at the hospital - not my doctors and towards the end of the pregnancy I was scanned often to check that the baby wasnt getting too big.

I really think that you should talk to the midwife about all of your worries. Personally it made little difference to my pregnancy. They kept talking about my 'big' baby - in the end he was 8lb 3oz - which isnt massive. Try not to worry. I think you should return to normal when you have given birth (iyswim) and on the plus side you will be monitored closely and get loads of scan pictures.
((hugs)) please dont worry.

thanks for all of your support. I am really scared about the baby being taken away from after birth but i hope this will spur me on to stick to the diet.

its reassuring to know that others have got through the experience okay. thanks again

I had a borderline problem like this and it upset me a lot that suddenly I wasn't having a "normal" pregnancy. I had to do blood tests several times a day and watch my diet.

My baby was overdue by 8 days and weighed 8lb 5oz. She wasn't taken away at birth & I have not got diabetes now. Sometimes I think they make a big fuss for no real benefit, especially if the whole thing is mild, as it turned out to be for me, and despite what you think now, it may well turn out to be quite mild in your case. midwife led units are much less interventional with mild problems like mine than consultant led units and I changed my care to a midwife led unit - this was better for me.

Poor you, it's a pain, but try not to let it ruin your pregnancy, it is not as bad as it seems when you first hear about it.

It has made me try to eat according to the GI diet principles and I find I feel healthier on this eating plan. It is true that you are at higher risk of developing diabetes later but changing your diet and exercising will make a big difference to your risk.

HTH
Flobble
xxx

Sorry to hear this forevermore - but please try not to worry!

I got GD with my second pregnancy and despite all efforts to control my levels with diet I ended up on insulin. The first time I had to inject I was a total wreck (I really HATE injections) but you'd be amazed at how quickly you get used it - in the end I was really cocky about it

I had a planned section with dd (because of probs in previous labour - nothing to do with diabetes) and she stayed with me afterwards - they just kept checking her blood sugar levels until they stabilised. The diabetes did disappear right away - about three hours after the birth I was scoffing a packet of chocolate mini-rolls.

It's true that you have an increased risk of type two diabetes in later life - but as I understand it, that's not CAUSED by getting GD in pregnancy - rather that the GD is indicative of a genetic tendency to diabetes anyway. I try to think of it as something really positive - if I hadn't had GD I would never have known that I was relatively high risk for developing diabetes - so now I can take steps to minimise that risk.

Is there anything specific that you are worried about?

Forgot to say - when dd was born she was only 6lb 14oz - so much for a big diabetes baby!!!

thanks all

thats made me feel a lot better. will sleep well tonight.

just thought that insulin injections is worse thing in the world...silly i know, but thats how i feel. nice to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel. cannot wait to see my baby, then it will have been all worth while. need to think more positively, but sometimes it becomes soo overwhelming and i just burst into tears.
DH doesn't know what to say, i know he is secretly worried too. want to stay strong, mumsnet is really helping me to achieve this. thanks again for all your comments

Forevermore,
Just want to let you know that I just had my baby after being diagnosed with GD. I managed to control with diet for a while but eventually went on insullin. As others have said, although I tried desesperately not to go into insulin, life actually got easier once I went in, because I was last scared of eating thing and could have a better diet. So going in insullin is a good thing.
Also, baby was born at 40 weeks weighing 7lbs 14oz (despite being meassured every two weeks as 80% percentile in size), and had no sugar problems or anything else! Now all I have to do is pass my next GTT and all would have just been a bad dream!

Now seriously, I was a nerve wreck the whole time! So I deeply sympathize with you! I can be of any further help, do CAT me!

forever more, dd3 was 1 day old when her levels dropped too low. we were just preparing to go hoem when they relaise dthey hadnt done a heel prick test. i was very upset as really really detest hospitals. i know no-one likes them but i always feel shaky when i have to go to one.
she went down to SCBU at 10-11pm at night, i had expressed some colostrum earlier in the day to get her suger levels up, and they did rise but not enough. she was feeding well but the levels were still too low. so she was tube fed formula for 24hours, at 1st it was every hour, working upto 3hour top ups. i breastfed her before each tube feed after the initial 1 hourly ones.
but she came back upstairs quickly, tube was removed the following morning, she was monitored on the ward for that day, and we were home on day 4.

I had a few tears over this myself , but others have to contend with a lot worse than this in pregnancy - you and your baby are both healthy - this is a minor and temporary blip only, so try to relax again and be happy!
love
flobble
xxx

i would love to CAT you Lua, but i don't know how?????

just had a series of high readings with blood monitor so insulin seems inevitable now.

does anyone know how to CAT someone??

forevermore, at the top of the page is a link for "contact another talker". If you click on that you will be able to say who you want to get hold of.

Forevermore, I'll CAT you, and then you'll have my email if you want to ask more questions or just complain about not being able to eat chocolate!

ooops, you have chosen not to receive a CAT in your profile... so I can't send you one.... You can change your profile, or you can CAT me.